Spanish materials SME specializing in industrial waste recovery and microwave-based thermal processing for cement, ceramic, and steel industries.
CEINNMAT is a Spanish materials technology SME based in Castellón de la Plana, specializing in industrial process innovation for resource recovery and energy-intensive manufacturing. They develop and deploy advanced thermal processing technologies — including microwave firing systems — for the cement, ceramic, and steel industries. Their work spans two complementary areas: extracting valuable materials from industrial waste streams (bauxite residue, spent catalysts, e-waste) and making energy-intensive firing and sintering processes significantly more efficient. They bring pilot-scale and mobile plant capabilities to EU consortia.
RemovAL focused on recovering REE, gallium, and Fe-Si from aluminium production waste; PEACOC targets precious metals from end-of-life catalysts, WEEE, and photovoltaic panels.
DESTINY developed an efficient microwave firing system for cement, ceramic, and steel industries, including cellular and rotary kiln configurations.
PEACOC (2021-2026) is a pre-commercial pilot for recovering PGMs from spent automotive catalysts and electronic waste across Europe.
Both DESTINY and RemovAL address energy consumption reduction — DESTINY through microwave firing, RemovAL through converting waste into construction materials to offset virgin material production.
DESTINY included development of mobile plant concepts for deploying microwave firing technology at industrial sites.
CEINNMAT's early H2020 work (2018) centered on bulk industrial waste — recovering rare earth elements and construction-grade materials from aluminium production residues like red mud. By 2021, their focus shifted toward higher-value recovery targets: precious metals and platinum-group metals from end-of-life electronics and automotive catalysts. In parallel, they moved from waste-as-input toward process-level innovation with microwave firing technology for heavy industry, signaling a broadening from "what to do with waste" to "how to make industry cleaner in the first place."
CEINNMAT is moving up the value chain — from bulk waste recovery toward high-value precious metals and process-level decarbonization of heavy industry, positioning them well for circular economy and critical raw materials initiatives.
CEINNMAT operates exclusively as a consortium participant, never as coordinator, which is typical for a specialized SME contributing domain-specific technology rather than managing large projects. With 62 unique partners across 18 countries in just 3 projects, they consistently join large Innovation Action consortia — indicating they are trusted to deliver concrete pilot-scale results within ambitious, multi-partner demonstrations. Their broad partner network suggests they are easy to integrate into new teams and bring practical, deployable capabilities rather than purely research contributions.
Despite only 3 projects, CEINNMAT has built a wide network of 62 partners across 18 countries, reflecting their participation in large-scale Innovation Action consortia. Their base in Castellón — a major hub for Spain's ceramic industry — gives them strong ties to energy-intensive manufacturing sectors across Southern and Central Europe.
CEINNMAT combines two capabilities rarely found together in a single SME: advanced thermal processing technology (microwave firing for kilns) and hands-on experience with secondary raw material recovery from complex waste streams. Their location in Castellón, the heart of Spain's ceramic tile industry, gives them direct access to one of Europe's most energy-intensive manufacturing clusters — making them a credible bridge between laboratory innovation and industrial deployment. For consortium builders, they offer a partner who can contribute both process engineering and waste valorization expertise at pilot scale.
