ISTANBUL CHEMICALS AND CHEMICAL PRODUCTS EXPORTERS' ASSOCIATION

Their core work

IKMIB is Turkey's exporters' association representing the chemical and chemical products sector, headquartered in Istanbul. As an industry body, they connect member companies — spanning polymer processors, specialty chemical manufacturers, and related supply chains — to innovation networks and European research programs. In H2020, they served as an industry voice and dissemination channel: bringing real market context to research consortia and spreading project results to their membership base of chemical exporters. Their participation in both an SME networking project and a large-scale SPIRE plastic recycling demonstration reveals an association actively bridging its members toward the European circular economy agenda.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 engagement (NIR-VANA, 2016–2018), IKMIB focused squarely on SME support infrastructure: networking alliances, innovation agents, and ICT tools for added-value services — all consistent with a trade association's core mandate. By 2018 they pivoted toward technical process industry work, joining a large SPIRE demonstration project on sustainable plastic recycling with complex polymer chemistry and novel processing methods. The trajectory suggests they are repositioning from a generic industry networker toward a more technically engaged partner in the circular economy and sustainable chemicals space.

IKMIB is moving from broad SME facilitation roles toward targeted circular economy and sustainable process industry consortia, making them a relevant industry partner for future projects in chemical recycling, polymer value chains, or Turkish industrial sector engagement.

How they like to work

IKMIB participates exclusively as a non-coordinating partner, consistent with an industry association role focused on dissemination, stakeholder outreach, and market feedback rather than scientific or technical leadership. Despite only two projects, they have engaged with 33 distinct partners across 12 countries, indicating they are placed in large, well-connected consortia rather than small specialist teams. This breadth of network exposure makes them a practical gateway to the Turkish chemical industry and a credible dissemination arm for European process industry initiatives.

IKMIB has connected with 33 unique consortium partners across 12 countries through just two projects, reflecting placement in large, multi-national initiatives spanning European chemicals, manufacturing, and SME innovation networks. Their anchor value is the Turkish chemical export sector — a market connection that few European research partners can replicate.

What sets them apart

As Turkey's dedicated exporters' association for the chemicals sector, IKMIB is one of the few Turkish industry bodies with demonstrated H2020 participation in both SME innovation and sustainable process industry programs. For a consortium needing a Turkish industry gateway — particularly for chemical, polymer, or automotive supply chain engagement — IKMIB offers direct reach to a large membership of active exporters who are potential end-users or early adopters of research outcomes. Their value is dissemination capacity and industrial credibility, not in-house R&D.

Highlights from their portfolio

• POLYNSPIRE
  Their largest project by EC funding (EUR 163,750), part of the SPIRE public-private partnership, covering advanced polymer recycling via vitrimers, microwave processing, and magnetic catalysts — an unusually technical engagement for a trade association.
• NIR-VANA
  Their H2020 entry project, directly aligned with IKMIB's core mandate of connecting SMEs to innovation support through networking alliances and ICT-enabled added-value services.