ISTANBUL MADEN VE METALLER IHRACATCI BIRLIKLERI

Their core work

IMMIB (Istanbul Minerals and Metals Exporters' Association) is a Turkish sectoral trade body representing companies in the metals and minerals export industry. In EU research projects, they function as an industrial access point — connecting research consortia to real manufacturing companies that can test and adopt industrial symbiosis practices such as waste heat recovery, CO2 reuse, and wastewater valorization. They also run EIC-aligned coaching programs for SMEs seeking to navigate EU innovation funding. Their value to a consortium is institutional: they open doors to an industrial member base that most research partners cannot reach directly.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IMMIB entered H2020 through an environmental and industrial angle — their first project (CORALIS, 2020) focused squarely on industrial symbiosis, CO2 utilization, and waste heat recovery within manufacturing supply chains. By 2021, their second project (INNOCOACH) marks a distinct pivot toward SME support and EU innovation coaching, suggesting they are broadening from purely environmental industry topics into the role of an innovation intermediary. With only two projects spanning a single year apart, the shift is real but too recent to confirm as a permanent strategic direction.

IMMIB appears to be evolving from a passive industrial network participant into an active intermediary that coaches companies through EU innovation funding — a role shift worth watching if you need a Turkish SME-facing partner for dissemination or business uptake work.

How they like to work

IMMIB splits evenly between coordinating and participating: they led the small INNOCOACH project while joining the much larger CORALIS consortium as a partner. Their 34 unique partners across 7 countries from just two projects suggests they enter large, multi-actor consortia rather than working in tight bilateral arrangements. As a trade association, they are more likely to be recruited for their member-company network and industrial access than for technical research capacity.

IMMIB has engaged 34 distinct consortium partners across 7 countries in just two projects — an unusually broad network for such a small H2020 footprint, reflecting the large consortium structures typical of industrial symbiosis and EIC-linked projects. Their geographic reach extends across EU member states, with Turkey as their home base.

What sets them apart

As one of Turkey's major sectoral exporters' associations in metals and minerals, IMMIB brings something most research partners cannot offer: direct, institutionalized access to Turkish industrial companies operating in heavy manufacturing. For consortia needing a non-EU industrial testbed, dissemination channel, or SME engagement partner in Turkey, IMMIB fills a gap that universities and research institutes typically cannot. Their dual role — industrial network plus EIC coaching — makes them a credible bridge between EU funding and real business uptake.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CORALIS
  The largest of their two projects (€222,500 EC funding, running through 2025), positioning IMMIB as an industrial symbiosis facilitator within a multi-country consortium tackling CO2 reuse, waste heat, and wastewater — rare applied circular economy work with direct industry involvement.
• INNOCOACH
  IMMIB's only coordinator role, a short-cycle EIC coaching project (2021–2022) demonstrating their capacity to manage EU-funded SME support programs independently, not just participate in research-led consortia.