KNOWLEDGE INNOVATION MARKET SL

Their core work

KIM is a Barcelona-based innovation consultancy specializing in technology transfer, knowledge management, and the commercialization of research results. Rather than conducting R&D themselves, they help research consortia bridge the gap between laboratory outcomes and market adoption — handling exploitation strategies, dissemination, capacity building, and business development within EU-funded projects. Their project portfolio spans wildly diverse technical domains (from nanotechnology to dairy farming to energy retrofitting), which is the hallmark of a horizontal service provider rather than a domain specialist.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

KIM's early H2020 work (2015-2016) centered explicitly on technology transfer infrastructure — best practices for commercialization, coaching research organizations, and building capacity for knowledge exchange (PROGRESS-TT). Their later projects (2016-2017 onward) shifted toward embedding those same skills within applied research consortia across energy, health, and biotech domains (ABRACADABRA, HypoSens, SilkFUSION). This evolution suggests KIM moved from developing TT methodologies to deploying them as a service within diverse technical projects.

KIM appears to be positioning itself as an embedded commercialization partner within research projects rather than a standalone TT advisor, making them relevant for consortia that need market-facing expertise alongside deep science.

How they like to work

KIM operates exclusively as a participant — never coordinating — which is typical for horizontal service providers who join consortia to deliver specific work packages around exploitation, dissemination, or business modelling. With 64 unique partners across 20 countries from just 7 projects, they show no loyalty to repeat partners; instead, they connect to a different network each time. This makes them easy to integrate into new consortia but unlikely to bring an existing cluster of partners along.

KIM has collaborated with 64 distinct organizations across 20 countries through 7 projects, giving them a broad but shallow European network. Their Barcelona base and wide geographic spread suggest pan-European reach without a strong regional cluster.

What sets them apart

KIM's differentiator is their ability to serve as the commercialization and exploitation partner across virtually any technical domain — they are sector-agnostic by design. For consortium builders, this means one partner who can handle the market-facing work packages (exploitation plans, business models, dissemination) without needing domain-specific onboarding. Their track record across energy, health, nanotech, and agri-food demonstrates this flexibility.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PROGRESS-TT
  Most revealing of KIM's core identity — an explicit technology transfer best-practices project focused on commercialization and capacity building for public research organizations.
• HypoSens
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 240,250) and demonstrates KIM's ability to operate in advanced health/nanotech domains despite being a non-technical partner.
• ABRACADABRA
  Shows KIM contributing to a concrete applied-energy challenge (near-zero energy building retrofitting), their most technically specific project involvement.