Italian SME specializing in nanomaterials, thermal spray coatings, powder metallurgy, and lightweight alloy production for industrial applications.
MBN Nanomaterialia is an Italian SME specializing in advanced nanomaterials, powder metallurgy, and surface coatings for industrial applications. They develop and scale up nanocomposites, thermal spray coatings, and lightweight metal alloys for sectors including automotive, aerospace, energy harvesting, and packaging. Their core capability is bridging lab-scale nanomaterial production with pilot and industrial manufacturing — they operate processing and pilot production lines and contribute materials expertise to large European consortia. They also work on recycling and recovery of critical raw materials such as rare-earth magnets and precious metals from end-of-life products.
Coordinator of BoosT (green carbide coatings) and FORGE (coatings for high-energy processing), plus participation in PROCETS (electrodeposition coatings) and contributions to protective coating work.
Core participant in OptiNanoPro (nanocomposites for packaging/automotive/solar), NANORESTART (nanomaterials for art restoration), FAST-SMART (nano-enabled energy harvesting), and involved in nanodeposition and electrospray processes.
Coordinator of FLAMINGo (aluminium metal matrix composites), participant in SUPREME (powder metallurgy optimization), LightMe (lightweight metal alloy upscaling), and NOVAMAG (permanent magnet alloy synthesis).
Participant in FENIX (industrial secondary resources recovery), PASSENGER (RE-free magnets), and PEACOC (precious metals recovery from WEEE and automotive catalysts).
Participant in FAST-SMART (piezoelectric and thermoelectric nanomaterials) and INTEGRAL (thermoelectric generators for industrial applications).
Participant in MarketPlace (materials modelling marketplace) and FORGE (machine learning for coatings), indicating growing engagement with computational materials engineering.
In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), MBN focused on nanomaterial synthesis and processing — nanoparticles, nanocontainers, graphene, nanocellulose, and nanocomposite production lines for packaging, solar panels, and art conservation. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward industrial-scale metallurgy: casting, recycling, additive manufacturing, powder technology, and recovery of critical raw materials like permanent magnets and precious metals. This evolution shows a company maturing from nanomaterial R&D toward applied materials manufacturing and circular economy solutions.
MBN is moving toward circular economy applications — recycling critical raw materials and developing sustainable lightweight alloys — making them a strong partner for green manufacturing and resource recovery projects.
MBN primarily operates as an active partner (17 of 21 participations), joining large consortia where they contribute specialized materials processing and pilot production capabilities. They have coordinated three projects (BoosT, FORGE, FLAMINGo), all focused on their core strengths in coatings and lightweight alloys, showing they lead when the topic aligns tightly with their manufacturing know-how. With 272 unique partners across 30 countries, they are a well-connected hub in the European advanced materials ecosystem — a reliable consortium partner with broad reach.
MBN has collaborated with 272 unique partners across 30 countries, giving them one of the broadest networks among Italian materials SMEs. Their partnerships span Western and Eastern Europe comprehensively, with strong ties to manufacturing and research organizations across the continent.
MBN occupies a rare niche as an SME that can both develop advanced nanomaterials and scale them to pilot production — most companies do one or the other. Their combination of thermal spray coatings, powder metallurgy, and nanocomposite processing under one roof makes them a versatile materials partner who can contribute across multiple project work packages. Their recent pivot toward recycling and critical raw materials recovery adds a circular economy dimension that is increasingly in demand for Horizon Europe proposals.
