METLEN ENERGY AND METALS MONOPROSOPI AE

Their core work

METLEN (formerly Mytilineos) is one of Greece's largest industrial conglomerates, operating across aluminium and alumina production, power generation, and energy trading. In H2020, they contribute industrial-scale metallurgical infrastructure and operational data from their aluminium smelters and power plants, serving as a real-world validation site for new processes. Their dual business in metals and energy gives them a unique position to test both waste valorization technologies (turning bauxite residue into useful products) and smart energy management systems at industrial scale. They bring the factory floor to EU research — not lab experiments, but actual industrial environments where technologies must prove they work.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), METLEN pursued two parallel tracks: rare earth element recovery from their own industrial by-products (scandium from bauxite residue, REE extraction) and smart energy management for buildings and consumers (demand response, smart homes, interoperability). From 2019 onward, the metals side deepened significantly into circular economy — aluminium scrap recycling, slag treatment, hydrometallurgy, low-CO2 cement from residues — while the energy side shifted from consumer-level demand response toward system-level concerns like TSO-DSO coordination, energy-intensive industry decarbonization, and industrial waste heat recovery. The two tracks are converging: their most recent projects address how heavy industry can become both cleaner and more resource-efficient simultaneously.

METLEN is moving toward green metallurgy — combining hydrogen-based metal recovery, waste-to-product loops, and renewable energy integration for heavy industry, making them a strong future partner for industrial sustainability projects.

How they like to work

METLEN operates predominantly as an industrial partner (17 of 19 projects), providing real-world test sites, operational data, and industrial process expertise rather than leading research design. They coordinated only two projects (SCALE, RemovAL), both focused squarely on their core metallurgical waste — suggesting they lead when the topic is closest to their own production lines. With 314 unique partners across 35 countries, they are a well-connected hub that works comfortably in large Innovation Action consortia, which fits their role as the industrial validator that takes lab-proven concepts to pilot scale.

Extensive European network spanning 314 unique partners across 35 countries, built through 19 projects — predominantly in large IA consortia. Their network bridges two distinct communities: metals/mining researchers and energy systems innovators, making them a valuable connector between these worlds.

What sets them apart

METLEN is rare in H2020: a large industrial company that actively participates across both the energy and raw materials domains, not just one. Their aluminium smelters and power plants are living laboratories — they don't just test technologies in controlled conditions, they deploy them where tonnes of bauxite residue and megawatts of energy flow daily. For consortium builders, this means access to real industrial waste streams, real energy consumption data, and a partner with genuine commercial motivation to adopt what works.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ENSUREAL
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 1.55M) — cross-sectorial approach to sustainable alumina production integrating circular economy principles at industrial scale.
• RemovAL
  One of two projects METLEN coordinated, targeting zero-waste aluminium production across multiple European metal sectors with EUR 1.29M EC funding.
• SCALE
  METLEN's first coordinator role — pioneered scandium recovery from their own bauxite residue, turning an industrial liability into a high-value product.