Spanish manufacturer of screen-printed electrochemical sensors, supplying detection platforms for security, health monitoring, and nanomaterial research consortia.
Metrohm DropSens is a Spanish instrumentation company specializing in screen-printed electrodes and electrochemical sensor platforms. They design and manufacture miniaturized electrochemical devices used for chemical detection, biosensing, and materials characterization. In H2020 projects, they supply sensor hardware and electrochemical expertise to consortia working on drug detection at borders, health monitoring systems, biofilm analysis, and graphene-based applications. As part of the Metrohm Group (a major analytical chemistry company), they are not an SME but rather a specialized product division focused on portable electrochemistry.
Core to their contribution in BorderSens (illicit drug detection), SIXTHSENSE (health monitoring), BREAK BIOFILMS (ultrasensitive detection), and GrapheneCore2 (sensor applications).
Participated in both phases of the Graphene Flagship (GrapheneCore1 and GrapheneCore2), contributing to sensor and electronics workstreams.
BorderSens project focused on electrochemical detection of illicit drugs and precursors at border crossings, their largest single funding (EUR 517,500).
SIXTHSENSE project developed unobtrusive health monitors with sensory feedback for extreme environments (EUR 402,812).
BREAK BIOFILMS project applied nanoelectrochemistry and ultrasensitive detection methods to study bacterial biofilms and nanoantimicrobials.
In 2016–2018, Metrohm DropSens focused on fundamental graphene research and broad materials science through the Graphene Flagship, contributing to electronics, photonics, and sensor development at a foundational level. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward applied sensing in specific domains: drug detection at borders, wearable health monitoring in extreme environments, and nanoscale biofilm analysis. This trajectory shows a clear move from basic materials research toward targeted, application-driven sensor deployment in security and life sciences.
Moving from fundamental sensor R&D toward field-deployable electrochemical detection for security, health, and environmental monitoring applications.
Metrohm DropSens operates exclusively as a participant or third party — never as coordinator — which is consistent with their role as a specialized technology supplier embedded in larger research consortia. With 285 unique partners across 31 countries from just 5 projects, they work in very large consortia (the Graphene Flagship alone accounts for hundreds of partners). This suggests they are a trusted sensor provider that gets pulled into ambitious, multi-partner EU projects rather than building their own small focused teams.
Extremely broad network of 285 partners across 31 countries, largely inherited from participation in the Graphene Flagship mega-project. Their direct working relationships are likely concentrated among the sensor and electronics work packages within these large consortia.
Metrohm DropSens occupies a rare niche: they are an established commercial manufacturer of electrochemical sensor platforms who also participates actively in EU research. Most sensor companies either sell products or do research — DropSens does both, meaning they can take a prototype from a research project and integrate it into a commercially available product line. For consortium builders, they bring not just expertise but a direct path to market for electrochemical sensing innovations.
