Nanoforce Technology Limited

Their core work

Nanoforce Technology is a London-based materials characterization and testing company specializing in advanced ceramics, composites, glasses, and nano-structured materials. They provide expert characterization services including nanoindentation, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and mechanical testing for industrial and academic clients. Their work bridges the gap between laboratory-scale nanomaterial development and real-world industrial applications, particularly in sectors requiring high-performance materials such as manufacturing and resource-efficient technologies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Nanoforce's early H2020 involvement (2015) centered on physical materials — processing nano-composites and developing advanced glasses and ceramics for industrial use. By 2017, their focus shifted toward characterization methodology itself: open modelling environments, metadata standards, and systematic testing protocols (nanoindentation, AFM). This signals a move from being purely a materials testing provider toward contributing to the digital infrastructure of materials science.

Nanoforce is moving toward digital materials characterization — open modelling platforms and standardized metadata — positioning them at the intersection of physical testing and materials informatics.

How they like to work

Nanoforce operates exclusively as a participant, never leading consortia — consistent with a specialist service provider that contributes specific technical capabilities rather than managing large projects. With 40 unique partners across 19 countries from just 3 projects, they participate in large, internationally diverse consortia (particularly MSCA training networks). This broad network suggests they are well-connected and comfortable working across different research cultures and institutional types.

Despite only 3 projects, Nanoforce has built a remarkably wide network of 40 partners across 19 countries, largely through participation in MSCA mobility and training networks. Their reach spans well beyond the UK into a truly pan-European collaboration footprint.

What sets them apart

Nanoforce occupies a niche as a private-sector nanomechanical characterization specialist — rare among H2020 participants, where such testing is typically housed in universities. As a commercial entity offering nanoindentation, AFM, and materials modelling services, they provide consortium partners with industrial-grade testing capacity that academic labs often cannot deliver at scale. Their participation in both MSCA training networks and RIA research projects shows they can operate across the full spectrum from researcher training to applied industrial R&D.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CoACH
  Largest funding (EUR 546,576) — focused on translating advanced glasses and ceramics research into applications for high-growth industries.
• Oyster
  Most forward-looking project, building an open characterisation and modelling environment for nano-architected materials with emphasis on metadata and digital tools.