NATIONALMUSEET

Their core work

The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, with deep research capabilities in heritage conservation, archaeology, and material culture studies. In H2020, they contributed expertise in nanomaterial-based conservation of artworks, archaeological DNA analysis, and the cultural history of dress and religious artefacts. Their work bridges hard science (nanomaterials, environmental DNA, computational models) with humanities research (fashion history, medieval relics), making them a rare interdisciplinary partner for cultural heritage projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2018), Nationalmuseet focused on conservation science and nanomaterials — working on nanoparticles, graphene, and nanocellulose for restoring modern artworks, alongside heritage research infrastructure. From 2020 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward humanities-driven research: medieval relics, Renaissance fashion, and computational archaeology using environmental DNA and machine learning. The trajectory shows a move from lab-based material science toward data-driven and historically interpretive research.

Nationalmuseet is moving toward computationally intensive heritage research — environmental DNA and AI models applied to archaeological questions — suggesting future collaborations will blend digital methods with museum collections.

How they like to work

Nationalmuseet primarily joins projects as a participant or third party (4 of 5 projects), coordinating only one Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship (TRANSLATIO). With 58 unique partners across 18 countries, they maintain a broad European network rather than a tight cluster of repeat collaborators. This profile suggests a specialist contributor that brings unique museum collections and heritage expertise to large consortia led by others.

Nationalmuseet has collaborated with 58 unique partners across 18 countries, indicating a wide European network typical of a nationally prominent museum. Their partnerships span both science-focused and humanities-focused consortia.

What sets them apart

Nationalmuseet combines access to one of Europe's richest cultural heritage collections with genuine scientific research capacity — from nanomaterial chemistry to environmental DNA. Few museums can contribute both physical artefact access and active laboratory research to EU consortia. For consortium builders, they offer something universities and research institutes cannot: real objects, curatorial expertise, and public engagement infrastructure alongside peer-reviewed science.

Highlights from their portfolio

• COREX
  Largest single grant (EUR 456,990) and most ambitious scope — an ERC Synergy Grant applying AI and environmental DNA to rewrite European prehistory, running until 2028.
• NANORESTART
  Demonstrates hard-science capability: developing graphene, nanocellulose, and nanoparticle-based tools specifically for conserving modern and contemporary artworks.
• TRANSLATIO
  Their only coordinated project — a Marie Curie fellowship on medieval relics, showing independent research leadership in cultural history.