NORMEC OWS

Their core work

NORMEC OWS is a Belgian SME specializing in biodegradation testing, composting certification, and anaerobic digestion of organic materials and bio-based products. They provide independent laboratory services to assess whether packaging, plastics, and bio-based materials actually break down under industrial and home composting conditions. Across 19 H2020 projects, they serve as the go-to partner for validating end-of-life claims of bio-based polymers, bioplastics, and organic waste valorization processes. Their practical expertise bridges the gap between material development in the lab and real-world biodegradation and recycling performance.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2018), NORMEC OWS focused heavily on nanomaterial applications for packaging and coatings (OptiNanoPro, NANO-CATHEDRAL), barrier packaging performance, and anaerobic digestion (ELECTHANE, DEMETER). From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward circular economy themes: biodegradation testing, bioplastics recycling, home composting validation, and agricultural waste-to-biofertilizer conversion. The transition from testing advanced materials to certifying their environmental end-of-life reflects the broader EU policy shift toward circularity and the European Green Deal.

NORMEC OWS is deepening its position as the independent testing authority for circular bio-based materials, increasingly focused on validating real-world biodegradation, compostability, and agricultural reuse of organic waste streams.

How they like to work

NORMEC OWS operates almost exclusively as a specialist partner (18 of 19 projects as participant, only 1 as coordinator). They join large consortia — 255 unique partners across 31 countries indicates they are widely trusted and frequently invited. Their consistent role across diverse projects suggests they bring a specific, repeatable testing capability that many consortia need but few can provide in-house, making them an easy and reliable partner to integrate.

With 255 unique consortium partners across 31 countries, NORMEC OWS has one of the widest collaboration networks for a company its size. Their partnerships span nearly all EU member states, with particular density in Western European bio-economy research hubs (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy).

What sets them apart

NORMEC OWS occupies a rare niche: they are an independent, accredited testing lab for biodegradation and compostability that also has deep research project experience. Most testing labs just run standardized tests; OWS understands the R&D context and can contribute to project design, not just validation. For any consortium developing bio-based materials, packaging, or waste valorization processes that need credible end-of-life proof, OWS is the partner that makes your results publishable and your products certifiable.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ELECTHANE
  Their only coordinated project — an SME Phase 1 exploring microbial conversion of CO2 to biogas, showing entrepreneurial ambition beyond their testing services.
• VOLATILE
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 842,500), focused on biowaste-derived building blocks for biopolymers — a core topic linking their waste and materials expertise.
• SEALIVE
  Significant funding (EUR 478,557) addressing both marine and land plastic pollution with bio-based alternatives, standardisation work, and policy input — showing their expanding influence beyond lab testing.