OMYA INTERNATIONAL AG

Their core work

Omya International is a major Swiss industrial minerals company, globally recognized for calcium carbonate processing and distribution. In H2020, they contribute minerals processing and separation expertise to projects focused on recovering valuable materials from waste streams — including desalination brines and biomass. Their role bridges industrial-scale mineral handling with emerging circular economy applications, bringing decades of process engineering knowledge to research consortia tackling resource recovery and bio-based chemistry.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Omya's early H2020 involvement (PROVIDES, 2015-2018) focused on bio-based solvents for fibre processing, suggesting initial exploration of green chemistry applications. By 2020, their focus shifted decisively toward resource recovery — mineral extraction from desalination brines (SEA4VALUE) and biomass-derived fine chemicals (AFTERBIOCHEM). This trajectory shows a company pivoting from process chemistry experiments toward circular economy and critical raw materials recovery, aligning with EU strategic priorities on resource independence.

Omya is moving toward critical raw materials recovery and circular resource extraction, making them a relevant partner for projects addressing EU raw materials dependency.

How they like to work

Omya consistently participates as a partner rather than leading consortia, contributing industrial-scale processing expertise to research-driven projects. With 57 unique partners across 12 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia — typical for a major industrial player that provides end-use validation and scale-up knowledge. They appear to function as the industrial anchor that gives research projects a pathway to real-world application.

Despite only three projects, Omya has built a broad network of 57 partners across 12 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes typical of BBI and RIA projects. Their reach is pan-European with no narrow geographic concentration.

What sets them apart

Omya brings something rare to EU research consortia: a global industrial minerals company with massive-scale processing infrastructure and deep expertise in separation, concentration, and crystallisation technologies. While many partners contribute research knowledge, Omya offers the industrial validation environment needed to move mineral recovery and bio-processing concepts toward market readiness. Their participation signals that a project has a credible path from lab-scale results to industrial implementation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SEA4VALUE
  Directly addresses EU critical raw materials dependency by developing methods to extract minerals from desalination brines — a strategically important topic with growing policy relevance.
• AFTERBIOCHEM
  Combines anaerobic fermentation with esterification for fine chemical production from biomass, representing Omya's push into bio-based circular economy applications.