SALSNES FILTER AS

Their core work

Salsnes Filter is a Norwegian equipment manufacturer that builds fine drum screens and micro-filtration systems used at the inlet of wastewater treatment plants. Their core technology mechanically separates suspended solids from wastewater at an early stage, making downstream recovery of valuable materials — phosphorus, cellulose fibers, and bioplastics precursors — technically and economically feasible. In the H2020 SMART-Plant project they contributed their filtration hardware as the enabling step for scaling up low-carbon material recovery inside existing treatment facilities. Their industrial role is that of a technology provider: they supply the physical separation equipment that turns wastewater from a waste stream into a resource stream.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both H2020 projects started in 2016, so there is no meaningful timeline shift within the H2020 portfolio itself — the keyword data for recent projects is empty simply because INTCATCH carried fewer indexed terms, not because focus changed. The early-period work centered on bioresource recovery (phosphorus, bioplastics, cellulose) from wastewater, which maps directly onto Salsnes Filter's commercial product line. There is no observable pivot within this dataset; the company's H2020 participation reinforces rather than expands their core wastewater filtration identity.

With both projects launched in 2016 and the resource-recovery theme consistent across both, Salsnes appears to be deepening its position as a hardware enabler for circular-economy wastewater upgrades rather than diversifying into new domains.

How they like to work

Salsnes has participated exclusively as a consortium partner, never taking a coordinator role, which is typical for industrial equipment suppliers who contribute a defined technology component rather than orchestrating a research agenda. Their two projects involved large, multinational consortia — 43 unique partners across 11 countries — suggesting they are comfortable operating inside complex European research teams where their role is well-scoped and hardware-focused. A future consortium partner should expect a reliable industrial contributor who delivers tested equipment and operational data, not a project management or dissemination lead.

Salsnes has built connections with 43 distinct partners across 11 countries through just two projects, indicating they joined large, well-populated Innovation Action consortia typical of the H2020 water and circular-economy calls. Their network is geographically broad across Europe but there is no evidence of a concentrated bilateral relationship with any specific partner group.

What sets them apart

Salsnes Filter occupies a rare niche: they are a commercial manufacturer of fine drum screens whose physical product is the technical prerequisite for turning a wastewater treatment plant into a material recovery facility. This makes them an unusual H2020 participant — not a university or research institute, but an industrial supplier whose equipment validates the feasibility of circular-economy wastewater concepts at real operating scale. For a consortium targeting Innovation Actions in water treatment or resource recovery, Salsnes brings actual deployable hardware and operational site access, which is often the hardest gap to fill.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SMART-Plant
  This was Salsnes's largest thematic fit: a full-scale Innovation Action to recover phosphorus, cellulose, and bioplastics from existing municipal wastewater plants, where Salsnes fine-screening technology served as the enabling front-end separation step.
• INTCATCH
  The slightly larger of the two grants (EUR 336,219) extended Salsnes's reach into catchment-scale water monitoring, broadening their profile beyond point-source treatment into integrated water management.