SOFIES-EMAC AG

Their core work

SOFIES-EMAC AG is a Swiss SME operating at the intersection of clean technology development and circular economy consulting. Their H2020 footprint reveals two distinct capabilities: the ability to develop and commercialise novel thermochemical processing systems (pyrolysis-based drying for agri-food industries), and expertise in environmental certification and waste treatment standards. The PYROTECH project — which they coordinated — centred on a climate-positive drying system for coffee producers using pyrolysis, a technology that simultaneously recovers energy and produces biochar. Their third-party contribution to CEWASTE, a Europe-wide voluntary certification scheme for waste treatment, suggests they also provide technical or advisory inputs to policy-oriented environmental projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both projects fall in the same year (2018), making it impossible to draw a meaningful temporal trend from this dataset alone. No keyword metadata is available to trace shifts in technical focus. What can be said is that at the point of H2020 engagement, SOFIES was simultaneously pursuing two complementary angles: proprietary technology commercialisation (PYROTECH, SME Phase 1) and participation in standards/policy infrastructure (CEWASTE), which together suggest a consultancy-plus-innovation profile rather than pure research.

With only two concurrent projects from 2018, no directional trend can be established — any future collaboration should be scoped through direct dialogue with the organisation rather than inferred from H2020 data.

How they like to work

SOFIES has taken on a coordinator role in one project (PYROTECH, a small SME Phase 1 feasibility grant) and a third-party position in another (CEWASTE), suggesting flexibility in how they engage rather than a fixed pattern of leadership or followership. Their 19 unique consortium partners across 12 countries — a large network for just two projects — likely reflects the multi-country nature of CEWASTE rather than sustained bilateral partnerships. This points to a firm that can plug into large policy-oriented consortia as a technical expert while also independently leading focused technology development work.

SOFIES has connected with 19 distinct organisations across 12 countries through only two projects, implying broad European reach via the CEWASTE consortium. No repeated partner relationships are visible at this scale of data, so the network appears wide rather than deep.

What sets them apart

SOFIES occupies an unusual niche for a Swiss SME: combining hands-on pyrolysis technology development for agri-food industries with involvement in EU-level waste certification policy work. This dual capability — part technology company, part standards consultant — makes them potentially valuable in projects that need to bridge hardware innovation with regulatory or market-access questions. Their base in Switzerland, outside the EU but deeply integrated with European research networks, can be an asset for consortia needing a non-EU partner to satisfy geographic diversity requirements.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PYROTECH
  Coordinated project developing a pyrolysis-based climate-positive drying system for coffee industries — an unusual combination of thermochemical engineering and tropical agri-food processing, funded under SME Phase 1.
• CEWASTE
  Long-running (2018–2021) coordination action building a voluntary EU-wide certification scheme for waste treatment, suggesting SOFIES has a foothold in emerging circular economy standards infrastructure.