SOPREMA

Their core work

SOPREMA is a major French building materials manufacturer specializing in waterproofing, insulation, and roofing products, headquartered in Strasbourg. In H2020, they contribute industrial expertise in construction materials — from advanced vacuum insulation panels to bio-based and circular building products. They serve as an end-user and demonstration partner, helping translate laboratory innovations into commercially viable construction solutions. Their recent R&D extends into plastic recycling and bio-based materials, reflecting a strategic push toward circular economy across their product lines.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

SOPREMA's early H2020 involvement (2015–2019) centered on traditional building performance — vacuum insulation panels, superinsulation, and high-performance thermal materials (INNOVIP, P4SB). From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward circular economy and sustainability: plastic recycling via biological routes (MIX-UP, ENZYCLE), circular construction with material recovery (ICEBERG, BASAJAUN), and digitally-enabled energy-efficient buildings (PROBONO). This evolution mirrors the construction industry's broader pivot from pure energy efficiency toward full lifecycle circularity and bio-based alternatives.

SOPREMA is moving toward bio-based and recycled-content building materials, combining biotechnology with construction expertise — expect future interest in lifecycle circularity and green building certification.

How they like to work

SOPREMA participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, consistent with a large industrial company contributing application expertise and market access rather than leading research agendas. With 188 unique partners across 25 countries, they are a highly networked but non-repetitive collaborator — joining diverse consortia rather than returning to the same partners. This suggests they are valued as an industry end-user who can validate and demonstrate research outputs at commercial scale.

SOPREMA has collaborated with 188 unique partners across 25 countries, indicating a very broad European network. Their consortia span construction, biotechnology, and environmental research communities, giving them unusual cross-sector connectivity for an industrial partner.

What sets them apart

SOPREMA bridges two worlds that rarely overlap in H2020: advanced biotechnology (enzymatic recycling, microbial upcycling, synthetic biology) and industrial construction (insulation, roofing, building envelopes). This dual fluency makes them a rare partner who can translate bio-based polymer research into mass-market building products. For consortium builders, they offer what few companies can — a direct pathway from lab-scale bio-material to commercial construction application, backed by an established manufacturing and distribution network.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PROBONO
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 501,568) and most recent project, focused on energy-efficient connected buildings with BIM and building-integrated photovoltaics.
• ICEBERG
  Combines digital tools (BIM audits, RFID tracing) with circular construction — represents SOPREMA's convergence of digitalization and material circularity.
• MIX-UP
  Unusual participation for a construction company: microbial upcycling of mixed plastics into PHA bioplastics, signaling interest in bio-based raw materials for their products.