SURAGUS GMBH

Their core work

SURAGUS GmbH is a Dresden-based measurement technology company specializing in non-destructive, contactless characterization of thin films, coatings, and semiconductor materials using eddy current and terahertz-based sensor systems. Their core product is in-line metrology equipment that measures electrical and structural properties of materials during production — enabling real-time quality control without interrupting the manufacturing process. In H2020 projects they contributed their measurement expertise to organic electronics roll-to-roll manufacturing lines and, more recently, to silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor production for electric vehicle inverters and smart grid components. They are an enabling-technology provider: their instruments sit inside other companies' production lines and make high-volume manufacturing of advanced materials viable.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (2017–2020), SURAGUS was firmly anchored in organic electronics — measuring sheet resistance and layer quality on roll-to-roll organic photovoltaic and automotive coating lines, a niche but technically demanding application of their eddy current sensors. By their second project (2021–2024), the application domain had shifted entirely to SiC power semiconductors, supplying the EV inverter and smart grid supply chain with the same non-destructive measurement approach applied to a completely different material class. The underlying capability — contactless electrical characterization during manufacturing — remains constant, but the market addressed has moved from flexible organic devices toward hard-power semiconductors that are central to the energy transition.

SURAGUS is pivoting its established metrology platform toward the booming SiC power semiconductor market, making them a candidate partner for any consortium working on EV drivetrains, power electronics manufacturing, or green energy infrastructure where in-line quality assurance of wide-bandgap semiconductors is needed.

How they like to work

SURAGUS joins consortia as a specialist contributor rather than a lead — they have not coordinated any H2020 project, reflecting the typical profile of an SME instrument-maker that provides a specific enabling technology within a larger industrial value chain. With 41 unique partners across 10 countries in just two projects, they work inside large Innovation Action consortia, suggesting they are comfortable operating alongside major industrial players and research institutes simultaneously. This breadth of partners relative to project count indicates they are sought out as a precise technical component rather than a generalist system integrator.

SURAGUS has built a remarkably wide network for a two-project SME — 41 unique partners spanning 10 countries, pointing to large cross-national Innovation Action consortia in both organic electronics and semiconductor manufacturing. Their geographic footprint is European, with the German industrial base as a likely anchor.

What sets them apart

SURAGUS occupies a very specific and hard-to-replace niche: they make the instruments that tell manufacturers whether their advanced thin-film or semiconductor process is actually working — without stopping the line or touching the material. Very few SMEs in Europe combine contactless eddy current sensor design with application expertise that spans both organic photovoltaics and SiC power electronics. For a consortium building a manufacturing pilot line for any thin-film or wide-bandgap semiconductor process, SURAGUS provides measurement capability that would otherwise require either expensive custom development or reliance on academic lab equipment not suited to production environments.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SmartLine
  Largest single funding award (€427,700) and their entry into EU consortia, targeting yield improvement in organic photovoltaic roll-to-roll manufacturing — a technically demanding in-line metrology challenge.
• TRANSFORM
  Marks SURAGUS's strategic entry into the SiC semiconductor value chain, positioning their measurement tools inside the European supply chain for EV inverters and smart grid power electronics.