SYNCOM FORSCHUNGS- UND ENTWICKLUNGSBERATUNG GMBH

Their core work

SYNCOM is a German R&D consulting firm (as indicated by "Forschungs- und Entwicklungsberatung") specializing in bioeconomy and sustainable energy from biomass. They advise on the conversion of biological feedstocks — landscape maintenance residues, lignocellulosic biomass, and biological catalysts — into fuels, solvents, and bio-based chemicals. Their project portfolio suggests they bridge research concepts and market application, helping consortia navigate the path from laboratory findings to demonstration-scale production.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

With only three projects all launched between 2015 and 2016, SYNCOM's H2020 portfolio is too compact to show a strong temporal evolution. However, there is a thematic progression from general biomass-to-energy concepts (greenGain, a CSA coordination action) toward more specific industrial demonstration of bio-based products (GreenSolRes, a BBI demonstration project running until 2021). This suggests a shift from upstream advisory work toward applied, market-ready bioeconomy applications.

SYNCOM appears to be moving from broad bioenergy advisory toward hands-on involvement in industrial bioeconomy demonstration, particularly bio-based chemicals and materials.

How they like to work

SYNCOM operates exclusively as a participant, never leading consortia — consistent with a consulting SME that brings specialized advisory capacity rather than research infrastructure. With 31 unique partners across just 3 projects, they work in medium-to-large consortia and engage with a wide variety of organizations rather than repeating partnerships. This broad network suggests they are adaptable collaborators who can integrate into diverse project teams.

Despite only three projects, SYNCOM has built a network spanning 31 partners across 12 countries, indicating they participate in geographically diverse European consortia rather than clustering around a regional hub.

What sets them apart

SYNCOM occupies a niche as a bioeconomy-focused R&D consultancy — not a research lab and not a manufacturer, but a bridge between the two. Their participation across all three major H2020 funding types (CSA, RIA, and BBI-IA-DEMO) shows versatility in supporting projects at different maturity stages. For consortium builders, they offer the kind of business-oriented advisory and dissemination support that technical partners often lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• GreenSolRes
  A Bio-Based Industries demonstration project (BBI-IA-DEMO) running five years with their largest single funding share (EUR 442,947), focused on producing solvents and resins from lignocellulosic biomass.
• Photofuel
  An ambitious five-year RIA exploring biocatalytic solar fuels for mobility — an unconventional intersection of biology and solar energy that sets it apart from standard biofuel research.