CIDETEC is a private organization for applied research founded in 1997 that seeks to contribute value to companies by harnessing, generating and transferring technological knowledge. CIDETEC workforce consists of 260 employees, 95% of whom are university graduates and 40% PhD holders.CIDETEC currently has 25 families of active patents and its volume of activity reached 15M€ in 2021. Located in the Donostia-San Sebastián site of Gipuzkoa’s Scientific and Technological Park, CIDETEC is comprised of three international technological reference institutes in energy storage, nanomedicine and surface engineering:

•           CIDETEC Energy Storage

The CIDETEC institute for Energy Storage specialises in creating new battery technology and facilitating its transfer to industry. The institute has the capacity to develop complete products and processes and offers material validation, pilot manufacture, pack engineering and battery testing services.

•           CIDETEC Nanomedicine

The CIDETEC institute for Nanomedicine is devoted to the development of innovative materials in the field of biomedicine. The institute bases its activity on the creation of its own technology and currently has obtained patents for three product families, with several more applications pending. Its direct contact with industry enables it to complete technology transfer, reducing time to market.

Each institute has its own offices and installations furnished with top-of-the-line equipment, among them a pilot plant for integrated battery manufacture; equipment to synthesise, characterise and process polymers and advanced composites; laboratories completely equipped for surface study, characterisation and treatment; and 150 m2 of rooms classified and prepared for GMP-standard product manufacture in the biopharmaceutical sector.

•           CIDETEC Surface Engineering

The CIDETEC institute for Surface Engineering is a reference institute and the main thrust of an innovation pole specialising in the development of these technologies, providing surface solutions throughout the entire value chain for the automotive, aerospace, extreme environment and other sectors.

Surface Engineering institute has a building with 4,000 m2 dedicated to laboratories and pilot plants.

It has a proven “know-how” in the development of surface technologies and materials (coatings and polymers and composites) for the improvement of materials properties (aesthetics, corrosion, tribological properties, new functionalities, multifunctional properties, etc.). The work of the Surface Engineering Institute is guided by sustainable development and the need to obtain surfaces and materials that feature certain properties. At this institute we cover the whole value chain, from the characterisation of bulk and surface properties to the design of tailor-made materials and treatments to obtain specific properties and the design and industrial scale-up of different coating and surface modification techniques. To do this, we have dedicated industrial facilities. The following are some of the technology areas covered at CIDETEC Surface Engineering:

• • Surface preparation: chemical, mechanical and electrochemical treatments
  • Electrodeposition of metals, alloys and composites
  • Electroless coatings
  • Chemical, mechanical and electrochemical stripping methods
  • Paintings and sol-gel coatings
  • Anodising and surface treatments for lightweight alloys
  • Corrosion monitoring and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
  • Electrophoretic deposition
  • Nanosurfaces
  • Printing techniques: e.g. Screen Printing, Inkjet Printing
  • Taylor made thermoplastics with special properties
  • Bioplastics /Biocomposites from renewable resources
  • Development of novel thermoset resins and composites