IMDEA Materials Institute – IMDEA Initiative

The high cost of platinum is one of the main barriers to the wider adoption of hydrogen fuel cells. Now, researchers at IMDEA Materials Institute have developed a catalyst that delivers the same performance while using 75% less of this expensive metal.

Additive manufacturing is transforming the way metal components are produced for industries such as aerospace, automotive and energy. Among the technologies with the greatest potential is binder jetting, a process capable of manufacturing metal parts quickly, accurately and at industrial scale.

A research team from IMDEA Materials, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and the Alfonso X el Sabio University (UAX) has published a systematic map in Advanced Engineering Materials that combines the mechanical and acoustic properties of TPMS cellular structures.

3D printing is revolutionising the manufacture of personalised implants, homes, and even infrastructure for space exploration. Its versatility places it among the technologies with the greatest potential to transform science and engineering.

IMDEA Materials Institute, in conjunction with several Chinese research centres, has developed an acoustic imaging method that overcomes the fundamental limitations of technologies such as ultrasound imaging.

Imagine buying three identical 3D printers. Despite being the same brand, the same model and even having similar seral numbers, each machine may behave slightly differently. Over time, and at scale, these differences can accumulate into significant manufacturing defects.

How are the metallic materials that will enable the technologies of the future designed, manufactured and characterised? This was the central question of the AM2C3 Summer School, held this month at IMDEA Materials Institute.

BIOMET4D congratulates former IMDEA Materials Institute doctoral researcher, Ángela Castro María, after she successfully defended her PHD at the Charles III University of Madrid.

We may be witnessing one of the most fascinating stories to emerge from the highly productive past few years of research in quantum physics and advanced materials.

We are pleased to announce the publication of IMDEA Materials' 2025 Annual Report, providing a comprehensive overview of the Institute's activities, scientific achievements and institutional developments throughout the past year.

IMDEA Materials Institute has developed mechanically tunable hydrogel membranes that closely mimic the mechanical environment of human skin while remaining highly biocompatible, representing an improved platform for skin tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Within the broad field of advanced therapies, which includes cell therapy and gene therapy, tissue engineering has emerged as one of the most promising tools for transforming the medicine of the future.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EQUIPMENT Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) Thermo Fisher Scientific Apreo 2S LoVac. The microscope is equipped with a NiCol electron column with immersion lens and beam deceleration capabilities. Everhart-Thornley Detector (ETD), in-lens Trinity Detector System (T1,T2,T3), retractable backscatter detector (CBS/ABS), low-vacuum detector (LVD) and GAD-CBS/ABS …

IMDEA Materials Institute is pleased to announce the successful completion of the selection process for the ATENEA call, marking an important milestone in the implementation of this Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) COFUND programme coordinated by IMDEA Materials Institute.

IMDEA Materials Institute and the University of Tennessee have established a partnership to provide research fellowship opportunities for PhD students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering to complete the research component of their degree program at both locations, effective July 1, 2026.

A new European initiative, MaterialsCommons, has launched to bring together shared digital resources, such as data and workflow tools, to form a connected European infrastructure that can be accessed through a single entry point.

4D printed Nitinol metamaterials: from algorithmic design of textile-based soft-stiff architectures towards next-generation medical implants Author/s: Carlos Aguilar Vega Director/s: Andrés Díaz Lantada Defence Date: 21/05/2026 Ph.D. Awarding Institution: School of Industrial Engineering, Technical University of Madrid Abstract Since its serendipitous discovery, Nitinol has undergone a significan…

Deformation and crack initiation mechanisms under low-cycle fatigue in Ni-based supperalloys Author/s: Ignacio Escobar Director/s: Javier LLorca Martínez Defence Date: 24/04/2026 Ph.D. Awarding Institution: School of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Madrid Abstract Ni-based superalloys are essential for components operating under high stress, elevated thermal and extreme mechanical cond…

Construction of efficient intumescent flame-retardant systems based on multi-group synergy: properties and mechanism in polypropylene Author/s: Wei Tang Director/s: De Yi Wang and Silvia González Prolongo Defence Date: 23/1/2026 Ph.D. Awarding Institution: Rey Juan Carlos University PDF Download Abstract This dissertation focuses on the molecular design and development of advanced intumescent fla…

Additive manufacturing of funtionally graded materials: insights from advanced characterization and computational thermodynamics Author/s: Jorge Valilla Director/s: Damien Tourret and Ilchat Sabirov Defence Date: 30/01/2026 Ph.D. Awarding Institution: Jorge Valilla PDF Download Abstract With the growing interest in additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic materials, several techniques have evolved…