Meet our Coordinator: The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

The CILANTRO project is coordinated by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain’s largest public research organisation. Founded in 1939, CSIC operates over 120 specialised institutes. Its mission is to address major global challenges – such as the ecological transition and digital transformation – through high-impact, multidisciplinary research.

Within CILANTRO, CSIC draws on the combined expertise of two world-class centres: the Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Sciences (IETcc) and the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (ICP).

Pioneering Construction Science: IETcc

The Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Sciences (IETcc) is a historic leader in the field, founded in 1934 by the visionary engineer Eduardo Torroja. Today, it continues to shape the future of construction materials and sustainable performance.

For the first time in its history, IETcc is leading a European Pathfinder project. This milestone showcases the institute’s international scientific leadership in tackling the climate crisis. Two key research groups from IETcc drive the science behind CILANTRO:

Sustainable Interaction of Construction Materials (ISCMA)

This group focuses on creating technology that reduces the environmental footprint of the built environment. ISCMA is a pioneer in multidisciplinary studies on complex chemical phenomena and hosts the LaTTe (Tribochemistry and Triboemissions Research Laboratory).

• Román Nevshupa: Consortium Coordinator, Senior Researcher, and Head of Department.
• Marta Castellote: Research Professor and Vice-Director of IETcc.
• Esmeralda Muñoz: Laboratory Technician.
• Ridwan Olamide Agbaoye: Post-doctoral Researcher.

Chemistry of Cement Group (CCG)

Experts in the design and characterisation of low-carbon cements, this group investigates alternative binders to traditional, high-emission materials.

• Mar Alonso: Senior Researcher and Head of the Materials Department.
• Marta Palacios: Senior Researcher.

“What excites us most about CILANTRO is its potential to validate alternative non-thermal approaches that could fundamentally transform one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.” – CSIC-IETcc Team

Advancing Sustainable Chemistry: ICP

Joining the coordination effort is the Institute of Catalysis and Petrochemistry (ICP), specifically the Sustainable Energy and Chemistry Group. They bring decades of experience in developing advanced catalysts to transform CO₂ into valuable fuels and molecules.

In CILANTRO, the ICP team is responsible for developing the catalysts needed to turn the CO₂ generated during limestone activation into high-value compounds.

• Sergio Rojas: Full Professor.
• María Retuerto: Tenured Scientist.
• Dalia Liuzzi: PhD Researcher.
• Francisco J. Pérez-Alonso: PhD Researcher.

“The most exciting aspect of CILANTRO is working alongside such a multidisciplinary consortium, joining efforts from different fields to achieve a goal as impactful as the decarbonisation of the cement industry.” – CSIC-ICP Team

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.