About ICN2

Institut Català de Nanociència i NanotecnologiaThe Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia, with its official English translation Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and acronym ICN2, is a non-profit international research institute located close to Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). It is devoted to the generation of knowledge, materials and devices in the broad fields of ICT, health, energy and the environment.

The expertise of the ICN2 lies at the nanoscale, where new properties, interactions and ways to exploit them in everyday life are being discovered. Among its goals is to bring together scientists from diverse backgrounds in the pursuit of better science, better training and better outreach to society, while also seeking out new ways to engage with local and global industry.

ICN2 was accredited in 2014 as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence, a recognition renewed in 2018 and 2023 for another 4-year period. The Severo Ochoa Programme, sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, aims to identify and support Spanish research centres that are among the world’s best in their specialty.

The trustees of the ICN2 are the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), where it is based. ICN2 is a CERCA Center and also one of the founding members of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) and the Graphene Flagship.

Board of Trustees:
  • Generalitat de Catalunya
  • CSIC
  • UAB
  • Center of:
    • Cerca
    Member of:
    • Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
    • The Severo Ochoa Centres and María de Maeztu Units of Excellence Alliance
  • With the support of:
    • Icrea
    • Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades - AEI
    • FEDER UE

ICN2 is a global leader in nanoresearch, a place where both fundamental and applied research, as well as efforts to bring technology innovations to market receive strong support. It is a proud creator of opportunities for dialogue and collaboration between researchers, industry, policymakers and society and a research institute committed with equal opportunities, fair selection processes and guaranteeing work/life balance.