TheNextPangea emerged in June 2021 as a commercial outlet for research developed by scientists at the University of Nebrija and ArcelorMittal’s innovation and development centers in Asturias. The venture is owned by a mix of investors and institutions, with ArcelorMittal holding 24 percent of the company and contributing a capital of one million euros. The University of Nebrija also holds 24 percent, while a German investor, Michael Hoeck, also holds 24 percent. Ingénica, an Asturian engineering firm, owns 12 percent, and the remaining 16 percent is allocated to the company’s own researchers as an incentive.
ArcelorMittal’s influence runs deep in TheNextPangea, reflecting a strategic alliance that blends industrial know-how with university research. The project stands as a bridge between steel technology and broader industrial applications beyond traditional metallurgy, aiming to transform ideas into market-ready solutions. In 2021, a pivotal 1.5 million euro injection from the Regional Promotion Company, a public-private organization supporting Asturian enterprises, helped accelerate development and commercialization plans. At that time, TheNextPangea projected total investments approaching 2.86 million euros and anticipated the creation of about 25 jobs within two years. The company announced plans to publicly showcase its activities at the start of 2023.
Innovation at TheNextPangea spans advanced materials, additive manufacturing, and intelligent systems. The partnership has explored the use of graphene-enhanced materials to strengthen aircraft fuselages and enable the integration of motion sensors. Three-dimensional printing is employed to manufacture components for ships, building on prior work that involved developing steel chassis for automotive applications. Beyond the tangible components, the company is also advancing artificial intelligence capabilities to support its defense and industrial initiatives.
SRP’s latest annual report for 2021 highlights TheNextPangea as an ambitious project driven by ArcelorMittal through its subsidiary ArcelorMittal Innovación. This framing underscores a key principle: TheNextPangea can deploy its technology in markets where customers do not directly compete with steel businesses, thereby ensuring a fair sharing of innovations while protecting strategic interests. In this context, the endeavor is positioned to forge pathways for defense and civilian sector applications alike, leveraging cutting-edge materials science, precision manufacturing, and smart analytics to deliver performance gains across multiple domains.
Current announcements indicate that TheNextPangea secured a major contract associated with defense technology aimed at enhancing the performance of Air Force aircraft. The collaboration centers on integrating advanced materials, sensor capabilities, and AI-driven insights to improve efficiency, reliability, and mission readiness. While the emphasis is on the military sector, the underlying technologies have potential spillover into civilian industrial uses, ranging from aerospace components to automotive and maritime applications. The company remains committed to expanding its footprint in Europe and North America, where researchers and engineers continue to translate laboratory breakthroughs into scalable, commercial solutions.
Looking ahead, TheNextPangea is pursuing a model that aligns research excellence with practical deployment. By combining university-grade research with industry-scale manufacturing and AI expertise, the company aims to accelerate the path from concept to market. This approach seeks to maximize the impact of its innovations while maintaining a collaborative ecosystem among investors, researchers, and end users. In doing so, TheNextPangea aspires to be a leading force in applying advanced materials and intelligent systems to high-stakes sectors, including defense, transportation, and infrastructure, across Canada and the United States as well as broader international markets.