The Aerosol & Particle Technology Laboratory (APTL) was established in 1996 as a business unit of the Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute (CPERI) at the Center for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), with the rationale that the solution of many issues in Environmental/Health, Energy, and Materials/Process Industries relies on understanding and exploiting the science of fine particles and their suspensions in various media. APTL’s objectives are to conduct basic and applied research as well as to develop new technological products in response to well acknowledged market needs in the areas of “clean transport”, “clean energy” and “process in-situ monitoring”.

APTL is unique in Greece and supports its research activities in different project areas through the development of a core technology platform consisting of particle measurement (with many sophisticated measuring techniques), pilot scale testing (including an engine test cell facility), nanoparticle/nanomaterials synthesis (with novel aerosol, combustion and sol-gel routes) and advanced simulation.

The development strategy of APTL has been based on establishing strategic collaborations with leading international industrial corporations, developing strong links with research centres and universities and contributing to the training of young scientists and engineers in state-of-the-art technologies. Acting as a catalyst for regional development, APTL also consistently pursues strong interactions and collaborations with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Northern Greece and aims to be an active member of the European Research Area (ERA). Currently, APTL employs 27 people, whereas its’ total budget of contracts since 1996 exceeds 20M€, their large majority being related with Technologies for Environmental and Energy Applications.

Examples of relevant Projects which APTL has successfully coordinated are the highly successful EU Diesel Exhaust Aftertreatment (DEXA) Cluster (FP6) and the HYDROSOL (FP5) - recipient of the 2006 Descartes Prize for Collaborative Scientific Research, the 2006 IPHE Technical Achievement Award and the 2005 World Expo 100 Global Eco-Tech Award - , HYDROSOL-II (FP6), HYDROSOL-3D, HYDROSOL-Plant and RESTRUCTURE (FP7) Projects.