Your partner in advancing porous materials science from concept to production.
PROFMOF is a Norwegian MOF company and contract research partner, spun out from the University of Oslo by the researchers that first discovered Zr-based MOFs in 2008.
ABOUT US
PROFMOF was created to help move MOFs from academic discovery into practical use.
Developed by the Lillerud group at the University of Oslo in 2008, UiO-66 changed the narrative by proving that a MOF could be both incredibly porous and incredibly tough. UiO-66 was one of the first MOFs to successfully bridge the gap between academic curiosity and industrial relevance. Its legacy is found in several cutting-edge fields.
History
Founded in 2015, PROFMOF was created to help move MOFs from academic discovery into practical use. That background still shapes how we work today: strong materials knowledge, careful characterization, and a focus on performance under real conditions.
Links to original research articles
Meet the Team
Our team combines MOF expertise with hands-on experience in synthesis, characterization, adsorption, and scale-up.
Karl Petter Lillerud
Chief Executive Officer
Karl Petter Lillerud is a distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Oslo and a world-renowned figure in the field of porous materials. He is most famously recognized for the discovery of the UiO-66 series of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), which are named after the University of Oslo.
Lillerud has made ground-breaking contributions to the field of MOFs by discovering and developing zirconium-based materials (like UiO-66) that addressed the industry's biggest hurdle: the fragility of early MOFs. By creating frameworks that could withstand thermal cycling and moisture, he helped moving MOFs from academic curiosities to viable tools for industrial processes.
A cornerstone of Norway's catalysis community and an expert in zeolites, Lillerud remains one of the world's most highly cited chemists. His legacy is defined by bridging the gap between fundamental material design and practical, sustainable industrial technology.
Advisors
Unni Olsbye
Professor
Professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, with research expertise in heterogeneous catalysis, reaction mechanisms, and microporous materials. Her work connects material structure and composition to real catalytic performance, including studies of zeolites, zeotypes, and MOFs as catalysts, supports, and adsorbents.
Norbert Stock
Professor
Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, where his group specializes in the synthesis and characterization of coordination polymers and metal–organic frameworks. His research covers MOF discovery, high-throughput synthesis, scale-up, and materials for applications such as gas separation, catalysis, water harvesting, and heat transformation.
Silvia Bordiga
Professor
Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Turin. Her work focuses on advanced characterization of porous materials, catalysts, zeolites, and metal–organic frameworks, often in close collaboration with industrial and international research partners.
Board of Directors
Asbjørn Søvik
Chairman
Asbjørn has held senior roles at Elkem since 1995, including Senior Vice President for Green Ventures & Digital, business development and head of Elkem Carbon. His expertise spans raw material strategy, energy, operations, M&A, market development, and tech commercialization. Asbjørn holds an MSc in Engineering from NTNU (Norway) and an MBA from IESE, Spain.
Jasmina Hafizovic Cavka
Board member
Research Manager at SINTEF Process Technology. Holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from The University of Oslo, on the discovery of Zr-based MOFs.
Svein-Olav Torø
Board member
Currently CEO of Kongsberg Innovation.
+20 years of executive experience and board representations
Anne-Marie Bjørgo
Board member
Lawyer at Inven2, the technology transfer and IPR office of the University of Oslo.
Partnership
Why teams choose PROFMOF as their technical partner
We reduce development risk and accelerate your path to market. Industry-grade quality assurance means your material performs when it matters.
Faster development cycles
Our expertise compresses timelines by months, not weeks.
Reduced technical risk
We handle the chemistry so you focus on commercialization.
Proven quality standards
Every material meets industrial specifications before it reaches your hands.