In 2016, a consortium of ten project partners (University of Primorska, Fraunhofer WKI, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, University of Maribor, Pulp and Paper Institute, Zavod eOblak, National Institute of Public Health and the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region, and InnoRenew CoE), led by the University of Primorska, submitted the InnoRenew project to the Teaming instrument call under the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework program. InnoRenew – the largest research and innovation project in Slovenia – was selected from 169 international applications as the only project from Slovenia, and in April 2017, the independent research institute InnoRenew CoE was officially established.

University of Primorska, together with Fraunhofer WKI, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, was one of the founding institutions of InnoRenew CoE. Over the past years, the university has remained closely connected with the institute and actively contributed to its development. By a court decision on 29 July 2025, the institute officially joined the University of Primorska as an independent department within the UP Institute Andrej Marušič.

Rector of the University of Primorska, Prof. Dr. Klavdija Kutnar, highlighted:

"The integration of InnoRenew CoE to the University of Primorska contributes to the joint efforts for the further development of knowledge, strengthens collaboration, and fosters the creation of an environment for the transfer of knowledge into practice.”

The institute’s international team of experts will continue, in its new organizational form, to focus on research in renewable materials and sustainable construction, as well as on the application of scientific knowledge in industrial practice. The mission of InnoRenew CoE (now the department InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM) thus remains the development of new knowledge in nature-based solutions, especially in the use of wood, promoting and accelerating the adoption of regenerative sustainability.

Dr. Andreja Kutnar, former director of InnoRenew CoE and current acting department chair of the InnoRenew CoE, UP IAM, emphasized: "We will continue to strive for the creation of new knowledge, development of materials, and the establishment of healthy built environments. We move forward with enthusiasm, implementing our research and development plans and directly contributing to the advancement of Slovenian science."

Dr. Vito Vitrih, director of UP IAM, now the parent member of the department, said: "I am sure that with the additional department in our institute we will collaborate productively and contribute to the development of science as well as responsible societal and environmental progress for future generations."

Over eight and a half years of independent operation, InnoRenew CoE has already acquired and implemented 96 publicly funded projects worth a total of €15.78 million, alongside numerous projects financed by national and international industry worth €2.81 million. Among them are the prestigious ARCHI-SKIN project, approved by the European Research Council (ERC), and the REMEDY project, funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC). These successes, besides excellent researchers, are undoubtedly supported by the advanced research equipment housed in eight laboratories within the institute building, an example of sustainable construction good practice.