Consortium
Comprising 30 partners from 10 countries and led by European Dynamics, the WeForming consortium brings together key players across different sectors strategically positioned to navigate the complexities of the dynamic energy landscape.
Information and technology providers
European Dynamics is a leading ICT service provider and software developer in the field of e-government, operating internationally as a group of companies, with offices and antennas in Athens, Berlin, Basel, Brussels, Copenhagen, London, Luxembourg, Nicosia, Stockholm, etc. The group designs, develops, supports and operates complex IT systems and commercialises a wide range of software products in the field of e-government, using state-of-the-art technologies. EUROPEAN DYNAMICS operates along the following lines:
- IT consulting services – outsourcing;
- Design, marketing and support of software products in the field of e-government;
- Outsourcing, SaaS (software as a service), cloud and management services.
Equipment and service providers
Schneider Electric provides energy and automation digital solutions for efficiency and sustainability. Schneider Electric combines world-leading energy technologies, real-time automation, software and services into integrated solutions for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. Schneider Electric makes process and energy safe and reliable, efficient and sustainable, open and connected. With revenues of ~€34 billion in FY2022, Schneider Electric 128,000+ employees serve customers in over 100 countries.
Qbots Energy is a smart energy services provider based in Manchester, UK that uses a data driven approach with the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI technology to help businesses reduce their carbon emissions. Founded in 2018, Q Energy has won several awards to increase the adoption of smart grid and energy efficiency amongst SMEs. They help business customers achieve net zero carbon emissions, having helped over 40 businesses in the UK including breweries, offices, manufacturing, retail, and hospitality sites. In addition to looking at existing revenue streams by providing grid services, Q Energy has been focussing on accessing the newly emerging revenue stream from wholesale market trading. Q Energy has been modelling the benefits for battery storage installations for commercial customers including behind-the-meter and front-of-the-meter battery storage projects.
Gencell Ltd., incorporated in Israel in 2011, is a designer and manufacturer of ElectroChemical Generators (“ECGs”) which use fuel cells to deliver electrical power. A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (hydrogen, natural gas, methanol, etc.) and an oxidant (oxygen) directly into electricity by electrochemical reactions. The generated power is extraordinarily clean as pure water and usable heat are the only by-products. Furthermore, fuel cells produce electricity more efficiently than other types of power generation devices using the combustion process. Unlike a battery, a fuel cell does not require re-charging, it provides power as long as fuel and oxidizer are supplied.
GenCell’s Power Solution is based on the robust Alkaline Fuel Cell technology (AFC) that has proven through decades of use to be the choice power chemistry for severely cold temperatures and other extreme weather environments.
Presently, GenCell’s facility includes 3000 sq. m. of offices, R&D, QA/QC facilities, and a manufacturing area. The facility includes a catalyst lab, electrochemical testing laboratories and mechanical workshops.
Service providers and data-driven SMEs
Builtrix is a Portuguese company based in Lisbon. They specialize in pioneering data-driven energy intelligence solutions tailored for energy experts, consultants, and facility managers. Our cutting-edge platform harnesses the power of cloud technology to seamlessly integrate energy data from an extensive array of sources, including energy system operators, energy management systems, and aggregators. At Builtrix, they’re at the forefront of the intersection of big data analytics and artificial intelligence. They are dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in the realm of buildings. Our innovative solutions empower facility and property managers, energy service providers, and consultants to gain meaningful insights into energy consumption patterns, identify flexibility potentials, and pinpoint inefficiencies.
Grid ONE is a start-up company founded in 2020. Our main domain is in the field of electrical engineering, with a focus on electric power systems and energy transition and renewable energy sources. Equipped with experience from numerous projects, Grid ONE makes its services available for all project development phases, from conceptualizing to operation. Our key is a flexible and agile approach to project development. Although the company is a fairly young startup, it is rapidly finding its place in the market. In our business, they emphasize the quality of products and services, communication and client satisfaction. One of the pillar activities of Grid ONE is research and development. Our team is experienced in national and international projects and maintains strong partnerships with the professional and scientific community across Europe.
Hardware and Software Engineering Ltd (HSE) is an Athens-based Information Technology Company established in 1999. Specializing in current Information Technologies, HSE focuses on designing and developing core business applications, analytics, and collaboration tools. By leveraging advancements in cloud technologies, HSE has expanded its capabilities and pursued global opportunities particularly in the banking industry. Notable achievements include collaborating with EuroBank, the third-largest bank in Greece, to create a stock market monitoring software. Additionally, HSE specializes in document management systems, web portals, and a loan & credit card management system with clients such as the National Bank of Greece among others. In the public sector, it developed a management information system for the Ministry of Defence and collaborated on innovative solutions for the Ministry of Health with the National Technical University of Athens.
HOLISTIC is a dynamic consultancy firm offering a wide range of services in the fields of energy and climate research, including policy support, decision support systems, and communication services. The firm consists of executives with long experience and strong academic credentials in methodologies, systems, and technologies related to the climate and energy fields. HOLISTIC has extensive know-how in designing and undertaking complex projects of public and private organisations in the EU, participating in over 10 Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects.
Flexide Energy helps the industry to take advantage of the new market, digital and technical opportunities arising along the energy transition. Over the years and thanks to ad hoc partnerships, our team has developed unique knowledge and skills in various areas such as renewable energy integration, energy storage, new market mechanisms, demand response, energy as a service business models, etc.
Energy stakeholders
With over 80 years of history, to talk about Cuerva is to talk about energy and innovation. Remaining loyal to their family and Granadian roots, Spain, Cuerva’s activity centers on the entire energy value chain, spanning from the generation of renewable energy to its distribution and commercialization. Cuerva also boasts an extensive track record in constructing, operating, and maintaining infrastructure. Cuerva’s global expansion into Europe and Latin America has not swayed their foundational values or their dedication to seeking practical and integrated solutions for the benefit of people, the industry, and society. This perspective has solidified Cuerva’s position as a leader in the energy sector, with over 125 partnerships in 24 countries, all aimed at promoting a positive transformation through collaboration.
The supply of energy and drinking water is our job, which they carry out together with our partner, the EnBW – Energie Baden-Württemberg AG. Over 1,100 co-workers ensure that Stadtwerke Karlsruhe customers are able to enjoy this service without disruption. As well as the traditional supply of electricity, drinking water, natural gas and district heating, they also offer our customers various heating and cooling systems. They advise our industrial and commercial customers about every aspect of energy supply. Contracting, consulting and telecommunication are areas that have allowed us to change from a conventional, to a modern, commercially oriented supply enterprise. Economic management, while preserving resources and protecting the environment. This is the challenge that they would like to set themselves in the future.
Smart island Krk is a public company owned by the 7 municipalities on the island of Krk (Krk, Baška, Dobrinj, Malinska – Dubašnica, Omišalj, Punat and Vrbnik). They operate in the sectors of Energetics (renewable sources of energy, public lighting, optical network and infrastructure, electric vehicles, electric charging stations, bike sharing, car sharing, monitoring,.. etc). The company in conjunction with all 7 municipalities has set a goal to be an Energy independent island and an Island with zero percent CO2 emission. Therefore the island of Krk has been put in the EU catalog of good practices as one of the best EU islands in the energy transition.
Consumer and energy end-users
For 30 years, Luxembourg-based IKO Real Estate has been active in real estate as a developer and investor. Initially specializing in business real estate, the company has extended its activities to residential and commercial real estate, creating living districts that harmoniously combine residential, retail and offices.
Already a forerunner in many of its projects, IKO Real Estate aims to remain at the forefront of the process that is profoundly changing lifestyles. Its mission is to offer living and working spaces that meet environmental challenges, that are agile and scalable, and where occupants can build a balanced life with their community.
MOVIDA is a company that operates in the entertainment and leisure sector, namely with Palácio do Gelo Shopping, located in Viseu, in the central interior of Portugal, which has a wide range of restaurants, fashion stores, home stores, pharmacy, but also cinema, a sports center (named Forlife), a bowling alley, and other complementary units, plus 3 parking floors, spread over 7 commercial floors. This shopping mall also holds various events and entertainment activities all over the year for its visitors, having a strong relevance for the interior of Portugal.
Vergy brings solar energy to people whether they have a rooftop or not. They do this by designing and implementing 3 types of communities: energy communities, municipal communities, and Vergy communities. From technical and economic design, to community support, they are responsible for developing, maintaining and evolving projects to ensure their long-term sustainability.
They deliver green energy from local production to living quarters and industrial parks as well as mixed-use districts. Whether heating, cooling or electrical energy, the customer gets all from one source. In doing so they elaborate efficient, innovative and smart solutions.
What they aim for are solutions that grant our customers independence combined with sustainable local partnerships.
In the WeForming project they participate as the operator as well as representation for the property owner – one of our shareholders among which is also the municipal utility.
As an independent foundation, the FZI Research Center for Information Technology has stood for applied cutting-edge research in the field of computer science and its application fields for over 35 years. The FZI researches and develops innovations for the benefit of society and offers excellent researchers a unique springboard to their professional future. For its partners from industry, business, science, associations and the public sector, the FZI is a research, training and transfer institution.
Leading research technology and academic institutions
The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is a mission-driven Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) active in the fields of materials, environment and IT. LIST develops competitive and market-oriented product/service prototypes for public and private stakeholders, and works across the entire innovation chain: fundamental/applied research, incubation, transfer of technologies. By transforming scientific knowledge into technologies, smart data and tools, LIST empowers citizens in their choices, public authorities in their decisions and businesses in their strategies.
The University of Málaga is a public institution which produces and transfers knowledge while providing higher education services through the teaching staff and research tasks in a setting that features technological, cultural, and tourist activities. It is a dynamic and innovative University that has come to be socially recognized for its prestige and leadership; its open and participatory nature; its commitment to achieving a status of quality, excellence and to lifelong learning; its integration into the European Higher Education and Research Area; its concern for student employability and, thus, links to the business world, Andalusia’s Technology Park and public sector; its outstanding competitive position at regional, national and international levels; and, its focus on a global knowledge society.
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, KIT employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
The University of Zagreb (1669) is the oldest and largest university in Southeast Europe. Since its foundation, the University has grown steadily and today it consists of 31 faculties and three art academies. With its comprehensive programmes and more than 70,000 full-time students, the University is the most important educational institution in Croatia. It offers a wide range of academic programmes leading to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in the following fields: Arts, Biomedicine, Biotechnology, Engineering, Humanities, and Natural and Social Sciences. It is also a highly research-oriented institution, contributing more than 50 per cent of the country’s total research output.
Centro de Investigação em Energia REN – State Grid, S.A. is an energy research company belonging to the Portuguese Transmission System Operator REN (REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais, SGPS, SA). The main areas of activity are Power Systems Simulation, Renewable Energy Management, Smart Grid Technologies, Energy Markets and Economics, Power Systems Planning and Operation and Digitalization & Analytics. For this purpose, R&D NESTER owns and operates a real-time power systems simulation laboratory with Hardware in-the-loop capabilities, ideal to leverage R&D NESTERs core competences through state-of-the-art technologies, enabling the simulation and testing of both power systems and communication networks.
The AIR Institute is a private, non-profit research organization dedicated to advancing scientific research in computer science and artificial intelligence. With a multidisciplinary team of expert researchers, the institute engages in innovative projects across various domains such as blockchain, fog/edge computing, natural language processing, and machine learning. The AIR Institute excels in areas like Energy, Industry 4.0, IoT, Bioinformatics, and Smart Cities, contributing significantly to the global scientific community.
EU-level associations and regulators
RAP is an independent, global NGO with a mission of advancing policy innovation and thought leadership within the energy community. They work toward a clean, reliable, equitable and cost-efficient energy future. RAP provides clarity, vision and new ideas ready to implement to decision-makers and the broader energy community. They leverage synergies and creativity across our regional programs (Europe, China, India and the United States) to develop and share global best practices tailored to local priorities, acting as a trusted advisor. Our approach includes: thought leadership, technical assistance, capacity building, outreach and consensus building. RAP key initiatives include: decarbonize the grid, electrification of buildings and transportation, distributed energy resources, reduce emissions from fossil fuels and design a clean energy future.
