Berlin-based climate and energy policy consultancy specializing in adaptation strategies, energy efficiency programmes, and capacity building for cities and businesses.
Adelphi is a Berlin-based independent research and policy consultancy specializing in climate adaptation, energy efficiency, and sustainable development. They translate complex climate and energy research into practical tools, policy recommendations, and capacity-building programs for cities, businesses, and governments across Europe. Their work bridges the gap between scientific climate risk assessment and actionable strategies — from helping households reduce energy consumption to advising on investment frameworks for urban energy transitions. As a non-profit research SME, they bring strong analytical and dissemination capabilities to large EU consortia.
Core theme across DOMINO, Digi-Label, LABEL 2020, SMEmPower Efficiency, Ren-on-Bill, STEAM-UP, Eco-Bot, ICCEE, Triple-A, and PROSPECTplus — covering household behaviour change, SME audits, labelling, and building renovation.
Central role in CASCADES (cascading climate risks), HABITABLE (climate migration scenarios), IMPREX (hydrological extremes), REGILIENCE (regional resilience), and EU 1.5 Lifestyles.
SocialRES (cooperative and crowdfunding models), EUCF (city investment concepts), Triple-A (investment value chains), and Ren-on-Bill (on-bill financing for renovations).
WATERINNEU (water ICT), SUBSOL (subsurface water solutions), B-WaterSmart (water smartness in coastal Europe), and GoNEXUS (water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus).
EUCF (country experts supporting city investment concepts), PROSPECTplus (learning-to-action for cities and regions), and EU 1.5 Lifestyles (citizen and multi-stakeholder labs).
HABITABLE (climate migration, displacement, habitability scenarios) and CASCADES (foreign policy and security dimensions of cascading climate risks).
In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), adelphi focused heavily on practical energy efficiency — steam audits for industry, smart plugs for households, energy labelling, and ICT-driven behaviour change. From 2019 onward, their portfolio shifted markedly toward systemic climate risk analysis, adaptation finance, and the socio-political dimensions of climate change, including migration, foreign policy, and cross-sector cascading risks. This evolution shows a move from operational energy tools to strategic climate intelligence and governance.
Adelphi is moving toward complex, cross-sectoral climate governance — expect them to pursue projects on climate security, just transition, and nexus-based resource management.
Adelphi operates almost exclusively as a consortium partner (21 of 22 projects), contributing policy analysis, dissemination, and capacity-building expertise rather than leading technical development. With 272 unique partners across 40 countries, they maintain an exceptionally broad network — they are a hub connector, not a repeat-partner loyalist. This makes them an ideal consortium member when you need strong European reach and experience navigating diverse multi-partner projects.
With 272 unique consortium partners across 40 countries, adelphi has one of the broadest collaboration networks among research SMEs in the climate-energy space. Their reach spans all of Europe and extends well beyond, reflecting their involvement in large CSA and RIA consortia.
Adelphi occupies a rare niche as a non-profit research SME that combines deep climate science literacy with practical policy and business translation. Unlike university research groups, they focus on making findings actionable for cities, companies, and policymakers. Their dual strength in both energy efficiency implementation and climate adaptation governance makes them a versatile partner who can bridge the technical-political gap in large consortia.
