ARBEITSGEMEINSCHAFT ASEW c/o VKU

Their core work

ASEW (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für sparsame Energie- und Wasserverwendung) is the working group for energy and water efficiency operating within VKU, Germany's national association of municipal utilities. Their core work centres on translating EU energy policy and innovation into practical tools, standards, and financing frameworks that local and municipal energy providers can actually use. In H2020, they contributed sector expertise and stakeholder reach to projects developing Energy Performance Contracts and quality certification systems for energy efficiency services. They are not a research organisation — they are the bridge between Brussels-level policy and the daily operations of German and European municipal utilities.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

With only two projects separated by two years, there is limited evolution to trace — but the direction is clear. Their first engagement (EPC_PLUS, 2015) addressed the contracting and financing mechanism for energy efficiency investments. Their second (QualitEE, 2017) moved upstream to market quality assurance: building the certification frameworks that give investors and buyers confidence in energy efficiency service providers. This progression suggests a shift from implementation tools toward market infrastructure and professionalisation of the energy efficiency services sector.

ASEW's trajectory points toward market-building and quality assurance in energy services — making them a natural partner for projects that need credible sector buy-in from the municipal utility world, rather than technical research capacity.

How they like to work

ASEW has participated exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, which fits the profile of a sector association contributing stakeholder access and dissemination reach rather than project management. Their two CSA projects involved broad consortia — 19 unique partners across 13 countries — typical for coordination actions designed to move policy into practice. They are a reliable specialist voice, not a project driver.

Across just two projects, ASEW built connections with 19 unique partners spanning 13 countries — a wide European footprint for an organisation of this size. Their network is characteristic of CSA consortia: geographically distributed, policy-oriented, and centred on the energy services and utilities sector.

What sets them apart

ASEW's value in a consortium is institutional access: as a working group inside VKU, they represent and can reach German municipal utility companies directly — a constituency that EU-funded projects often struggle to engage. For any project targeting practical adoption of energy efficiency tools by local energy providers, ASEW offers a shortcut into a large, organised, and decision-making audience. No other H2020 participant replicates that specific gateway role in the German municipal energy sector.

Highlights from their portfolio

• QualitEE
  The more ambitious of the two projects, QualitEE tackled a systemic market failure — the absence of trusted quality signals for energy efficiency services — which directly limits private investment in the sector.
• EPC_PLUS
  EPC_PLUS addressed the financing gap in building energy renovation through performance contracting, a mechanism with direct commercial relevance to municipal utilities and their clients.