CAMBRIDGE ECONOMETRICS (BELGIUM)

Their core work

Cambridge Econometrics (Belgium) is the Brussels-area arm of a specialist economic consultancy that builds quantitative models to assess EU energy, climate, and social policy. Their core contribution is applying econometric and technology-diffusion models to questions like "what is the real value of energy efficiency?" or "how do households and firms make energy choices?" In H2020 consortia they provide modelling, scenario analysis, and policy impact assessment rather than lab or engineering work. Their outputs feed into policy-support tools used by EU institutions, national governments, and research programmes.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Across their three H2020 projects their focus has tightened from broad societal-energy questions toward hard quantitative valuation of efficiency. ENABLE.EU (2016-2019) examined drivers of energy choices, TECHNEQUALITY (2019-2021) widened this to technology-driven inequality, and REFEREE (2020-2024) concentrates squarely on monetising the non-energy and multiple impacts of efficiency measures. The shift is from exploratory social-science framing toward policy-ready econometric tools.

They are moving toward delivering concrete, numerical policy-support systems — a good fit for partners who need defensible economic evidence for efficiency, decarbonisation, or Fit-for-55 proposals.

How they like to work

They consistently join as a third party rather than as coordinator or prime beneficiary, meaning they contribute specialist modelling under another partner's umbrella. Across three projects they have worked with 22 distinct organisations in 15 countries, suggesting a hub-like, wide network rather than a loyal repeat-partner pattern. Expect them to slot into a consortium as the quantitative economics workstream, not to run the project.

Connected to 22 unique partners across 15 countries over three projects, indicating a genuinely European footprint despite the small office. No single country dominates, which is typical for a consultancy supporting EU-level policy consortia.

What sets them apart

Most Belgian SMEs in energy work are engineering or software shops; Cambridge Econometrics (Belgium) is rare in offering rigorous macro-econometric and technology-diffusion modelling tailored to EU policy questions. They bring a Brussels foothold combined with the analytical depth of the wider Cambridge Econometrics group, which is useful when a consortium needs credible numbers for Commission-facing deliverables. Partner with them when the project needs modelled impacts, not hardware or pilots.

Highlights from their portfolio

• REFEREE
  Their most focused project — builds a policy support system that puts a real economic value on the multiple and non-energy impacts of efficiency, directly relevant to EU efficiency legislation.
• ENABLE.EU
  Links individual and collective behaviour to the Energy Union agenda, showing their ability to combine social-science framing with quantitative analysis.
• TECHNEQUALITY
  Unusual cross-over into inequality and labour-market effects of technology, broadening their profile beyond pure energy economics.