COPENHAGEN ECONOMICS AS

Their core work

Copenhagen Economics is a Danish economic consultancy that specializes in the financial and regulatory dimensions of energy efficiency. Rather than engineering or technology development, they analyze how capital markets, mortgage lending, and prudential regulation can be designed to accelerate building energy retrofits across Europe. Their H2020 work focuses on making energy efficiency investable — translating EU climate targets into actionable frameworks for banks, mortgage lenders, and financial regulators. They bring rigorous economic analysis to bridge the gap between energy policy goals and financial market mechanisms.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Copenhagen Economics entered H2020 in 2015 with a broader economic lens on energy efficiency benefits (COMBI), focused on quantifying and operationalizing the multiple co-benefits of energy improvements. From 2020 onward, their work narrowed sharply into the financial mechanics of energy-efficient mortgages — sustainable finance frameworks, prudential regulation, and practical implementation plans for green lending markets. This represents a clear trajectory from general economic analysis of energy policy toward deep specialization in the finance-energy efficiency nexus.

Copenhagen Economics is deepening its niche at the intersection of financial regulation and building energy efficiency, making them an increasingly relevant partner as EU sustainable finance rules tighten.

How they like to work

Copenhagen Economics operates primarily as a specialist partner (2 of 3 projects), though they stepped into a coordinator role for NEEM, their most recent and largest project. With 16 unique partners across 9 countries from just 3 projects, they work in medium-to-large consortia and maintain a broad European network rather than repeatedly partnering with the same organizations. Their progression to coordinator suggests growing confidence and leadership capacity in their niche domain.

Despite only three projects, Copenhagen Economics has built a network spanning 16 partners across 9 countries, reflecting the pan-European nature of financial regulation and mortgage market work. Their Nordic base is evident in the NEEM project, but their reach extends well beyond Scandinavia.

What sets them apart

Copenhagen Economics occupies a rare niche: they are economists who speak both the language of energy policy and financial regulation. Most energy-sector organizations bring technical or engineering expertise; Copenhagen Economics brings the economic and regulatory analysis that determines whether green technologies actually get financed. For any consortium that needs to address the bankability, investability, or regulatory treatment of energy efficiency measures, they fill a gap that pure-technical partners cannot.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NEEM
  Their only coordinator role and largest single grant (EUR 350,000), focused specifically on Nordic energy efficiency mortgages — showing leadership in their core niche.
• EeMMiP
  An implementation plan for energy efficient mortgage markets across Europe, directly linking sustainable finance regulation to real-world lending practices.