COWI AS

Their core work

COWI is a major Danish engineering consultancy providing services across infrastructure, buildings, and energy systems. In H2020, they contribute technical expertise in building energy performance, district heating networks, and transport infrastructure planning. Their work spans from optimizing low-temperature district heating systems to monitoring Arctic environments, reflecting the breadth of a large multidisciplinary engineering firm applying its capabilities to EU research and innovation projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

COWI's early H2020 involvement (2015–2019) centered squarely on engineering fundamentals: building energy performance, district heating optimization, transport congestion, and structural reliability. From 2020 onward, their portfolio diversified into environmental monitoring (Arctic observation with AI) and smart building integration (BIM, photovoltaics, green neighbourhoods). The ANTHUSIA project stands out as an anomaly — a social sciences engagement on human security in Africa — suggesting either a niche internal capability or a one-off collaboration rather than a strategic shift.

COWI is moving from individual building/network optimization toward integrated smart built environments and digital tools like BIM, making them a strong partner for projects connecting energy, construction, and digital twins.

How they like to work

COWI overwhelmingly participates as a consortium partner (6 of 8 projects), with only one coordinator role (COOL DH) and one third-party involvement. With 147 unique partners across 32 countries, they operate as a broad-network contributor rather than a consortium leader. This pattern is typical of large engineering firms that bring deep technical capacity to diverse projects without seeking the administrative burden of coordination.

COWI has collaborated with 147 distinct partners across 32 countries, indicating a truly pan-European network with global reach. Their partnerships span universities, research institutes, and industry across energy, transport, and environment sectors.

What sets them apart

COWI brings the rare combination of a large-scale engineering consultancy's practical implementation experience with genuine research engagement in EU framework programmes. Unlike pure research institutes, they can take project results from prototype to real-world deployment in buildings, district heating networks, and infrastructure. Their breadth — from energy systems to Arctic monitoring to structural engineering — makes them a versatile consortium partner who can fill multiple technical roles.

Highlights from their portfolio

• COOL DH
  Their only coordinator role and largest single grant (EUR 487,725), focused on low-temperature district heating — clearly a core strategic area for the company.
• PROBONO
  Most recent and second-largest project (EUR 481,425), integrating BIM, photovoltaics, and green neighbourhoods — signals their current strategic direction.
• ARCOS
  An unexpected move into Arctic environmental monitoring with AI and satellite intelligence, showing capability beyond traditional engineering consultancy.