DEVOLO AG

Their core work

devolo AG is a German hardware company based in Aachen specializing in connected home and networking components — best known for powerline networking technology that turns electrical wiring into data infrastructure. In H2020, they contributed as an industrial partner bringing embedded hardware expertise into smart component and energy systems projects. Their work covers the full stack from sensor hardware (TMR and Hall sensors) to communication protocols and hardware security. They bridge consumer networking know-how with industrial demands for trustworthy, efficient electronics in smart energy environments.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

devolo's first H2020 project (CONNECT, 2017) was rooted in their home turf — smart, connected, and secure home components — with no detailed keyword data suggesting a broad rather than specialized role. By their second project (PROGRESSUS, 2020), the focus had sharpened dramatically toward energy hardware: power conversion, microgrid management, EV fast and smart charging, and sensor-level electronics. This is a clear pivot from home networking infrastructure toward industrial-grade energy electronics, likely driven by the EV and smart grid boom. The thread connecting both phases is hardware security, which appears to be a persistent competency rather than a trend.

devolo is moving away from pure home networking hardware toward energy management electronics and EV charging infrastructure, positioning itself for the industrial IoT and smart grid markets — making them a relevant partner for energy digitalization and e-mobility consortia.

How they like to work

devolo participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as project coordinator — consistent with an industrial company using EU projects to develop next-generation product components rather than to lead research agendas. Across two projects, they engaged with 34 unique partners, which is a substantial network for that volume and suggests they joined large, multi-partner consortia (typical for ECSEL-RIA and RIA schemes in electronics). This profile fits a company that brings specific hardware components to a broader research effort and takes outputs back into commercial product development.

devolo has worked with 34 unique consortium partners across 5 countries — a concentrated European footprint reflecting the ECSEL and ICT project ecosystems where German and neighboring EU electronics firms dominate. No evidence of repeated partners suggests each project brought a fresh consortium rather than a stable long-term network.

What sets them apart

devolo is unusual among German hardware SMEs in combining deep consumer networking product experience with demonstrated involvement in energy management and EV charging electronics — a combination that bridges home automation and e-mobility markets. Their ECSEL-RIA participation signals credibility with the European electronics research community, which typically involves Tier-1 industrial players. For consortia needing a partner who can take sensor and hardware security requirements from specification to manufacturable product, devolo's dual background is a real differentiator.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PROGRESSUS
  Highest keyword density of the two projects, covering power conversion, microgrid, EV fast charging, TMR/Hall sensors, blockchain, and hardware security — signaling devolo's most technically specific and diverse EU contribution to date.
• CONNECT
  Largest single funding award (EUR 324,045) and an ECSEL-RIA scheme, placing devolo inside one of Europe's most competitive and industrially demanding electronics research programs.