DIRECAO-GERAL DE ENERGIA E GEOLOGIA

Their core work

DGEG is Portugal's national authority for energy and geological resources policy, responsible for regulating, licensing, and overseeing the energy sector and subsurface resources. In H2020, they contribute regulatory expertise and national policy coordination to European energy initiatives — particularly around transposing EU directives into Portuguese law and sharing implementation experience across member states. Their work spans energy efficiency regulation, geothermal resource governance, carbon capture and storage (CCUS) strategic planning, and renewable energy policy coordination.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2016–2018), DGEG focused on energy efficiency directive implementation and geothermal energy — reflecting their core regulatory mandate and Portugal's subsurface resource interests. From 2019 onward, their portfolio expanded into CCUS infrastructure planning, concentrated solar power funding, and ocean energy — signaling a shift toward decarbonisation technologies and climate change mitigation. This evolution tracks Portugal's growing ambition in clean energy transition, with DGEG moving from pure regulatory coordination toward strategic energy technology planning.

DGEG is broadening from directive transposition into strategic decarbonisation planning — expect growing involvement in CCUS, renewable energy technologies, and national climate policy coordination.

How they like to work

DGEG participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a national regulatory body contributing policy expertise rather than leading research. They work in large consortia (122 unique partners across 34 countries), typical of Concerted Actions and ERA-NET schemes that bring together all EU member state representatives. This makes them a reliable, low-risk partner who understands multi-country coordination but won't drive project design.

DGEG has worked with 122 distinct partners across 34 countries, giving them one of the broadest geographic networks possible for a national authority. This reach comes naturally from Concerted Actions, which typically include representatives from every EU member state.

What sets them apart

As Portugal's official energy and geology authority, DGEG brings something most consortium partners cannot: direct regulatory power and policy implementation experience at the national level. They are not a research institute or consultancy — they are the government body that actually transposes EU energy directives into Portuguese law. For any project needing a credible public authority partner with hands-on experience in energy regulation, permitting, or subsurface resource governance, DGEG is a natural fit.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CA-EED 2
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 161,004) and their flagship activity — directly supporting Energy Efficiency Directive implementation across all member states.
• STRATEGY CCUS
  Marks DGEG's entry into carbon capture and storage planning, with a specific focus on CCUS infrastructure for Southern and Eastern Europe — strategically relevant for Portugal's geology.
• GEOTHERMICA
  Longest-running project (2017–2022) and an ERA-NET Cofund, where DGEG helped coordinate European geothermal research funding priorities.