ECOPOWER

Their core work

Ecopower is a Belgian renewable energy cooperative that produces and supplies green electricity to its members while actively promoting citizen-owned energy. They bring the cooperative business model and real-world energy community experience into EU research projects, serving as a living lab for testing smart grid solutions, community energy platforms, and citizen engagement approaches. Their practical expertise spans from operating solar and wind installations to designing financial schemes that help households — including energy-poor and vulnerable ones — participate in the energy transition.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2018), Ecopower focused on establishing cooperative energy models and smart grid infrastructure — projects like RESCOOP MECISE mobilized citizens to invest in sustainable energy, while NOBEL GRID and WiseGRID tested flexible grid business models. From 2019 onward, their focus broadened into circular economy (battery second-life, PV recycling via CIRCUSOL), smart buildings with open-source automation (REScoopVPP), and tackling energy poverty (POWER UP). The trajectory shows a cooperative that matured from building energy communities toward making those communities smarter, more inclusive, and more resource-efficient.

Ecopower is moving toward integrating social inclusion (energy poverty), circular resource management (batteries, PV), and smart building technologies within the energy cooperative model — expect future work at the intersection of energy justice and digital community platforms.

How they like to work

Ecopower predominantly joins projects as a participant (8 of 10), contributing real-world cooperative infrastructure and member base rather than leading research agendas. They coordinated one project (RESCOOP MECISE) focused specifically on their core competence of mobilizing citizens for cooperative energy investment. With 115 unique partners across 20 countries, they operate as a well-connected but practical partner — the organization that brings thousands of actual cooperative members and operational energy assets to the table, not just a research contribution.

Ecopower has collaborated with 115 unique partners across 20 countries, reflecting deep integration into the European energy community ecosystem. Their network likely centers on energy cooperatives, grid operators, and research institutions across Western and Northern Europe.

What sets them apart

Ecopower is not a research lab or a consultancy — it is a functioning energy cooperative with tens of thousands of members, making it one of the rare H2020 participants that can offer a real operational testbed for citizen energy concepts. Where most project partners bring expertise or technology, Ecopower brings an actual community of energy prosumers and cooperative governance experience. For any consortium working on energy communities, demand response, or citizen engagement, they provide something almost impossible to simulate: a large, active, and willing user base.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RESCOOP MECISE
  The only project Ecopower coordinated — directly aligned with their core mission of mobilizing citizens for cooperative energy investment (EUR 555K).
• WiseGRID
  Their largest single grant (EUR 884K), a wide-scale demonstration of integrated smart grid solutions and business models.
• CIRCUSOL
  Represents a strategic expansion into circular economy for solar power and battery second-life — a new direction beyond their traditional cooperative energy focus.