ELLINIKI ETAIREIA ENERGEIAKIS OIKONOMIAS

Their core work

The Hellenic Association for Energy Economics (HAEE) is a Greek think tank and professional association focused on energy policy, economics, and the practical implementation of clean energy transitions. In their H2020 work, they contributed to capacity building, investment facilitation, and technical assistance for island energy systems — helping communities and investors understand and unlock funding for renewable energy projects. Their role spans bridging the gap between energy policy analysis and on-the-ground deployment, particularly in geographically isolated and energy-vulnerable regions. They bring an economics and finance lens to energy projects, which is relatively rare in research consortia dominated by technical partners.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier H2020 work (NESOI, 2019), HAEE's focus was squarely on investment readiness — helping island communities attract private capital through fund matching, investment concepts, and on-site technical assistance for renewable energy and efficiency projects. By 2020 (IANOS), the emphasis shifted from investment facilitation toward smarter energy system design: decarbonization, virtual power plants, local energy communities, and even nascent hydrogen topics. The trend shows a progression from energy economics and finance advisory toward active participation in the design of integrated, smart island energy systems.

HAEE is moving from a pure economics/policy advisory role into engagement with smart energy infrastructure and community energy governance, making them increasingly relevant for consortia needing both policy expertise and system-level thinking on decarbonization.

How they like to work

HAEE has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as coordinator — across both H2020 projects, suggesting they function as a specialist contributor rather than a project leader. Their consortia were sizeable (44 unique partners across 12 countries), indicating they are comfortable operating within large, multi-stakeholder research projects. Their contribution appears to be a defined advisory or capacity-building package rather than a technical research role, which makes them predictable and low-friction partners in large consortia.

HAEE has built connections with 44 distinct partners across 12 countries through just two projects, reflecting the large and geographically diverse consortia typical of EU island energy initiatives. Their network is predominantly European, with likely strong ties to Mediterranean and island-region actors given both projects' thematic focus.

What sets them apart

HAEE occupies an unusual niche as an economics-first organization in energy consortia that are typically dominated by engineers and researchers — they bring the investment, finance, and policy translation layer that technical partners often lack. Their specialization in island energy systems gives them deep contextual knowledge of the constraints, regulations, and funding mechanisms specific to non-interconnected zones across Europe. For any consortium targeting island or remote community decarbonization, HAEE provides credibility with investors and policymakers rather than laboratory results.

Highlights from their portfolio

• IANOS
  The larger of the two projects (EUR 118,125 EC share), IANOS tackled integrated island decarbonization including virtual power plants, local energy communities, and geothermal hydrogen — making it the most thematically ambitious project in HAEE's portfolio.
• NESOI
  The European Islands Facility project stands out for its direct focus on mobilizing private investment for island renewables, with HAEE contributing fund-matching and investor-facing technical assistance — a rare economics role in a research project.