ELLINOGERMANIKO EMPORIKO & VIOMICHANIKO EPIMELITIRIO

Their core work

The German-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a bilateral business association that bridges Greek and German industrial and commercial communities. In H2020 projects, their primary contribution is network access — they bring a real business audience (SMEs, manufacturers, energy managers, trade associations) that research consortia struggle to reach on their own. In EUREMnext, they connected industrial enterprises to energy audit recommendations, helping translate research outputs into on-the-ground efficiency improvements. In OntoChain, they contributed their commercial network as a context and dissemination channel for a blockchain-based knowledge system targeting supply chains and business transactions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first project, EUREMnext (2018), was firmly rooted in the physical economy — energy management, industrial efficiency, and the practical implementation of energy audits, topics that map directly onto their traditional membership base of manufacturers and commercial enterprises. By 2020, their second project, OntoChain, marks a clear pivot toward digital infrastructure: distributed ledger technologies, semantic knowledge systems, and blockchain-based reputation models. This shift suggests the Chamber is actively repositioning to help its business community navigate digital transformation, not just physical-sector efficiency challenges.

They are moving from physical-sector support (energy efficiency for industry) toward digital technology adoption topics, suggesting future collaboration interest in projects that require credible business-community access for blockchain, data governance, or digital supply chain pilots.

How they like to work

They have participated in both projects as a non-coordinating partner, which is consistent with their role as a network and dissemination asset rather than a technical research driver — they bring connections, not laboratories. Despite having only two projects, they engaged 22 unique partners across 18 countries, indicating they join large, internationally diverse consortia where a Greek-German business bridge adds distinct value. Working with them means gaining structured access to industrial SMEs and commercial associations in two EU member states, in exchange for including them as a consortium partner.

With 22 unique consortium partners across 18 countries from just two projects, the Chamber consistently participates in large pan-European consortia. Their Greek-German bilateral positioning gives them a natural bridge function between Southern and Central European business communities.

What sets them apart

The German-Hellenic Chamber is one of very few organizations in Greece that can simultaneously mobilize industrial and commercial networks in both Germany and Greece — two of the EU's largest economies. This bilateral reach is rare among chambers and makes them particularly valuable in consortia that need real business end-users or dissemination channels across multiple member states. For projects targeting industrial SMEs or commercial enterprises in Southern and Central Europe, they offer an institutional front door that academic or technology partners typically cannot open on their own.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OntoChain
  Their highest-funded project (EUR 142,000) and a technically ambitious entry into distributed ledger and semantic web territory — unusual for a trade chamber, signaling genuine ambition to engage their business community with emerging digital infrastructure.
• EUREMnext
  Their first H2020 engagement, focused on translating energy audit research into practical outcomes for industrial energy managers — a textbook match for a bilateral industrial chamber's real-world network value.