ENTRA ENERGY

Their core work

Entra Energy is a Sofia-based technology SME working at the intersection of energy grid digitalization and telecommunications infrastructure. In their core work, they develop and deploy digital solutions for electricity distribution grids — enabling flexibility services such as vehicle-to-grid, power-to-gas, and demand response using IoT and blockchain platforms. More recently, they have pivoted toward applying 5G mobile network technologies to smart grid operations, working on network softwarisation and edge computing architectures that allow energy systems to exploit next-generation telecom infrastructure. Their value to consortia lies in translating abstract digital network capabilities into concrete energy grid applications.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Entra Energy entered H2020 with a focus on grid-level digital tools — blockchain ledgers for flexibility trading, IoT sensors for distribution grid monitoring, and protocols for vehicle-to-grid and power-to-gas integration. By their second project, the vocabulary had shifted almost entirely: grid hardware fades into the background and 5G mobile infrastructure, mobile edge computing, and network softwarisation move to the foreground. The through-line is the same — making energy grids smarter and more flexible — but the enabling technology has moved from the grid itself to the telecom layer sitting above it.

Entra Energy is moving toward telecom-energy convergence — if this trajectory holds, future collaborations will likely sit at the boundary between mobile network operators and energy system operators, making them a useful bridge partner for consortia that need both worlds represented.

How they like to work

Entra Energy has participated exclusively as a consortium partner, never as project coordinator, across both H2020 projects. They operate inside large, internationally distributed consortia — 46 unique partners across 13 countries from just two projects implies an average of roughly 23 partners per project, typical of large Innovation Actions. This pattern suggests they contribute a well-defined specialist capability (digital energy platforms, 5G integration) rather than driving the overall project agenda, and they are experienced at working within multi-partner coordination structures without needing to lead them.

With 46 unique partners across 13 countries from only two projects, Entra Energy has built a disproportionately wide network for its size — this is a hallmark of large EU Innovation Actions where a single project can bring 20–30 organisations together. Their reach is firmly European, with no indication of partnerships outside EU and associated countries.

What sets them apart

Entra Energy is one of very few Bulgarian private companies with hands-on Innovation Action experience spanning both energy grid flexibility and 5G network infrastructure — two sectors that are converging rapidly as grid operators seek real-time control capabilities. For consortium builders, they offer something rare: a small, agile SME with credible technical depth in both the energy domain and the telecom/network softwarisation domain, which typically require separate partners. Their Bulgarian base also provides geographic and regulatory diversity useful for consortia targeting Southeast European energy markets.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FLEXIGRID
  Their largest project (EUR 390,250) and clearest expression of core expertise — blockchain and IoT applied to real distribution grid flexibility, including vehicle-to-grid and power-to-gas use cases.
• SMART5GRID
  A strategically significant pivot: one of the first EU projects to demonstrate 5G network solutions purpose-built for smart energy grids, positioning Entra Energy at the telecom-energy frontier.