EPEA GMBH - PART OF DREES AND SOMMER

Their core work

EPEA is a circular economy consultancy embedded within Drees & Sommer, one of Europe's largest engineering and real estate consulting groups. They specialize in applying circular economy principles to the built environment — translating concepts like materials passports, reversible building design, and end-of-life material recovery into practical strategies and tools for the construction sector. In H2020, their work spans from developing frameworks for buildings as material banks (BAMB) to deploying digital tracking systems using BIM, RFID, and QR codes for recovering construction materials at demolition (ICEBERG). Their core value is bridging the gap between circular economy design theory and on-site, digitally-enabled implementation in real buildings.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 work (BAMB, 2015-2019), EPEA focused on the conceptual and strategic layer — defining what materials passports are and how reversible design can keep construction materials in circulation across building lifecycles. By the time ICEBERG launched (2020-2024), the focus had shifted decisively toward digital implementation: BIM-based auditing before demolition, RFID and QR code tracing of individual material flows, and advanced sorting at the point of recovery. The trajectory is unmistakable — from frameworks and design philosophy to technology-enabled, site-level execution of circular principles.

EPEA is moving from circular economy policy frameworks into digitally-enabled construction practice, making them increasingly relevant to construction tech, digital twin, and material recovery initiatives where BIM and IoT tracing are becoming standard requirements.

How they like to work

EPEA consistently participates as a specialist contributor — they have never led an H2020 project as coordinator. Despite this non-leadership posture, they operate in very large consortia: across just 2 projects they have worked with 57 unique partners across 14 countries, pointing to participation in flagship, multi-partner Innovation Actions rather than boutique research collaborations. They are a sought-after specialist that brings circular economy methodology into large construction-sector consortia.

Across only 2 H2020 projects, EPEA has connected with 57 unique partners across 14 European countries — a scale that signals participation in large, well-connected consortia spanning the full circular construction value chain, from designers and manufacturers to demolition contractors and digital platform providers.

What sets them apart

EPEA combines deep circular economy consulting expertise with the industry weight of the Drees & Sommer group, giving them both methodological credibility and direct access to the construction and real estate sector that a standalone research institute cannot offer. Their H2020 record shows they contribute specialized know-how on materials passports and digital material tracing to large multi-country consortia tackling concrete construction challenges. For a consortium builder in circular construction, they add practical implementation depth and connect academic circular economy concepts to real building sector workflows.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BAMB
  One of the first EU projects to formalize the buildings-as-material-banks concept, BAMB shaped thinking around materials passports that has since entered EU circular economy legislation — EPEA's third-party role reflects their position as a methodological contributor to this policy-influencing initiative.
• ICEBERG
  EPEA's only directly funded H2020 participant role (EUR 294,350), ICEBERG is an Innovation Action that puts their circular economy expertise to work in digital implementation — combining BIM auditing, RFID and QR material tracing, and advanced sorting in a live construction waste recovery project.