ERPC EUROPEAN RESEARCH PROGRAMME CONSULTING GMBH

Their core work

ERPC is a German boutique consultancy specialising in EU research programme participation — their company name makes their core business explicit. They embed in large Innovation Action consortia as a specialist contributor, likely providing EU project management, exploitation planning, and dissemination support rather than performing hands-on R&D. Their two H2020 projects — one in automotive big data and one in zero-defect manufacturing — both sit at the industrial digitisation frontier, suggesting they actively seek consortia where digital tools are being taken to market readiness. For research consortia, they bridge the gap between laboratory work and the EU funding system's administrative and exploitation requirements.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (AutoMat, 2015-2018), ERPC worked on automotive big data marketplace infrastructure — a mobility and connected-vehicle focus with no manufacturing angle. By their second project (QU4LITY, 2019-2022), they had shifted firmly into smart manufacturing, with explicit keywords around zero defect production, digital platforms, and quality control. The common thread is industrial digitisation, but the domain moved from automotive data services toward cross-sector manufacturing intelligence systems.

ERPC appears to be following the Industry 4.0 wave from connected vehicles into broader smart manufacturing — a trajectory that positions them well for Horizon Europe calls on digital twins, AI-driven quality control, and industrial data spaces.

How they like to work

ERPC exclusively joins consortia as a participant and has never led a project — consistent with a consulting firm that adds value through programme expertise rather than technical research leadership. Both their projects were large Innovation Actions with many partners (69 unique partners from just two projects), indicating a preference for, or inclusion in, large industrial consortia. Working with them likely means they handle specific deliverables around project management, communication, or business case development rather than technical work packages.

Despite only two projects, ERPC has touched 69 unique consortium partners across 14 countries — a surprisingly broad network for such a small organisation. This suggests their projects were large pan-European consortia, and that they have meaningful connections across the industrial digitisation community in Europe.

What sets them apart

ERPC's value is administrative and strategic rather than technical — they know how to operate inside large EU Innovation Actions, which is genuinely rare expertise that most R&D organisations lack. For consortia that need a partner capable of handling exploitation roadmaps, business model documentation, or EU compliance without distracting their technical partners, ERPC fills a specific and useful gap. As a German SME they also contribute to geographic and organisational diversity in consortia, which matters for EU eligibility scoring.

Highlights from their portfolio

• QU4LITY
  Their most recent and thematically richest project, targeting zero defect manufacturing with digital platforms across multiple industrial sectors — the clearest signal of their current domain focus.
• AutoMat
  Their only project with confirmed EC funding (EUR 340,375), covering the emerging automotive big data marketplace — an early-mover position in cross-sector vehicle data services.