EUROPEAN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION INSTITUTE (ESCI) GGMBH

Their core work

ESCI is a German non-profit specializing in science communication, public engagement, and co-creation within EU research and innovation projects. They bridge the gap between technical research consortia and the public by managing dissemination, citizen engagement, and communication strategies across energy, environment, and industrial topics. Their consistent role as a communication and engagement partner across 28 diverse H2020 projects — spanning energy systems, circular economy, food processing, and manufacturing — shows they are a go-to organization for making complex research accessible and driving societal uptake of project results.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ESCI's early H2020 work (2017–2019) centered on renewable energy systems, smart cities, and citizen engagement — projects like IRIS, WEDISTRICT, and GRECO focused on prosumers, energy efficiency, and participatory science. From 2020 onward, their portfolio shifted decisively toward circular economy, resource recovery, and industrial digitalization, with projects like SALEMA (critical raw materials recycling), SEA4VALUE (desalination brine valorization), and OMICRON (digital twins for road maintenance). This evolution mirrors the EU's own funding priorities, suggesting ESCI actively repositions its communication expertise to match emerging research themes.

ESCI is moving toward circular economy, raw materials, and digital transformation communication — expect them to be available for Green Deal and digital industry projects.

How they like to work

ESCI operates exclusively as a consortium partner — they have never coordinated a project, joining all 28 as participant or third party. With 515 unique partners across 37 countries, they function as a high-connectivity node rather than a project leader, bringing communication infrastructure to diverse consortia. Their broad partner network and consistent participant role make them easy to integrate into new proposals — they are a proven, low-risk addition for any consortium needing professional dissemination and public engagement.

ESCI has collaborated with 515 unique partners across 37 countries, giving them one of the widest contact networks among communication-focused organizations in H2020. Their geographic spread is pan-European with no single country bias, making them a well-connected dissemination partner for any European consortium.

What sets them apart

ESCI occupies a specific niche: a dedicated, non-profit science communication organization that can serve as the dissemination and engagement work package partner across virtually any technical domain. Unlike university communication departments or PR firms, their entire organizational purpose is translating research into public understanding, which explains their presence across such diverse topics — from pig production to photovoltaics. For consortium builders, ESCI offers a proven track record (28 projects), an enormous existing partner network (515 organizations), and the institutional memory of how EU dissemination requirements actually work in practice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ebalance-plus
  Largest single EC contribution to ESCI (EUR 778,750), focused on energy grid flexibility and prosumer markets — indicating deep trust in their engagement capabilities.
• IMPETUS
  Second-largest funding (EUR 744,750) and their most recent major project, applying quintuple helix co-creation to climate resilience — signals their current strategic direction.
• GRECO
  A dedicated Responsible Research and Innovation project in photovoltaics, directly aligned with ESCI's core mission of open science and citizen engagement in energy research.