FREIE HANSESTADT BREMEN

Their core work

The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is a German city-state government that operates as a regional innovation hub, providing structured support services to help SMEs access EU funding instruments and improve their innovation management capabilities. Through its municipal role, Bremen also serves as a living laboratory for urban transport and energy projects — deploying electric public transport, shared mobility systems, smart charging infrastructure, and zero-emission urban logistics within its city boundaries. Their dual function combines public-sector innovation brokerage with real-world urban testbed provision.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Bremen began its H2020 participation focused on two parallel tracks: building SME innovation support services (InnoBremen series) and electrifying public transport (ELIPTIC). From 2018 onward, their transport work expanded significantly into shared mobility, smart charging, energy-smart neighborhoods, and ultimately zero-emission urban logistics. The innovation support function remained constant throughout, but the urban systems work grew more ambitious — moving from single-mode electrification toward integrated, multi-modal, on-demand urban transport and energy systems.

Bremen is moving toward integrated zero-emission urban logistics and mobility-as-a-service, making them a strong partner for projects combining transport decarbonization with digital service models.

How they like to work

Bremen predominantly leads projects — coordinating 6 of 10, which is unusual for a public authority and reflects strong proposal-writing and project management capacity. With 182 unique partners across 19 countries, they maintain a broad, non-repetitive network rather than relying on a fixed group of collaborators. This makes them a well-connected consortium builder who can bring diverse European partners to the table, particularly valuable for cities-focused coordination and support actions.

Bremen has worked with 182 distinct partners across 19 countries, indicating an extensive and diverse European network. Their partnerships span municipal governments, transport operators, energy providers, and research institutions across Western and Northern Europe.

What sets them apart

Bremen occupies a rare dual role: they are simultaneously a public authority that can deploy and test urban innovations in a real city, and an experienced innovation broker connecting SMEs to EU funding. This combination means they can offer consortium partners both policy-level commitment and ground-level implementation sites. For any project needing a German city testbed with proven EU project coordination experience, Bremen is a particularly strong fit.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ELIPTIC
  Largest single grant (EUR 522,406) and their first major transport coordination — electrification of public transport across European cities.
• ULaaDS
  Most recent coordination (EUR 375,150) representing their strategic pivot toward zero-emission on-demand urban logistics.
• InnoBremen
  Four consecutive editions (2015-2021) demonstrate sustained commitment to SME innovation services, a rare continuity in H2020 portfolios.