FUNDACION PARA EL FOMENTO DE LA INNOVACION INDUSTRIAL

Their core work

This Madrid-based foundation specializes in energy product testing, market surveillance, and standards enforcement — ensuring that appliances like air conditioners, tumble driers, and heaters actually meet EU eco-design and energy labelling requirements. They also bring metrology expertise to smart grid measurement and power quality assessment. Their work bridges the gap between EU energy efficiency regulations on paper and real compliance in the marketplace, making them a practical enforcement and testing partner rather than a pure research lab.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 work (2016-2017) centred on electrical grid metrology — smart grids, power quality measurement, and distributed generation monitoring. From 2018 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward energy product compliance: eco-design testing, energy labelling enforcement, and anti-circumvention of measurement standards. Their most recent involvement in solar thermal (ASTEP, 2020) hints at a broadening toward renewable energy applications beyond their traditional testing and surveillance niche.

They are consolidating as a go-to partner for EU energy product enforcement while tentatively expanding into solar thermal industrial applications.

How they like to work

They have never coordinated an H2020 project, consistently joining as a participant or third party — suggesting they contribute specialized testing and measurement expertise rather than driving project strategy. With 75 unique partners across 27 countries from just 5 projects, they operate in large, pan-European consortia typical of Coordination and Support Actions in the energy compliance space. This makes them easy to integrate into large consortia where reliable technical contribution matters more than project leadership.

Extensive network of 75 partners across 27 countries built through large compliance-focused consortia, giving them connections to national market surveillance authorities, testing labs, and energy agencies across nearly all EU member states.

What sets them apart

They sit at the intersection of industrial testing capability and regulatory enforcement — a combination that is rare among Spanish research foundations. While many energy research centres focus on technology development, this foundation focuses on whether products actually deliver on their energy efficiency promises. For any consortium needing credible product testing, compliance verification, or anti-circumvention expertise, they bring hands-on lab and enforcement experience that pure research institutes lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ANTICSS
  Directly tackled the politically sensitive problem of manufacturers circumventing energy efficiency measurement standards — a niche but high-impact regulatory topic.
• MEAN4SG
  Their only MSCA project, an academic training network for smart grid metrology, showing capacity for research training beyond their usual enforcement role.
• EEPLIANT3
  Largest compliance enforcement action covering the widest range of product categories (air conditioners, fans, tumble driers, heaters, lamps, ventilation units).