GUIDEHOUSE NETHERLANDS BV

Their core work

Guidehouse Netherlands (formerly Ecofys) is an energy and sustainability consultancy providing policy analysis, market design, and strategic advisory services for the European energy transition. Their H2020 involvement centers on renewable energy support scheme design — particularly auction mechanisms — and CO2 transport infrastructure planning. They contribute specialist knowledge on energy policy implementation and regulatory frameworks, typically serving as a third-party expert brought in for targeted analytical contributions rather than leading research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

With only three projects spanning 2015-2022, the evolution is limited but shows continuity. Their early work (2015-2017) covered both renewable energy auctions (AURES) and carbon transport (GATEWAY), while their later involvement (AURES II, 2018-2022) narrowed to renewable energy auction mechanisms specifically. This suggests a deepening specialization in energy market design and auction policy rather than a broadening of scope.

Guidehouse appears to be consolidating around renewable energy market design and auction mechanisms, making them a natural partner for projects addressing energy policy implementation at scale.

How they like to work

Guidehouse operates almost exclusively as a third-party expert or minor participant rather than a project leader — zero coordinator roles across all three projects. With 21 unique consortium partners across 9 countries from just 3 projects, they embed into large, multi-country consortia. This pattern is typical of a consultancy that provides targeted expertise on demand rather than driving research agendas.

Despite only three projects, Guidehouse has touched 21 partners across 9 countries, reflecting the large consortia typical of Coordination and Support Actions in energy policy. Their network is broad but likely driven by the consortium structure rather than deep bilateral relationships.

What sets them apart

Guidehouse (formerly Ecofys) brings decades of energy consultancy expertise to EU projects, particularly in translating policy research into actionable market design. Their value lies not in developing technology but in understanding how energy markets, regulations, and support mechanisms actually work in practice. For consortium builders, they fill the policy analysis and implementation advisory gap that pure research organizations cannot.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AURES II
  Continuation of the original AURES project into a second phase (2018-2022), indicating that the renewable energy auction research was impactful enough to warrant extended EU funding.
• GATEWAY
  A pilot case for European CO2 transport infrastructure — a strategically important topic for carbon capture and storage deployment across Europe.