INSTITUT FUR KLIMASCHUTZ ENERGIE UND MOBILITAT-RECHT, OKONOMIE UND POLITIK EV

Their core work

IKEM is a Berlin-based research institute focused on the legal, economic, and policy dimensions of climate protection, energy, and mobility. In H2020 projects, they contribute expertise on regulatory frameworks, business models, and policy analysis for sustainable transport — particularly electromobility and charging infrastructure. Their work bridges the gap between technology development and the legal-economic conditions needed for real-world deployment, making them a valuable partner for projects that need to address market uptake, interoperability standards, and policy alignment alongside technical innovation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IKEM entered H2020 in 2018 with MEISTER, focused broadly on sustainable electrification of transport. By 2020-2021, their work sharpened toward specific policy and business model challenges: EV charging infrastructure standards (USER-CHI) and multimodal transport resilience (ORCHESTRA). The trajectory shows a move from general sustainable mobility toward more specialized questions about infrastructure deployment, interoperability regulation, and transport system resilience.

IKEM is moving toward the regulatory and economic challenges of deploying EV infrastructure at scale across European corridors, combined with growing interest in multimodal transport resilience — expect future work on policy frameworks for connected and automated vehicles.

How they like to work

IKEM operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a policy and legal analysis partner rather than a technology developer. With 57 unique partners across 12 countries from just 3 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia. This broad network suggests they are valued as a complementary partner who adds regulatory and economic perspective to technically-driven projects.

Despite only 3 projects, IKEM has built a network of 57 partners across 12 countries, indicating participation in large European consortia with wide geographic spread. Their Berlin base and transport policy focus likely connect them strongly to Western and Central European partners.

What sets them apart

IKEM's name literally translates to "Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility — Law, Economics and Policy," which captures exactly what they bring to the table. While most transport project partners contribute engineering or IT, IKEM provides the legal-economic analysis that determines whether a technical solution can actually be deployed and scaled. For any consortium building a transport or energy project that needs regulatory impact assessment, policy recommendations, or business model validation, IKEM fills a gap that technical partners typically cannot.

Highlights from their portfolio

• USER-CHI
  Largest funding (EUR 1.03M) — focused on user-centric EV charging infrastructure across TEN-T corridors, combining smart grid, interoperability, and business model design.
• ORCHESTRA
  Addresses multimodal transport resilience including automated transport and connected vehicles — signals IKEM's expansion beyond electromobility into broader transport system coordination.