RUBITHERM TECHNOLOGIES GMBH

Their core work

Rubitherm Technologies is a Berlin-based SME specializing in thermal energy storage materials — most likely phase change materials (PCMs), given the company name and project portfolio — that store and release heat at specific temperatures for industrial and building applications. They contribute commercial material expertise and market-ready products to research consortia rather than leading projects themselves. In the QUIET project they applied their thermal materials knowledge to electric vehicle efficiency, and in iclimabuilt they are developing advanced insulating and energy harvesting/storage materials for climate-adaptive buildings. Their role is that of a specialist industrial partner bridging laboratory-scale research with manufacturable thermal storage solutions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Early participation (QUIET, 2017-2021) placed Rubitherm in the transport sector, suggesting their thermal materials were initially applied to mobility and electric vehicle challenges. Their more recent project (iclimabuilt, 2021-2025) shifts focus firmly toward building energy efficiency and climate adaptation — a sector with larger market volume and strong EU regulatory backing. The trajectory suggests a deliberate pivot from niche transport applications toward the high-demand construction and deep building renovation market.

Rubitherm is moving toward building-integrated thermal energy storage, positioning themselves squarely in the climate-adaptive construction and deep renovation market — one of the EU's fastest-growing funded research areas under the Green Deal.

How they like to work

Rubitherm always joins as a participant, never as project coordinator, indicating a preference for contributing specialist expertise rather than managing consortia logistics. With 43 unique partners across 18 countries from just two projects, they consistently participate in large, multi-country innovation consortia. This pattern marks them as a reliable specialist industrial partner that brings commercial product and testing capabilities to otherwise research-heavy teams.

Rubitherm has accumulated 43 unique consortium partners across 18 countries from only two projects, reflecting the large-scale international consortia typical of EU Innovation Actions and RIAs. Their network spans over half of EU member states despite holding no coordinator roles, suggesting they are actively sought as an industrial specialist by consortium builders.

What sets them apart

As a commercial SME specializing in thermal materials, Rubitherm fills the critical industrial exploitation slot in research consortia — the partner who can turn laboratory results into manufacturable, market-ready products. Their demonstrated presence in both transport and building sectors gives them rare cross-sector credibility in thermal energy storage, an increasingly strategic capability as the EU pushes simultaneous decarbonization of buildings and mobility. For consortium builders, they represent a direct path from research output to commercial application without going through a large industrial intermediary.

Highlights from their portfolio

• iclimabuilt
  The larger of the two projects (EUR 281,349 EC funding) and the most direct match to energy storage materials expertise, targeting climate-adaptive buildings — one of the EU's highest-priority research areas under the Green Deal.
• QUIET
  Demonstrates cross-sector application of thermal material expertise in electric vehicles, confirming versatility beyond buildings and showing early engagement with transport decarbonization challenges.