SABIEDRIBA AR IEROBEZOTU ATBILDIBU DIGAS

Their core work

DiGas Group is a Latvian technology SME specializing in dual-fuel conversion systems for diesel railway locomotives, enabling them to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) alongside diesel. Their core product is an aftermarket retrofitting system that modernizes existing diesel locomotive fleets without full replacement, reducing fuel costs and air pollutant emissions. They progressed from a validated feasibility concept (SME-1) to a commercially developed product (SME-2), suggesting they are past the research stage and oriented toward market deployment. Their work sits at the intersection of transport decarbonization and industrial retrofitting.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

DiGas Group's H2020 participation covers a short but coherent arc from 2016 to 2021, entirely focused on the same core technology: dual-fuel conversion for diesel locomotives. Their first project (SME-1, 2016) was a feasibility assessment, while the second (SME-2, 2017-2021) was a full product development effort with over €1.3M in funding — a classic deepening of a single bet rather than diversification. There is no evidence of a pivot or broadening of scope; they appear to have concentrated all EU funding on bringing one specific product to market.

DiGas appears to be a single-product company that used EU funding to develop and validate its locomotive dual-fuel retrofit technology; future collaboration interest would likely center on scaling or applying that technology to adjacent transport markets (marine, heavy road vehicles).

How they like to work

DiGas has exclusively acted as project coordinator and applied as a solo SME through the SME Instrument — a funding scheme that does not require consortium partners. This means they have no recorded H2020 collaboration history with other organizations, which is structurally expected for their funding path rather than a sign of isolation. For future partnerships, this suggests they are an independent technology developer that would likely enter consortia as a specialized industrial partner rather than a research coordinator.

DiGas has no consortium partners recorded in H2020 data, consistent with their use of the SME Instrument which allows solo applications. Their network outside of EU projects — customers, suppliers, railway operators — is not visible from this data.

What sets them apart

DiGas Group occupies a narrow but commercially relevant niche: aftermarket dual-fuel conversion for existing diesel locomotive fleets, addressing the large installed base of aging diesel rail infrastructure across Eastern Europe and the Baltic region. Unlike research institutes, they are developing an actual deployable retrofit product, making them a potential industrial partner or technology licensor rather than a research collaborator. Their Latvian base and Baltic context may give them direct access to rail operators running Soviet-era diesel fleets in need of modernization.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NYSMART
  The largest project by far at €1.34M EC funding, representing the full-scale development of their dual-fuel locomotive system — the company's primary commercial asset.
• DiGas Dual fuel
  The SME-1 feasibility study that launched their EU funding trajectory, validating the business case for CNG/LNG locomotive retrofit before the larger investment.