STADT NURNBERG

Their core work

Stadt Nürnberg is the municipal government of Nuremberg, Germany, one of Bavaria's largest cities. In EU research projects, the city acts as a public-sector pilot site and demand-side partner for energy efficiency in buildings and sustainable public services. They bring real urban infrastructure — schools, public buildings, municipal energy data — as testbeds for innovative solutions. Their participation spans energy-efficient building renovation and sustainable school food procurement, reflecting a city government actively using EU projects to modernize public services.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Stadt Nürnberg's H2020 journey began with data-driven energy management (EDI-Net, 2016), using smart meter data to monitor and reduce energy consumption in public buildings. By 2020-2022, the focus shifted decisively toward deep building renovation and renewable energy supply (procuRE) and then broadened into sustainable food procurement for schools (SchoolFood4Change). The trajectory shows a city government moving from monitoring energy use to actively procuring innovative solutions — and expanding the innovation procurement approach beyond energy into public health and food.

Nuremberg is increasingly positioning itself as a public procurement innovator, using its buying power to drive market uptake of sustainable solutions in buildings and food systems.

How they like to work

Stadt Nürnberg always participates as a partner, never as coordinator — typical for a city government that provides real-world deployment sites rather than leading research. With 57 unique partners across just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia (averaging 19 partners per project). This makes them an accessible partner: they are accustomed to working in complex multi-country teams and bring end-user demand rather than competing for research leadership.

Despite only 3 projects, Nuremberg has collaborated with 57 unique partners across 18 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes typical of Innovation Actions and PCP projects. Their network spans most of the EU, with no narrow geographic bias.

What sets them apart

As a major German city, Nuremberg offers something research institutes and companies cannot: real public infrastructure at scale for piloting and validating innovations. Their involvement in pre-commercial procurement (procuRE) means they are not just a test site but an active buyer willing to commit municipal budgets to innovative solutions. For technology providers, partnering with Nuremberg gives access to a credible public-sector reference customer in Germany's second-largest state.

Highlights from their portfolio

• procuRE
  Pre-commercial procurement project for 100% renewable building energy — positions Nuremberg as a demanding buyer of building innovation, not just a passive pilot site.
• SchoolFood4Change
  Their largest funded project (EUR 415,240) and a strategic expansion from energy into food and public health, targeting school meal systems across Europe.