VIESSMANN WERKE GMBH & CO KG

Their core work

Viessmann is a major German heating and climate solutions manufacturer producing boilers, heat pumps, fuel cells, and combined heat-and-power (CHP) systems for residential and commercial buildings. In H2020, they contributed their industrial manufacturing capability and European market reach to move fuel cell micro-CHP units from demonstration to commercial deployment in homes. They also engaged in advanced building control research, integrating model predictive control with hybrid thermal/geothermal systems. Their value lies in bridging laboratory prototypes and mass-market energy products through established supply chains and installer networks.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both H2020 projects began in 2016, so there is no internal evolution visible in this dataset — Viessmann entered H2020 in a single wave focused on low-carbon residential heating. The dominant thread is fuel cell micro-CHP commercialisation, complemented by a smaller research effort in intelligent control of hybrid thermal systems. Outside H2020, their public product direction has shifted toward heat pumps and hydrogen-ready boilers, but that is not reflected in these two grants.

Their H2020 track record shows a strong industrial commitment to commercialising residential clean-heat technologies, making them a natural partner for any consortium moving hardware from pilot to market.

How they like to work

Viessmann consistently joins large consortia as an industrial partner rather than a coordinator — in PACE alone they sat alongside dozens of other manufacturers, utilities, and research institutes. They appear to prefer bringing manufacturing muscle and customer access to projects led by others, which means they are accessible as a partner but will not drive project administration. Expect them to be selective: they engage where a clear product route exists.

Across their two H2020 projects, Viessmann worked with 38 unique partners across 12 countries, reflecting the pan-European scope of the PACE fuel cell rollout in particular.

What sets them apart

Unlike most research-heavy H2020 participants, Viessmann is a large industrial manufacturer with existing factories, distribution channels, and trained installer networks across Europe. This means research outputs they touch have a realistic route to real homes and buildings, not just prototype demonstrations. For a consortium that needs a credible commercialisation partner for residential energy hardware, Viessmann is one of the few names in Germany that can deliver at scale.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PACE
  A flagship €90M+ EU initiative for fuel cell micro-CHP deployment in which Viessmann received EUR 7.25M — the vast majority of their H2020 funding.
• MPC-GT
  A small but technically distinct research project combining model predictive control with geothermal-hybrid thermal systems, showing interest in smart building controls beyond core products.