VLERICK BUSINESS SCHOOL

Their core work

Vlerick Business School is a top-tier Belgian business school that brings market design, business model, and economic analysis expertise to EU energy and transport research projects. Rather than developing technology, they contribute the commercial and regulatory perspective — analyzing how new energy solutions can be monetized, how market mechanisms should be designed, and how business models around grid flexibility and logistics collaboration can work. Their role bridges the gap between technical innovation and real-world market adoption.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Vlerick's H2020 involvement started in 2015 with two parallel tracks: energy storage economics (STORY) and logistics network collaboration (NEXTRUST). By 2020, their focus narrowed and deepened into energy grid modernization, with EUniversal centering on market mechanisms, flexibility services, and DSO interfaces. The trajectory shows a clear consolidation toward the business and regulatory side of the energy transition, moving away from transport/logistics.

Vlerick is moving deeper into the economics of grid flexibility and energy market design — expect future work on DSO market platforms, flexibility trading, and energy community business models.

How they like to work

Vlerick participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for a business school contributing specialized economic and market analysis to technically-led consortia. With 74 unique partners across just 3 projects, they operate in large consortia (averaging ~25 partners per project), indicating comfort in major Innovation Action and Research & Innovation Action frameworks. They function as a trusted specialist contributor rather than a project driver.

Vlerick has built connections with 74 distinct consortium partners across 16 countries through just 3 projects, reflecting participation in large, pan-European consortia. Their network spans broadly across Europe rather than concentrating in any single region.

What sets them apart

Vlerick stands out as one of the few top business schools actively embedded in technical energy research consortia. While most partners contribute engineering or lab expertise, Vlerick brings market analysis, business model design, and commercial feasibility assessment — the skills that determine whether a technology actually reaches the market. For any consortium that needs to demonstrate exploitation potential or design market mechanisms, Vlerick is a credible and experienced partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EUniversal
  Directly addresses market-enabling interfaces for grid flexibility — the most commercially relevant and recent project, aligning with Europe's push for DSO flexibility markets.
• STORY
  Largest EC contribution (EUR 825K) and focused on quantifying the business value of energy storage in distribution grids — a question now central to the energy transition.