WAVESTONE ADVISORS

Their core work

Wavestone (formerly Kurt Salmon) is a major French management and technology consulting firm that provides strategic advisory services to EU-funded research and innovation projects. In H2020, they primarily served as a third-party expert brought in by consortium partners to deliver business strategy, market analysis, and exploitation planning. Their project portfolio spans smart cities, advanced materials, battery technology, and AI platforms — reflecting their role as sector-agnostic consultants who help technical consortia translate research outcomes into viable business models and market strategies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2016-2017, Wavestone's H2020 involvement centered on smart city governance, energy-efficient districts, scandium production, and advanced manufacturing — reflecting broad consulting engagements across urban innovation and industrial processes. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted markedly toward digital technologies (AI platforms), battery materials (Li-ion, rocksalt chemistries), and health procurement innovation. This evolution tracks the broader EU funding priorities shifting from infrastructure-focused projects toward deep-tech and digital transformation.

Wavestone is moving toward AI, digital platforms, and energy storage advisory — expect them to appear in future Horizon Europe projects where technical consortia need business strategy and market exploitation expertise.

How they like to work

Wavestone never coordinates — they join as participants (4 projects) or, more commonly, as third-party contributors (8 projects), meaning they are subcontracted by a consortium partner to deliver specific consulting services. With 283 unique partners across 27 countries, their network is extraordinarily wide but shallow, typical of a consulting firm brought in for targeted advisory work rather than sustained technical collaboration. Working with them means engaging a professional services provider, not a long-term research partner.

Despite modest direct funding, Wavestone touches 283 unique partners across 27 EU countries through its advisory roles — one of the broadest indirect networks achievable without ever leading a project. Their reach is pan-European with no strong geographic concentration.

What sets them apart

Wavestone fills a specific niche in H2020 consortia: the management consulting firm that helps translate deep-tech research into business cases, market strategies, and exploitation plans. Unlike research institutes or technology companies, they bring commercial thinking to scientific projects. For consortium builders, Wavestone is valuable when you have strong technical partners but need someone to handle business model design, market analysis, or go-to-market strategy for project results.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AI4EU
  Largest funded project (EUR 249,902) building the European AI On Demand Platform — a flagship EU initiative where Wavestone contributed to ecosystem and business model design.
• SMARTER TOGETHER
  Major smart cities lighthouse project across Vienna, Lyon, and Munich, where Wavestone contributed governance and business model expertise for urban district transformation.
• RemovAL
  Large-scale circular economy project tackling aluminium industry waste streams across Europe — demonstrates Wavestone's reach into heavy industrial sustainability consulting.