Instrat

What Instrat does

Instrat (Fundacja Instrat) is a Polish non-profit think tank founded in 2016 and headquartered in Warsaw, operating with approximately 20 staff across energy modeling, ESG, just transition, digital economy and labor programs. The foundation's core technology assets are open-source: PyPSA-PL, an optimization model of the Polish power system used to build quantitative scenarios for the energy transition (and extended via PyPSA-UA to Ukraine and PyPSA-PL-mini as an educational derivative), complemented by three public data platforms — energy.instrat.pl (the first open-access Polish energy, mining and climate data hub with proprietary databases of power plants, coal mines, methane emissions and KOBIZE-derived industrial emissions), esg.instrat.pl (the first public database of climate targets of WIG20/mWIG40/sWIG80 companies, updated with CSRD/CSDD coverage), and symulator.instrat.pl (a household-level PV/heat pump/EV investment simulator). Supporting models include Pathways Explorer for 2050 climate neutrality pathways and an interactive coal-power-plant profitability calculator originally applied to Ostrołęka C.

Instrat does not monetize its data platforms or publications — all are released free under CC BY-SA 4.0 — and operates as a grant-funded foundation. Revenue is generated through project-based grants and consortium funding from public, philanthropic and multilateral sources, including INSTRAT Institutional Development, ESRS with NSZZ Solidarność, PyPSA-UA, Pathways Explorer (CLIMACT), FLEX4CEE, Clean Metals CEE, RAISING and Pivoting EU Hydrogen Strategies. Its customer base is institutional rather than commercial: Polish ministries (Climate and Environment, Energy, Finance, MFiPR), the Energy Market Agency, state-owned energy and mining companies (TAURON, Polska Grupa Górnicza, ZE PAK, PSE, ArcelorMittal), trade unions (NSZZ Solidarność), EU institutions (DG COMP, European Commission, Council of EU), and financial-sector/listed-company users of its ESG database. One disclosed equity-style grant in the input is a $144,861 award from Subak dated 2022-03-21.

The go-to-market is event- and evidence-driven: long-form policy papers, recurring webinars and conference debates (London Climate Action Week, Brussels, Karpacz Forum, DISE Congress), monthly newsletter distribution, social media and earned media in Forbes, Rzeczpospolita, TVN24, OKO.press and Reuters. Distribution is direct — self-serve for open content, direct advisory for project engagements, and multi-country research consortia for cross-border work in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.

Name

Instrat

Legal name

Fundacja Instrat

Website

https://instrat.pl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Instrat is a Warsaw-based Polish non-profit think tank founded in 2016 that produces open-source energy system models (PyPSA-PL), open data platforms on Polish energy, climate and ESG, and policy research serving ministries, state-owned energy and mining companies, EU institutions and trade unions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Warszawa

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and project funding: Operates as a Polish foundation (Fundacja Instrat, KRS 0000618811) with annual financial reports published for 2022, 2023, and 2024. Project portfolio indicates funding from public and philanthropic sources including project-based grants for initiatives such as INSTRAT Institutional Development, ESRS with NSZZ Solidarność, PyPSA-UA, Pathways Explorer (CLIMACT), FLEX4CEE, Clean Metals CEE, RAISING, and Pivoting EU Hydrogen Strategies.
2. Open data products and publications (free / CC BY-SA 4.0): Data platforms (energy.instrat.pl, esg.instrat.pl, symulator.instrat.pl) and publications are released under CC BY-SA 4.0 license and provided free of charge, supporting mission-driven public-interest research rather than direct monetization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Instrat is an independent Polish think tank foundation that produces evidence-based policy research, quantitative energy and climate modeling, and open-access data platforms. Its core offerings are free data hubs (energy.instrat.pl, esg.instrat.pl, symulator.instrat.pl), the proprietary open-source PyPSA-PL energy system optimization model, and tailored policy advisory and training for government, energy companies, and EU institutions.

Product overview

Instrat operates a portfolio of open-data and analytical products rather than a single unified SaaS application. The core data platforms are energy.instrat.pl (the first open-access data hub for Polish energy, climate, and mining data) and esg.instrat.pl (a database of climate targets of Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed companies). On top of these sit two analytical tools: symulator.instrat.pl (a household green-technology investment simulator for forecasting costs and savings) and PyPSA-PL (an open-access optimization model of the Polish power system used to build quantitative scenarios for Poland's energy transition), along with the related Pathways Explorer modelling tool and a searchable corporate-emissions database. The Instrat Foundation (Fundacja Instrat) acts as a think tank and produces reports, policy papers, and the Polska Karta Suwerenności Cyfrowej digital-sovereignty coalition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• energy.instrat.pl: Open-access data platform about energy, mining and climate in Poland – live charts, monthly and annual statistics, and proprietary databases.
• esg.instrat.pl
• symulator.instrat.pl

Products and services

• energy.instrat.pl Open-access data platform providing live charts, monthly and annual statistics, and proprietary databases (power plants, coal mines, industrial emissions including methane and CO2) for the Polish energy, mining and climate sector.
• esg.instrat.pl Public database presenting climate targets, emissions, reduction goals, and progress of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, including a CSRD/CSDD obligated entities database.
• symulator.instrat.pl Open simulator for forecasting costs and savings of investments in residential green technologies such as solar PV, heat pumps, and electric vehicles.
• PyPSA-PL Instrat's open-source optimization model of the Polish power system used to build quantitative scenarios for Poland's energy transition, including pathways such as 70%+ renewables by 2030 and climate neutrality analyses.
• Pathways Explorer Modeling tool that maps pathways to climate neutrality of the Polish economy by 2050, supporting legislative work of the European Commission and Polish policymakers.
• Corporate Emissions Database (KOBIZE) Searchable database of air pollutant emissions (methane, CO2 and other pollutants) from Polish enterprises for 2010-2022, built on KOBIZE source data and integrated into the energy.instrat.pl platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Contributed to abandonment of PLN 6+ bn Ostrołęka C coal plant investment by Energa and Enea in February 2020
• +6 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• TAURON Polska Energia S.A.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 November 2024TAURON Polska Energia S.A. and Fundacja Instrat concluded a partnership for just transition in southern Poland (announced 7 November 2024). The agreement makes TAURON a flagship strategic partner for Instrat's just-transition program.
• Polska Grupa Górnicza S.A. (PGG)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 September 2024Polska Grupa Górnicza S.A. and Fundacja Instrat entered a partnership for just transition in Upper Silesia (announced 20 September 2024). PGG is the dominant hard-coal mining company in Poland.
• Clean Air Task Force (CATF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2023Joint conference on EU methane regulation implementation in Brussels (May 2025) and earlier conference in Brussels; ongoing collaboration on EU methane policy advocacy.
• NSZZ "Solidarność" (Komisja Krajowa)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstrat is a partner of NSZZ "Solidarność" Komisja Krajowa on the ESRS project ("Europejskie Standardy Raportowania Społecznego" as a new tool to strengthen social dialogue). Joint work also on implementation of the EU framework agreement on digitalisation of work (since 2023).
• WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-produced the report "Sprawiedliwa transformacja w Wielkopolsce Wschodniej" and supporting working papers on employment scenarios in lignite regions (2021). WWF has been a long-standing cooperation partner on just transition in Wielkopolska Wschodnia.
• ZE PAK S.A.flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerZE PAK was the first Polish member (with the Wielkopolska Wschodnia region) of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, supported by Instrat. Joint work on regional decarbonization strategy and 2040 neutrality target for Wielkopolska Wschodnia.
• QemeticacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerQemetica, Pracodawcy RP (Employers of Poland) and Instrat jointly present the Polish Economy Decarbonization Index (Indeks Dekarbonizacji Polskiej Gospodarki). Co-presented first reading in July 2024 and subsequent quarterly readings.
• Pracodawcy RP (Employers of Poland)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-initiator of the Polish Economy Decarbonization Index together with Qemetica and Instrat; first reading presented in July 2024.
• Fundacja Centrum CyfroweminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint statement on the draft Polish Data Management Act ("Projekt ustawy o zarządzaniu danymi") in August 2023.
• Koalicja na Rzecz Przejrzystości Finansów PublicznychminorGTM or Marketing PartnerInstrat joined the Coalition for Public Finance Transparency in November 2023.
• Polityka InsightminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint debate held in Brussels (September 2023) with Polityka Insight, focused on EU policy topics.
• FLEX4CEE consortium (Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-country consortium project to develop demand-side flexibility in Central and Eastern Europe (Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary), improving consumer position and integrating renewables.
• Clean Metals CEE consortium (Poland, Bulgaria, Romania)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject supporting the decarbonization transformation of the metals industry in Poland, Bulgaria and Romania (project announced April 2026).
• RAISING consortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject raising awareness among small local communities about the need for coal mining transformation and promoting new visions for coal regions (announced October 2025).
• CLIMACT (Pathways Explorer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment of the Pathways Explorer tool for modeling pathways to climate neutrality of the Polish economy by 2050, supporting European Commission legislative work.
• BLUECEE (Offshore Wind Talks)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerInstrat co-organizes the Offshore Wind Talks BLUECEE webinar series (since May 2024), focused on offshore wind development in Central-Eastern Europe.
• Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstrat helped bring the Wielkopolska Wschodnia region and ZE PAK into the Powering Past Coal Alliance as the first Polish members of the international coalition (June 2021).
• Ministerstwo Klimatu i Środowiska (Ministry of Climate and Environment)flagshipOthersAs a result of Instrat's open letter and campaign for energy-data transparency, the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the Energy Market Agency (Agencja Rynku Energii) began releasing key energy-market data for free, enabling the energy.instrat.pl platform.
• Agencja Rynku Energii (Energy Market Agency)flagshipOthersGovernment agency that, following Instrat's campaign, began providing free key data on the Polish energy market that feeds energy.instrat.pl.
• Open Data Institute (ODI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlanka Wawrzyniak, head of Instrat's Digital Economy program, was awarded a researcher fellowship at the Open Data Institute (May 2023).
• Coalition "Polska Karta Suwerenności Cyfrowej"coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition founded and coordinated by Fundacja Instrat bringing together economists, technology researchers, lawyers, business representatives, and trade unions around digital sovereignty topics (September 2022).
• Polski Alarm Smogowy (PAS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint press conference and appeal in January 2024 warning that the "Czyste Powietrze" (Clean Air) programme will go bankrupt without government support.
• Energa and Enea (Ostrołęka C investors)flagshipOthersInstrat's profitability analyses on the Ostrołęka C coal plant led Energa and Enea to withdraw from the investment in February 2020; investors were estimated to have risked over PLN 6 billion versus PLN 1.5 billion sunk cost.
• European Commission (DG COMP, Commissioner Elisa Ferreira)flagshipOthersInstrat met with EU Commissioner Elisa Ferreira in October 2023 regarding public aid for social safety nets for lignite-sector workers; followed by EU Council presentation of PyPSA-UA Ukraine pathways in April 2025.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Forum Energii: Polish energy think tank focused on Poland's energy transition, decarbonization and electricity markets. Most directly comparable to Instrat in scope (Polish energy/just transition policy research) and customer base (Polish ministries, regulators, energy companies).
• WiseEuropa: Polish economic think tank working on European integration, climate, energy and the digital economy. Closely comparable to Instrat on the macroeconomic/energy/just transition remit and Polish policy orientation, though without Instrat's dedicated open-data platforms.
• Ember: Independent energy think tank with country-level open-data dashboards for power generation and emissions. Closest international analogue to energy.instrat.pl in product model (open data + policy advocacy), although at global rather than Polish scope.
• E3G: European climate think tank with offices across multiple EU capitals, focused on climate diplomacy, energy transition and just transition. Comparable in mission and EU-level convening role, with a broader geographic and topical footprint than Instrat.
• Climate Analytics: Climate science and policy organization producing global and country-level decarbonization pathway analyses. Strongly comparable to Instrat's PyPSA-PL/Pathways Explorer modeling work and its role in supporting EU and national climate policy.
• CEE Bankwatch Network: Central and Eastern European network of environmental and energy policy NGOs. Overlaps with Instrat on CEE energy and just transition advocacy, EU funds oversight and country-level project work in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.
• Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP): Global energy policy think tank focused on electricity regulation, market design and decarbonization. Comparable to Instrat's regulatory and policy advisory work with Polish ministries and EU institutions, with a deeper focus on utility regulation.
• Carbon Brief: UK-based climate science and policy website publishing data-led analysis of global climate and energy trends. Comparable to Instrat on the climate-data-plus-journalism model and its role as a reference source for media and policymakers.
• IDDRI: Paris-based think tank on sustainable development, climate and energy governance. Comparable to Instrat in producing policy-oriented research and scenario modeling that informs EU climate legislation.
• Polski Instytut Ekonomiczny (Polish Economic Institute): State-linked Polish economic think tank publishing macroeconomic, energy and climate analyses. Comparable to Instrat as a Polish policy research voice, though with a broader macroeconomic remit and a more government-aligned institutional posture.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@fundacjainstrat8769
• Facebookfacebook.com/instrat
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundacja-instrat
• Xx.com/fundacjainstrat

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Instrat