CIRCE
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersZaragoza, Spain
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
CIRCE firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CIRCE
- Legal name
- CIRCE - Centro Tecnológico
- Website
- https://fcirce.es
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where CIRCE is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zaragoza
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
CIRCE business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- R&D and Technology Consulting Services: Technology transfer and R&D+i services to improve competitiveness of companies through innovation projects, consulting, and custom solutions across energy, sustainability, and industrial digitalization.
- Laboratory and Testing Services: Testing, validation, and certification services across specialized laboratories for electrical systems, industrial technologies, and environmental analysis.
- Training and Education Programs: Professional training courses, CIRCE Academy program for young talent, and specialized courses in energy, sustainability, and digitalization fields.
- EU Research Project Funding: Participation in EU-funded research projects (Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020) as coordinator or partner, receiving funding for collaborative innovation initiatives.
- Certification Services: Product, process, and service certification through CIRCE-Certificaciones, including energy auditor certification, BREEAM certification support, and SUSTWINE wine sustainability certification.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
CIRCE product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CIRCE is a Spanish technology center that provides R&D+i services, technology consulting, laboratory testing and certification, and professional training to industrial clients, electric utilities, and public administrations. Its offerings span eight strategic lines: energy efficiency and decarbonization, renewable generation, hydrogen, AI and digitalization, mobility, recycling and circular economy, smart grids, and industrial technologies, supported by proprietary software platforms and specialized laboratory infrastructure.
Product overview
CIRCE is a technology center (centro tecnológico) offering a broad portfolio of R&D+i services and technology solutions across eight strategic lines: Eficiencia y descarbonización (Energy efficiency and decarbonization), Generación y recursos renovables (Renewable generation), Hidrógeno (Hydrogen), IA y digitalización (AI and digitalization), Movilidad (Mobility), Reciclado y economía circular (Recycling and circular economy), Redes inteligentes (Smart grids), and Tecnologías industriales (Industrial technologies). Its offering is organized as a platform-plus-services model: core technology platforms (DescarbonIA conversational AI platform, Centro de Control EV charging platform, NetBalance carbon footprint tool, Energy Community Management software, IEC 61850 software suite, PHIL/HIL testing laboratories) are complemented by specialized consulting and testing services across all eight strategic lines. The portfolio includes both proprietary SaaS tools and physical/laboratory offerings. Major recent product developments include DescarbonIA (2026, a generative-AI platform for techno-economic decarbonization studies) and OMNIALIGHT (2025, an NVIDIA-powered intelligent traffic light system for Zaragoza).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CIRCE Academy: Training programme for young talent development in energy, sustainability and digitalization sectors
- CIRCE-Certificaciones
- DescarbonIA
- NetBalance
- SUSTWINE
- ECO-PROWINE
Products and services
- Centro de Control (EV Charging Control Center) Web-based platform for managing EV charging infrastructure, offering integral charger management, historical data access, charge point reservation, and interoperability via OCPP standard with chargers from multiple manufacturers.
- NetBalance Carbon footprint calculation and management tool enabling organizations to calculate, digitalize, and advance their sustainability strategy in compliance with regulations.
- Energy Community Management Software Software platform for digitizing the management of Energy Communities, providing a dashboard with all community consumption data managed by user, with reporting capabilities for stakeholders.
- Suite Soluciones IEC 61850 Comprehensive suite of software solutions to simplify and optimize electrical infrastructure communications per IEC 61850 standard for substation modernization.
- EV Charging Protocol Libraries Advanced communication protocol libraries for fast EV charging management, hardware-independent software modules covering the most common EV charging protocols, facilitating integration into power electronics.
- Virtualization of Protection and Control Digital virtualization solution that migrates all protection and control functions from physical substation equipment to unified software for power grid digital transformation.
- CIRCE Industrial Laboratories (PHIL and HIL) Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing laboratories using RTDS technology for validation and verification of electrical system compatibility, interoperability, and performance in controlled environments.
- CFD Simulation Services Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation services for industrial systems involving heat exchange processes including treatment furnaces, melting, and material curing, using multiphysics and hybrid CFD+1D models.
- Custom SaaS Platforms and Industry 4.0 Solutions Customized software solutions adapted to specific client needs for Industry 4.0 digitalization, optimizing processes and consumption for better resource management and operational efficiency.
- CIRCE-Certificaciones (Certification Services) Certification of products, processes, services, and technical experts across sectors where CIRCE has expertise, including energy auditor certification, BREEAM certification support, and SUSTWINE wine sustainability certification.
- CIRCE Academy Training Program Annual training programme for young talent in energy, sustainability, and digitalization sectors, with collaboration from University of Wales for MBA certification. Has admitted 101 participants across 5 editions with 63% hiring rate.
- DescarbonIA Platform Conversational AI platform that transforms natural-language descriptions of industrial decarbonization problems into structured techno-economic pre-studies, generating multi-scenario analyses with energy, emissions, CAPEX, OPEX, and LCOx indicators by combining NLP with mathematical models and optimization.
- OMNIALIGHT Intelligent Traffic Light System Pioneering intelligent traffic signal system for Zaragoza using NVIDIA technology for urban traffic optimization.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20% improvement in industrial furnace efficiency targeted by VULKANO project
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use CIRCE
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
CIRCE technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability11 records
Feature7 records
CIRCE partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)minorCollaboration in the 'Energy and AI' cycle organized by Clenar with AWS, featuring sessions on AI applications in energy management, logistics, and business processes with participation of over 150 professionals.
- Barcelona Supercomputing CenterminorStrategic collaboration through a visit by CIRCE leadership to reinforce technological leadership in Aragon. Partnership focuses on innovation in energy and sustainability computing applications.
- COIE Aragón (Confederación de Empresarios de Aragón)minorCIRCE became an associate member of CEOE Aragón (Confederación de Empresarios de Aragón), reinforcing its role in the Aragonese business ecosystem and industrial innovation network.
- University of ZaragozacoreAcademic partnership for CIRCE Academy program providing MBA certification in collaboration with University of Wales. Also collaboration on packaging waste management courses and various research projects.
- Red Eléctrica de España (REE)coreCollaborative partnership in the MIGRATE project studying power electronics integration in the European electrical grid. The project, funded with €17 million by the EU, involves 25 partners from 13 countries and addresses grid stability challenges from renewable energy penetration.
- SSTAR Project Consortium PartnerscoreEU-funded SSTAR project coordinated by CIRCE with European partners developing solid-state transformer technology for power grid modernization. Project milestones include new transformer prototype, greener insulation fluid, and decentralized converter control for renewable integration.
- VULKANO Project ConsortiumcoreEU-funded project coordinated by CIRCE with 12 partners from 8 countries (Slovenia, France, Italy, UK, Poland, Germany, Turkey, Spain) developing solutions for industrial furnace efficiency improvements targeting 20% efficiency increase and 27% fossil fuel reduction.
- CBE JU (Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking)corePartnership through Horizon Europe funding for BIOS MATER project developing bio-based construction materials. CIRCE coordinates the consortium of 22 entities from 10 countries.
- CESTE - Centro UniversitariominorCollaboration with CESTE - Centro Universitario for MBA certification in CIRCE Academy program, in partnership with University of Wales.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CIRCE competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Fraunhofer Institute: Fraunhofer is Germany's largest applied research organization with 75+ institutes including energy-focused entities (ISE, IWES, IOSB), offering comprehensive R&D services comparable to CIRCE's mission but at much larger scale and broader technology scope.
- EPRI: EPRI is a US-based independent, nonprofit energy research organization covering electricity generation, delivery, and use — comparable to CIRCE in mission, non-profit model, and TSO/DSO engagement but at much larger scale and global reach.
- TNO: TNO is the Netherlands' applied scientific research organization with energy transition and sustainability as core focus areas, comparable to CIRCE in mission and European research center positioning but with broader sector coverage and deeper government ties.
- SINTEF: SINTEF is Scandinavia's largest independent research institute with significant energy, sustainability, and industrial process research, comparable to CIRCE in mission and applied research model but with broader sector coverage and Nordic industrial focus.
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: VTT is Finland's national research and technology organization with strong energy, industrial digitalization, and AI practices, comparable to CIRCE in technology center positioning and European research footprint but with broader application areas.
Direct peers
- EnergyVille: EnergyVille is a Belgian research collaboration focused on energy systems, smart grids, and battery technology, with strong overlap to CIRCE's smart grid, renewable integration, and EV/battery research activities at similar European scale.
- Tecnalia: Tecnalia is the largest Spanish applied research and technology center, based in the Basque Country, operating across energy, sustainability, and industrial digitalization — the most direct peer to CIRCE in Spanish technology center positioning and service portfolio.
- LEITAT Technological Center: LEITAT is a Spanish private technology center offering applied R&D in energy, environment, and industrial technologies, comparable to CIRCE in scope, scale, and Iberian market positioning as a non-profit applied research organization.
- CARTIF Technology Center: CARTIF is a Spanish applied research center in Valladolid providing R&D services in energy efficiency, automation, and industrial processes — directly comparable to CIRCE in service portfolio and Spanish technology center positioning.
- IREC (Catalonia Institute for Energy Research): IREC is a Spanish energy research center with focus on renewable energy, smart grids, and energy storage, directly comparable to CIRCE's strategic activity lines, Iberian research positioning, and non-profit research center model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CIRCE social profiles
Digital presenceCIRCE financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CIRCE leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
CIRCE subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
CIRCE funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CIRCE M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CIRCE
What does CIRCE do?
CIRCE is a Spanish technology center that provides R&D+i services, technology consulting, laboratory testing and certification, and professional training to industrial clients, electric utilities, and public administrations. Its offerings span eight strategic lines: energy efficiency and decarbonization, renewable generation, hydrogen, AI and digitalization, mobility, recycling and circular economy, smart grids, and industrial technologies, supported by proprietary software platforms and specialized laboratory infrastructure.
Is CIRCE a public or private company?
CIRCE is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was CIRCE founded?
CIRCE was founded in 1993. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is CIRCE based?
CIRCE is headquartered in Zaragoza, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does CIRCE make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. R&D and Technology Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are laboratory and Testing Services, training and Education Programs, EU Research Project Funding and certification Services.
Who are CIRCE's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Fraunhofer Institute, EPRI, TNO, SINTEF and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Direct peers are EnergyVille, Tecnalia, LEITAT Technological Center, CARTIF Technology Center and IREC (Catalonia Institute for Energy Research).
Does CIRCE have an API?
No public API is recorded for CIRCE.