Electric Mobility Applied Research Center (EMARC)

What Electric Mobility Applied Research Center (EMARC) does

EMARC is an applied research center established in 2019 within the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (TUCN) in Romania, focused on electric mobility, hydrogen energy systems, and autonomous driving. The center's research spans battery electric vehicles, fuel cell powertrains, hybrid architectures, autonomous vehicle stacks, green hydrogen production, and urban mobility planning. It serves Romanian municipalities, EU research consortia, and industrial partners through project-based applied research and consulting, and is led by Director Prof. Bogdan Varga.

Its core technical capabilities include a deployed Level-4 autonomous bus architecture (developed with ADASTEC and running on Karsan vehicles in public service), a 2.2 MW PEM electrolyzer green hydrogen production facility under construction in Cluj-Napoca with a target output of up to 1 ton of H2/day on completion in 2026, and a Cooperative, Connected, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) platform. The work is supported by a team of approximately 17 faculty researchers, doctoral students, and engineers, producing 60+ peer-reviewed publications, and was recognized with a Romanian Academy Award in 2024. Active programs include Transylvanian Hydrogen Valley, CORESpaces, ZERO-MOVE, OLGA, NetZeroCities, Ro-Green, Ro-HydroHub, INOVO, and URBIVEL.

EMARC operates as a non-profit unit under a public university. Its revenue model is grant- and contract-driven: income comes from EU research consortia (Horizon Europe and similar programs), municipal consulting and deployment contracts (Cluj-Napoca, Alba Iulia, Bistrița, the Cluj Metropolitan Area, and at least 12 municipalities in total), and infrastructure-related work with the European Investment Bank under JASPERS. The center supplements research activity with educational revenue through an 18-credit postgraduate program and engagement with the Formula Student team ARTTU. No venture funding has been raised.

Name

Electric Mobility Applied Research Center (EMARC)

Legal name

Electric Mobility Applied Research Center

Website

https://emarc.utcluj.ro

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EMARC is a university applied research center at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca that develops autonomous driving, electric powertrain, and green hydrogen technologies, serving Romanian municipalities, EU consortia, and industrial partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cluj-Napoca

HQ country

Romania

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. EU Research Grants: Funding from Horizon Europe, H2020, and other EU research programs for collaborative research projects on sustainable mobility, hydrogen, and smart cities
2. Municipal Consulting Contracts: Direct contracts with municipalities for tender book preparation, feasibility studies, and technical consulting for public transport electrification and decarbonization projects
3. Educational Programs: Postgraduate programs on electric and hybrid vehicle diagnosis and operation, generating tuition-based revenue

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EMARC is a university-based applied research center providing consulting, feasibility studies, tender documentation, and technical research services for electric mobility, hydrogen vehicles, and autonomous driving. It sells its expertise to Romanian municipalities, public transport operators, and EU research consortia, and runs a postgraduate educational program on EV/hybrid vehicle diagnosis. The center also develops and operates physical research infrastructure including a green hydrogen production facility and the Ro-HydroHub testbed.

Product overview

EMARC (Electric Mobility Applied Research Center) is a university-based applied research center at Technical University of Cluj-Napoca focused on sustainable electric mobility. Rather than a single product, EMARC offers an integrated ecosystem of research services, infrastructure projects, and educational programs. The portfolio includes: the Green Hydrogen Production Facility (a 2.5 MW hydrogen production and refueling infrastructure); Level-4 autonomous bus technologies (Ro-Green project combining fuel cell and battery electric systems); the CCAM research platform for connected and automated mobility; electric bus fleet consulting for municipalities; a postgraduate education program on electric vehicle diagnosis and operation; and the Formula Student student engineering initiative. These offerings are interconnected through shared research expertise in electric vehicles, hydrogen technology, and autonomous systems, with facilities like Ro-HydroHub providing testing infrastructure for hydrogen technologies developed across projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Formula Student Team (ARTTU): Student team developing one-seated prototype vehicles for international Formula Student competitions. Founded in 2019 with approximately 20 members and growing to become a comprehensive automotive engineering team.

Products and services

• Green Hydrogen Production Facility in Cluj-Napoca Green hydrogen production and refueling facility utilizing PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolysis technology, sourcing electricity from renewable energy (hydro and solar) and producing hydrogen for fueling vehicles at 350 bar (buses) and 700 bar (cars). Capacity: 2.2-2.5 MW installed electrolyzer power, producing approximately 1 ton H2/day. The first such facility in Romania.
• Level-4 Autonomous Bus (Ro-Green Project) Level-4 autonomous bus integrating hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric hybrid powertrain technology. EMARC develops the complete intelligent architecture including sensor fusion systems (LiDAR, GNSS, IMU) and automated driving algorithms for zero-emission urban transit.
• Postgraduate Program in Diagnosis, Assessment, and Operation of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Postgraduate educational program covering high-voltage electrical systems in electric and hybrid vehicles, including diagnosis, assessment, repair, testing, and technical analysis. Curriculum: 18 credits, 70 lecture hours, 112 project hours.
• Formula Student Team (ARTTU) Student engineering team developing one-seated Formula Student electric prototypes for international racing competitions, focusing on high performance and low energy consumption.
• Electric Bus Fleet Consulting Services Municipal consulting services including tender preparation, technical specifications, bid evaluation, and implementation support for electric bus procurement and charging infrastructure. Projects include Cluj-Napoca (18m articulated buses), Alba Iulia, and Bistrița.
• Tender Books and Opportunity Studies Development of tender documentation and feasibility studies for electric buses, hydrogen buses, trams, trolleybuses, and charging infrastructure for Romanian municipalities seeking to modernize public transport fleets.
• Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) Research Platform Research and development platform for CCAM technologies integrating vehicle connectivity, automation, and intelligent infrastructure to enable safer, cleaner, and more efficient transport systems.
• Transylvanian Hydrogen Valley Integrated renewable hydrogen ecosystem in Cluj-Napoca including hydrogen production, storage, and distribution capacity supporting public transport, district heating, and research activities. Supported by PDA Light (Project Development Assistance Programme).
• Ro-HydroHub Testbed Hydrogen-to-Dynamometer HiL (Hardware-in-the-Loop) testbed upgrading the TestEcoCel facility, supporting hydrogen production technologies, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and integrated hydrogen systems research.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced CO2 emissions through replacement of diesel vehicles with hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric alternatives
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (TUCN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMARC is the applied research center of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. The university provides institutional infrastructure, faculty, and academic programs that support EMARC's research activities in electric mobility, hydrogen technology, and autonomous vehicles.
• Municipality of Cluj-NapocacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary municipal partner for hydrogen bus deployment, electric bus fleet planning, autonomous shuttle demonstrations, and climate neutrality initiatives under NetZeroCities and other programs.
• Cluj-Napoca Public Transport Company (CTP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on electric and hydrogen bus deployment, fleet optimization studies, and operational testing of new vehicle technologies in real public transport conditions.
• Porsche Engineering RomaniacoreTechnology or IntegrationJoint development of battery technology for electric vehicles through the URBIVEL project (3.6 million Euro funding). Strategic collaboration on advanced EV components and systems engineering.
• INOVOcoreTechnology or IntegrationCollaborated on development of an electric car through the URBIVEL project partnership.
• European Investment Bank (EIB)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvided Jaspers advisory support for low-carbon rolling stock procurement across Romanian cities - 530 vehicles totaling 380 million Euro.
• Municipality of Alba IuliasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for smart mobility planning within SPARK and RESONANCE projects, electric bus procurement tendering, and autonomous vehicle demonstrations.
• Municipality of BistritasecondaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEngaged for opportunity study on local public transport modernization and autonomous shuttle demonstration deployment.
• ADASTEC Corp.coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner for Level-4 autonomous bus deployment, providing the Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK vehicle used in demonstrations across Cluj-Napoca, Alba Iulia, and Bistrita.
• KarsancoreTechnology or IntegrationManufacturer of the autonomous electric shuttle bus (Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK) deployed for Level-4 autonomous demonstrations in Romanian cities.
• Groupe ADP (Airports de Paris)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead coordinator of the OLGA (HOListic Green Airport) Horizon 2020 project. EMARC led TUCN's operational efforts for autonomous shuttle deployment at Cluj International Airport.
• Clean Hydrogen PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides Project Development Assistance (PDA) support for the Transylvanian Hydrogen Valley project. 360 hours of consultancy for feasibility studies and implementation roadmap.
• NetZeroCities ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU Mission Platform supporting 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030. EMARC leads Component Project no. 2 - Sustainable Energy and Environment within the Romanian Competence Centre.
• Entrec (Research Center for Automotive Engineering)secondaryTechnology or IntegrationResearch partner within Technical University of Cluj-Napoca for automotive engineering research activities.
• Ro-HydroHub (Romanian Hydrogen and New Energy Technologies Hub)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMARC coordinates the upgrade of TestEcoCel into a Hydrogen-to-Dynamometer HiL Testbed within the Ro-Hydro project, developing technologies for hydrogen production, fuel cells, and electrolyzers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• VTI (Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute): Statutory Swedish transport research institute with track record in transport electrification, hydrogen, and mobility research. Comparable mission and consulting model to public-sector clients, similarly focused on applied mobility R&D.
• Fraunhofer IVI: German applied research institute with extensive work on vehicle systems, automated driving, and public transport electrification. Highly comparable as an applied research center producing both R&D output and municipal/operator consulting, but with much larger scale and global reach.
• Politecnico di Torino - Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: Italian technical university with electric vehicle, hydrogen, and autonomous mobility research programs and municipal/industry consulting. Comparable academic model and European electric mobility focus to EMARC.
• CERTH / Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT): Greek applied transport research center covering sustainable mobility, hydrogen, and CCAM with EU project execution and consulting. Directly comparable in size, mission, and EU grant-dependent business model.
• VUB MOBI Research Group: Belgian university-based mobility research group focused on electric vehicles, batteries, hydrogen, and transport policy with EU project participation. Closely comparable European academic research center in electric mobility and hydrogen with similar consulting-to-municipalities and EU-grant reliance.
• ika (Institute for Automotive Engineering, RWTH Aachen): German university-affiliated automotive engineering institute specializing in vehicle dynamics, autonomous driving, and electrification. Comparable academic applied research profile to EMARC, but with significantly larger team and global industry partnerships.

Regional players

• Karsan: Turkish manufacturer of the Autonomous e-ATAK electric shuttle platform used by EMARC for Level-4 demos in Romania. Comparable in addressing Eastern European public transport electrification, but as a vehicle OEM rather than a research center.

Broad incumbents

• TNO: Dutch applied research organization with broad mobility, energy, and hydrogen programs including powertrain electrification and CCAM. Larger and more diversified than EMARC, but overlapping on EV/hydrogen consulting and EU project participation.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: Nordic applied research center with hydrogen, fuel cell, and battery programs serving municipalities and industry. Strong overlap with EMARC's hydrogen and electric vehicle R&D, but with materially larger scale and broader IP portfolio.

Emerging players

• ADASTEC Corp. Provider of the Level-4 autonomous driving software stack used in Karsan e-ATAK deployments partnered with EMARC. Comparable in addressing autonomous public transport, but as a focused AV software vendor rather than a multi-disciplinary research center.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emarc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Electric Mobility Applied Research Center (EMARC)