e-think energy research

What e-think energy research does

e-think energy research is a private, non-profit research and consulting organization headquartered in Vienna, Austria, founded in 2001 as a spin-off of the Energy Economics Group of TU Wien. The organization operates through a dual-entity structure comprising a non-profit association (Zentrum für Energiewirtschaft und Umwelt) and a private limited company, providing flexibility between grant-funded research and fee-based consulting. e-think specializes in energy economics modeling, building stock analysis, GIS-based energy planning, and scenario development for low-carbon energy transition pathways, with particular focus on heating and cooling decarbonization at municipal, regional, and EU-wide scales.

The organization's core technical capabilities include the proprietary Invert/EE-Lab bottom-up building stock model for energy demand forecasting through 2050, GIS-based digital city modeling for heat demand mapping, and the Hotmaps open-source heating and cooling planning toolbox delivering EU-28 coverage at 250x250m resolution. e-think conducts its work across five research areas: decarbonising the built environment, heating and cooling networks, advancing data and modelling, local and regional energy planning, and climate policy and financing. Knowledge output is communicated through an extensive portfolio of papers, reports, presentations, book chapters, conference proceedings, and videos.

e-think generates revenue through four primary streams: EU research project funding (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, Life Programme), national research agency contracts (Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG, Federal Ministry of Climate Protection, Klima- und Energiefonds), public administration consulting (municipal heat planning for cities such as Nuremberg, Innsbruck, and Munich), and private utility consulting (Stadtwerke München, Wien Energie, Salzburg AG). Its go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct engagement, EU-funded consortium participation, and an extensive network of over 130 partner organizations across European universities, research institutes, public administrations, and energy agencies. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is determined through project-specific contracts.

Name

e-think energy research

Legal name

Zentrum für Energiewirtschaft und Umwelt (e-think)

Website

https://e-think.ac.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

e-think energy research is a Vienna-based non-profit research and consulting organization that provides energy economics modeling, municipal heat planning, and policy analysis to EU institutions, national governments, municipalities, and utilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Research and Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon Policy Interface for Renewables (ETS/Offsets/Carbon Taxes) (EUAMANAI), Energy Systems & Power Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAG), Permitting, Siting & Environmental Impact (EIA/NEPA) Advisory (EUAMANAB)

Keywords

• Energy research consulting
• Energy economics modeling
• Heating and cooling planning
• Building decarbonization analysis
• Climate policy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. EU Research Project Funding: Participates in EU-funded research projects including Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and Life Programme. Revenue comes from project grants and funding for specific research deliverables.
2. National Research Agency Contracts: Contracts with Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), Federal Ministry of Climate Protection, Klima- und Energiefonds, and other national agencies for specific research studies and assessments.
3. Public Administration Consulting: Consulting services for municipal heat planning, strategic energy planning, and regulatory framework studies for cities and regional governments.
4. Private Utility Consulting: Technical and strategic consulting for municipal utilities and private energy companies on district heating, building stock optimization, and energy transition planning.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

e-think energy research is a Vienna-based private research and consulting organization that performs cutting-edge analysis and modelling of technical, economic, policy, and financing aspects of the low-carbon energy transition. It delivers tailored consulting for strategic decision-making, feasibility studies, and capacity building for EU institutions, national governments, municipalities, and energy utilities, leveraging proprietary energy models including Invert/EE-Lab and the open-source Hotmaps toolbox.

Product overview

e-think energy research is a private non-profit research and consulting organization based in Vienna, Austria. Rather than offering a commercial software product or platform, e-think provides interdisciplinary research, consulting services, and knowledge products focused on energy economics and the low-carbon energy transition. Their activities encompass research in interdisciplinary cooperation, implementation and consultancy, and communication of research results. They work on projects involving energy modeling, heating and cooling planning, climate policy analysis, and building decarbonization. The organization is a spin-off of the Energy Economics Group of TU Wien and operates as both a non-profit association and a private limited company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Energy Research and Consulting Services Tailored consulting and research engagements covering technical, economic, policy, and financing aspects of the low-carbon energy transition for EU institutions, national governments, municipalities, and energy utilities.
• Municipal Heat Planning Strategic heat planning service for European municipalities pursuing climate-neutral heat supply, including heat demand mapping, scenario development to 2040, and integration of renewable and district heating solutions.
• Climate Policy and Financing Studies Policy analysis, regulatory framework development, and financing strategy studies for national governments and EU institutions covering decarbonization pathways, the Energy Efficiency Directive, heating and cooling strategies, and Long Term Renovation Strategy submissions.
• Hotmaps Open-source Heating and Cooling Planning Toolbox Open-source downloadable toolbox for strategic heating and cooling planning, offering data and analysis capabilities at 250x250m resolution across EU-28, intended for public authorities and energy planners.
• GIS-based Digital City Modeling and Heat Demand Mapping Spatial GIS-based modelling service delivering heat demand mapping and renewable energy potential assessments for cities and regional governments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Open-source Hotmaps toolbox available for EU-28 at 250x250m resolution
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Accademia Europea di Bolzano (EURAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEURAC serves as project coordinator for MODERATE project. Long-term collaboration on building energy research and district heating/cooling topics.
• Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpin-off origin - e-think was born as spin-off of Energy Economics Group of TU Wien. Maintains strong cooperation in energy economics and modelling.
• Öko-Institut e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Res-HC Pathways project for renewable heating and cooling policy analysis in Europe.
• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in multiple EU projects including Res-HC Pathways, SET-Nav, and newtrends for energy demand modeling and policy analysis.
• Aalborg UniversitetmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Hotmaps project for open-source heating and cooling planning toolbox development.
• Johannes Kepler University LinzmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on interdisciplinary study on regulatory framework for district heating/district cooling sector.
• Energy CitiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in PATH2LC project supporting policy makers and public authorities in low-carbon transition through holistic network approach.
• Vlaamse Instelling Voor Technologisch Onderzoek N.V. (VITO)majorTechnology or IntegrationPartner in MODERATE project for building-related energy data solutions and synthetic data generation techniques.
• Austrian Institute of Technology GmbHmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on study for modern regulatory framework in district heating/district cooling sector.
• Institut für Ressourceneffizienz und Energiestrategien (IREES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey collaboration partner in multiple municipal heat planning projects including Nuremberg, Neumarkt, Innsbruck, and Zirndorf.
• Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in progRESsHEAT project for renewable heating and cooling policy development.
• Wien Energie GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in DeRiskDH project for risk minimization in decarbonizing heating networks in Vienna.
• Salzburg AG für Energie, Verkehr und TelekommunikationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in DeRiskDH project for district heating network optimization in Salzburg.
• Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zuerich (ETH Zurich)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in research collaboration on energy economics and modeling.
• Iota StiftungmajorTechnology or IntegrationPartner in MODERATE project contributing blockchain/distributed ledger technologies for building data sharing platform.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rütter + Partner: Swiss economic and energy research consultancy conducting scenario modeling, policy evaluations, and program assessments. Comparable in niche size, EU project participation, and technical-economic energy transition research.
• Vlaamse Instelling Voor Technologisch Onderzoek (VITO): Flemish research organization active in energy modeling, building data, and EU project participation. Direct consortium partner with e-think on MODERATE, making it a closely comparable technical and business model peer.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (Fraunhofer ISI): Fraunhofer-affiliated research institute conducting energy demand modeling, policy analysis, and energy transition research. Shares project-level collaboration with e-think on EU projects and competes for the same Horizon Europe consortium roles.
• Trinomics: Rotterdam-based consultancy specializing in energy and climate policy, economic analysis, and impact assessment for the European Commission. Highly comparable in size, EU funding focus, and policy consulting delivery.
• Öko-Institut: German non-profit research institute working on energy transition, climate policy, and sustainability, frequently co-partnered with e-think on EU projects (e.g., Res-HC Pathways). Highly comparable in non-profit structure, EU funding reliance, and energy economics expertise.
• Wuppertal Institut: German research institute focused on energy transition, climate, and resource strategies with strong municipal and national advisory work. Comparable in applying interdisciplinary energy modeling to support decarbonization and policy implementation.

Broad incumbents

• Guidehouse (formerly Ecofys): Global consulting firm with deep energy transition, climate policy, and energy modeling practices inherited from Ecofys. Overlaps with e-think on EU energy policy consulting and heat transition work, but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geography.
• Ricardo Energy & Environment: International consultancy providing energy, climate, and environmental advisory services to governments and utilities. Comparable in EU project participation and municipal/national energy planning, but with substantially broader service portfolio.

Emerging players

• Energy Cities: European network of cities driving the energy transition, partnered with e-think on the PATH2LC project. Comparable in focusing on municipal decarbonization and EU-funded capacity building, but operates as a member network rather than a consulting firm.
• Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) - DTU Management / DTU Construct: Technical university with energy systems research groups participating in EU projects like progRESsHEAT alongside e-think. Comparable in deep technical energy modeling and EU consortium participation, but operating as an academic institution rather than a private firm.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/e-think-energy-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about e-think energy research