What OpenEMS Association e.V. does

OpenEMS Association e.V. is a German registered nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) founded on November 15, 2018, headquartered in Deggendorf, Bavaria, that governs the open-source Energy Management System platform OpenEMS, originally initiated as a code project in 2016. The association comprises approximately 70 members spanning manufacturers, service providers, research institutes, universities, and private individuals from the energy storage, renewables, and grid operation sectors, and is led by a board chaired by Stefan Feilmeier (Deputy CEO of FENECON) with Klaus Nagl (CEO of Consolinno Energy) as Deputy Chairman. Its mission is to develop and maintain a manufacturer-independent, cross-manufacturer software platform that enables interoperable, intelligent, and economically optimized operation of distributed energy resources.

The core technology is OpenEMS — a modular, Java/OSGi-based IoT platform comprising OpenEMS Edge (local prosumer gateway software, deployable on Raspberry Pi or IoT hardware) and an optional OpenEMS Backend (InfluxDB-backed monitoring and fleet management). The platform integrates battery storage, solar PV inverters, EV charging stations (OCPP), heat pumps, electrolyzers, and grid meters through standardized protocols including EEBus (via the jEEBus library jointly developed with Fraunhofer ISE), KNX, OCPP, and the German iMSys/FNN-Steuerbox infrastructure. Optimization is delivered through genetic-algorithm-based Energy Scheduler v2, LSTM-driven 24-hour PV forecasting, MILP-based economic dispatch (contributed by KIT), and a multi-objective controller balancing cost (day-ahead EPEX Spot prices via Cernion), CO2 intensity (GrünstromIndex), grid-friendliness, and §14a EnWG compliance. The codebase is COCOMO-estimated at over $20 million in development value, distributed freely via GitHub with ~1,400 stars, and runs in 53 countries with 100+ contributors and 15,000–20,000 monthly community forum users.

The association's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven rather than direct-sales: commercial revenue is intentionally not captured by the association itself. FENECON's FEMS product is the flagship OEM/white-label deployment (winner of The smarter E AWARD 2025 'Smart Integrated Energy'), KIT's BiFlow project (The smarter E AWARD 2025 'Outstanding Projects') demonstrates research-grade deployment, and 2026 expansion into German municipal utilities (Stadtwerke) is underway through the dena SET Inno Tandems program. The association's own economics rest on membership dues from the ~70 institutional members, while commercial products built on the platform — including FEMS by FENECON, solutions by Consolinno Energy, beegy/MVV Energie, Levl Energy, and SunLink Energy — generate downstream licensing, services, and hardware revenue for member companies rather than for the association.

Name

OpenEMS Association e.V.

Legal name

OpenEMS Association e.V.

Website

https://openems.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

OpenEMS Association e.V. is a German nonprofit that governs the open-source OpenEMS Energy Management System platform, serving OEMs, municipal utilities, grid operators, and prosumers with an interoperable, regulation-compliant IoT stack for battery, PV, EV, and heat pump management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Management Software

NAICS

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)

SIC

Electric & Other Services Combined (4931)

akta.pro primary industry

EMS / SCADA / DERMS Controls Integration for Storage (EUAEAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Home Energy & EV Charging (HEMS, Smart Meters, Batteries, Chargers) (HSAPAQAF), Interoperability, Protocols & Standards (OCPP, ISO 15118, OCPI, OpenADR) (EUAFAMAH)

Keywords

• Open source energy management
• Energy management software
• Home energy management system
• Smart grid integration
• Renewable energy orchestration

Headquarters

HQ city

Deggendorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Association Membership Dues: OpenEMS Association e.V. operates as a non-profit association funded by membership dues from manufacturers, service providers, research institutes, and private individuals.
2. Commercial Product Ecosystem: While OpenEMS itself is free open-source software, commercial members like FENECON, Consolinno Energy, and others build proprietary products and services on the platform (e.g., FEMS, white-label HEMS solutions) generating their own revenue streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

OpenEMS Association e.V. governs and curates the OpenEMS open-source Energy Management System platform, a modular IoT software for real-time monitoring, control, and optimization of distributed energy resources including battery storage, solar PV, EV charging stations, heat pumps, electrolyzers, and grid assets. The platform is delivered free of charge via GitHub under an open-source license, while the association itself sustains operations through membership dues and an ecosystem of OEM-embedded commercial products such as FENECON's FEMS.

Product overview

OpenEMS Association e.V. offers OpenEMS as the core open-source Energy Management System platform — described as the 'Open Source Operating System for the Energy Transition.' The platform comprises OpenEMS Edge (local IoT software for prosumer installations), OpenEMS Backend (optional cloud monitoring), and integrates the jEEBus EEBus protocol library (from Fraunhofer ISE collaboration) for §14a compliance. A consumer-facing tool, the CO2 Ampel, provides green electricity visualization. Commercial products built on OpenEMS include FENECON FEMS. The platform manages PV, battery storage, EV charging, heat pumps, electrolyzers, and supports dynamic tariffs and grid services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OpenEMS Modular open-source Energy Management System platform for real-time monitoring, control, and optimization of distributed energy resources including battery storage, solar PV, EV charging, heat pumps, electrolyzers, and time-of-use tariffs. Distributed free via GitHub, targeted at OEMs, utilities, and system integrators.
• OpenEMS Edge Local IoT runtime (on Raspberry Pi or IoT gateway) that executes device controllers for battery inverters, EV charging stations, grid meters, and integrates external data for on-site optimization at the prosumer premises.
• OpenEMS Backend Optional cloud/backend component providing a time-series database (InfluxDB), live monitoring via OpenEMS UI, historical analysis, fleet management, and aggregate reporting.
• jEEBus Open-source EEBus communication protocol library developed by Fraunhofer ISE (with components jEEBus.SHIP, jEEBus.SPINE) integrated into OpenEMS for BSI-compliant §14a EnWG LPC/LPP control signal implementation between smart meter gateways, control boxes, and distributed energy assets.
• CO2 Ampel Visualization tool displaying the current CO2 intensity of electricity consumption and a 24-hour forecast using GrünstromIndex data, with a traffic-light interface and an interactive quiz for optimal EV charging timing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 31% reduction in CO2 emissions through CO2-optimized charging
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FENECON GmbHcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 15 November 2018FENECON is a key founding member and commercial partner, using OpenEMS as the foundation for its FEMS (FENECON Energy Management System). CEO Franz-Josef Feilmeier was an initiator and co-founder of the association. Deputy CEO Stefan Feilmeier serves as Chairman of OpenEMS Association. FENECON won The smarter E AWARD 2025 for FEMS.
• Fraunhofer ISEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development of Open-Source reference implementation integrating jEEBus EEBus communication protocol library into OpenEMS for secure, interoperable communication between smart meter systems and distributed energy assets. Validated in Digital Grid Lab for §14a EnWG compliance.
• KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner hosting quarterly hackathons and contributing advanced optimization algorithms including MILP-based optimization and genetic algorithms. KIT's BiFlow project won The smarter E AWARD 2025 for its OpenEMS-based installation.
• Consolinno EnergycoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMember company with CEO Klaus Nagl serving as Deputy Chairman of OpenEMS Association. Develops OpenEMS-based energy management solutions.
• CernioncoreTechnology or IntegrationGerman energy data platform integrated with OpenEMS providing CO2 intensity forecasts, day-ahead electricity prices, grid utilization data, and §14a signals. Enables multi-objective optimization balancing cost, CO2, and grid-friendliness.
• slashwhy GmbH & Co. KGminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHosted OpenEMS Hackathon Q3/2024 in Osnabrück, Germany. Software consulting company supporting OpenEMS development.
• Bayernwerk AGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded the OpenEMS Association in November 2018 along with other partners. As a grid operator, Bayernwerk leverages OpenEMS to help customers optimize self-consumption and develop new customer solutions while avoiding grid expansion costs.
• IBC Solar AGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSolar project developer and system integrator, founding member of OpenEMS Association. Offers complete PV systems and storage solutions for solar parks, commercial self-consumption, and residential applications.
• VARTA Storage GmbHminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBattery and energy storage manufacturer, founding member of OpenEMS Association. Leading manufacturer of residential and large-scale storage solutions.
• Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen GmbHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal leader in power transformer control, founding member. €750M revenue, 3,550 employees. Provides expertise in grid management and smart grid integration.
• MVV Energie AG / beegy GmbHminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerGerman energy company offering white-label energy services for OEMs including renewable energy solutions, e-mobility, and intelligent charging control.
• StoREgio Energiespeichersysteme e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch association developing system solutions for energy storage, load management, and flexibility options for future energy systems based on renewable energies.
• egrid applications & consulting GmbHminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint venture of Allgäuer Überlandwerke and Siemens, providing intelligent solutions for decentralized integration of renewable energies and grid supply of industrial and residential areas.
• BertrandtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering and IT services provider hosting OpenEMS member meetings and conference events at their facility in Ehningen.
• Levl EnergyminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerNew member company that has made adaptations to OpenEMS for their business model. Presented at Networking Friday session.
• SunLink EnergyminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerOne of the newest members of OpenEMS Association, implementing OpenEMS-based solutions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Enphase Energy: Global microinverter and battery (IQ Battery) provider with the Enphase App / Installer Toolkit energy management. Broad incumbent offering a unified hardware + software stack competing against OpenEMS-based prosumer systems.
• SMA Solar Technology AG: Major global PV inverter manufacturer with Sunny Home Manager / Sunny Portal energy management. Broad incumbent serving residential, C&I and utility-scale with closed-source platforms overlapping OpenEMS functionality.
• SolarEdge Technologies: Global PV inverter, storage, and EV charging provider with its own energy management ecosystem. Broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities in PV, battery, EV, and grid services — directly addresses the same use cases as OpenEMS.

Direct peers

• E3/DC GmbH: German residential and commercial storage company (Hager Group) with proprietary energy management. Competes with OpenEMS-based FEMS for residential and small C&I prosumer installations in the German market.
• sonnen GmbH: German residential battery storage provider (sonnenBatterie) with its own integrated energy management system. Directly competes with OpenEMS-based solutions in the residential prosumer segment and shares the same German market focus.
• KOSTAL Solar Electric GmbH: PV inverter manufacturer offering integrated energy management functions (PLENTICORE plus Smart Energy Meter). Competes with OpenEMS in residential and C&I solar+storage+EV charging orchestration.
• Solar Manager GmbH: HEMS platform for PV, storage, EV charging, and heat pumps. Was featured alongside OpenEMS on the pv magazine Focus HEMS panel at The smarter E Europe 2026, making it the most directly comparable competing HEMS solution in the same target market.

Emerging players

• Home Assistant (Nabu Casa): Open-source home automation platform with growing energy management integrations (solar, battery, EV charging). Competes in the same prosumer / DIY segment with a broader home-automation scope and overlapping energy use cases.
• evcc: Open-source EV charging management software with PV/battery awareness. Competes on a specific slice of OpenEMS functionality — smart EV charging — and shares the open-source, community-led ethos and German origin.

Others

• EEBus Initiative e.V. Standardization body for the EEBus communication protocol that OpenEMS integrates via jEEBus (Fraunhofer ISE library). Adjacent ecosystem participant — not a competitor, but a foundational interoperability layer for OpenEMS.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/openems_en
• GitHubgithub.com/OpenEMS/openems/blob/develop/README.md
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCVcJWua97sRgdrzsLoZ77gQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/openems-association-e-v

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 OpenEMS Association e.V.