The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA), as coordinating partner, is internationally well-known for its high-quality scientific research and has extensive experience in doing research and management of EU projects. IVM’s mission is to contribute to sustainable development and to care for the environment through excellent scientific research and teaching. A unique feature of the institute is our capacity to cut through the complexity of natural-societal systems through novel interdisciplinary approaches.

The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University conducts interdisciplinary research, in close cooperation with stakeholders from government, industry, with the aim of exploring and advancing knowledge in the design, application and evaluation of strategies, policies and tools for a transition towards sustainable solutions.

The energy research programme of Environmental Change Institute (ECI), University of Oxford focusses on the social, political, technological and economic issues raised by our need for transitions to secure, low environmental impact and equitable energy systems. It works with partners in business, academia and communities to understand environmental change and explore responses to the risks and opportunities it poses. The ECI is a leading player in large research activities, including the UK Climate Impacts Programme, the world’s largest climate citizen science ensemble, and major EU consortium programmes.

The Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana is involved through the Center for Social Psychology (CSP) and the Centre for Methodology and Informatics (CMI). CSP is a leading center that deals with the analysis of the social inter-space between macro-sociological structures and institutions and practices that belong to the micro-sphere of everyday life. The research programme of the Centre includes the study of family life, life styles and identity formation, as well as bio-politics such as health, and is oriented towards the study of specific social groups and minorities that are subjected to social exclusion.

CMI is a leading center in two fields of research: social science methodology and social informatics, especially measurement and explanation of information society, research on web communities, use of mathematical models in the social sciences, web qualitative methods, development of methods for studying internet technologies and development of methods and tools for social network measurement and analysis.

The Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies “Nicola Giordano” (ITAE), is a research institute belonging to the National Research Council (CNR). ITAE is one of European leading research center in the fuel cells and renewable energy fields and a full member of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative of the European Community. The research activity is based on a multidisciplinary knowledge and concerns both the study of materials and components and the realization of prototypes. ITAE investigates, also, to the social and economic impacts of energy technologies on which the institute focuses its scientific and technical activities.

RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research (RWI) is a leading centre for economic research and evidence-based policy advice in Germany and a member of the Leibniz Association, connecting 93 independent research institutions from a broad range of disciplines. The applied research at RWI fulfils the highest academic standards and results are regularly published in renowned academic journals.

Consensus Communications has major experience with supporting the energy sector in Slovenia by developing long-term strategies and action plans, organising educational and awareness raising activities, and engaging stakeholders through workshops and partnerships.

GEN-I, the industry partner of the consortium, is recognized as one of the leading electricity trading players across the Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European regions. Its staff has extensive operational experience of managing virtual power plants as well as implementing novel energy services and products intended to engage household end users.