In 2016, Joule Assets Europe won a €1.7 million two-year grant from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme for Research and Innovation Commission. The grant was awarded for the purpose of developing an online platform designed to enable energy efficiency and distributed renewables market opportunities in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Key project partners include the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, HS Engineering Insurance Ltd, the University of Manchester, the Italian ESCO Servizi Energia Ambiente, and the advisory company Verco.

The eQuad platform enables investment in efficiency RENEWABLES projects for small and mid-sized businesses.

The largely underserved SME market is comprised of industry and commercial buildings that have significant potential for more sustainable energy use. These efficiency and renewables projects, with typical costs running well under €1 million, are too small to secure financing by traditional investment houses. eQuad bridges this financing gap–and stimulates market growth–by enabling project funding.

PROJECTED OUTCOMES

We expect €15 million will be invested in SME efficiency projects across Europe by the end of 2018. Furthermore, we expect significant job creation and substantial primary energy savings.