How did it all begin?

In 1999 the Chamber of Commerce (CCI) Nuremberg for Central Franconia started the EUREM initiative with the first practical training “Energy Manager (CCI)” in Germany. EUREM was developed between 2003 and 2005 as part of an EU project of the Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce (lead), the German-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Lisbon (DUAL), The Energy Institute in London and the Economic Chamber Austria (WKÖ) in Vienna.

With EUREM.NET – Training and Network of European Energy Managers – an EU follow-up project – this training and networking program has been implemented in nine other EU countries between 2006 and 2009.

Where did the first EUREM training took place?

The first EUREM training sessions were held in Germany, Great Britain, Austria and Portugal in 2004 and in Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and the Czech Republic in 2008 . Ten EUREM provider out of these thirteen countries have joined together in 2009 to create the EUREM consortium. The consortium was established to regularly carry out EUREM trainings and to spread the registered trademark EUREM worldwide even after the EU funding expires.

How has EUREM become more widespread?

Since the energy Manager qualification is an effective measure of increasing energy efficiency in companies, the European Union promotes the introduction of EUREM in six other member or candidate countries from Southeast Europe. In May 2013 started the EU co-funded project EUREMplus which aims to establish the energy Manager training in Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Cyprus to help small and medium manufacturing companies to achieve more energy efficiency there. By finding partner institutions the EUREM training was customized to country-specific needs and the courses were introduced in their country. The new course providers were supported by EUREM partners from Germany (Nuremberg), Austria (Vienna) and the Czech Republic (Prague) and should continue the courses independently after a start-up phase. The first practical training have been successfully implemented. Even after the official end of the project the training providers continue to operate independently and responsibly in terms of sustainability.

The EU-Project EUREMplus extended the EUREM training network by six partner countries to a total of 30 states. The first courses attracted great interest in the respective countries companies, which resulted in over 100 freshly qualified energy Managers. The practical projects of the energy managers triggered investments around 48 million euros. The achieved annual energy savings amount to approximately 155,000 MWh and corresponds to a carbon dioxide saving of 83,000 tonnes per year. The EUREMplus project also promoted the networking and exchange of over 4,500 EUREM graduates to establish a globally networked community of energy efficiency experts.

Data on EUREMplus

Duration: May 2013 to October 2015
Budget: 1,347,000 Euros, EU co-funding 75 percent
Partner countries: AT, BL, CY, CZ, DE, HR, MZ, PL, RO
Trainings: 16, Course participants: 254
Investment triggered: 48,128,705 Euros
Final energy saved: 155,641 MWh/a
Cost savings: 9,957,000 euros/a
Saved CO2 emission: 83,811 t/a

EUREMnext project

Within the follow-up project EUREMnext, the EUREM training could be introduced in another 6 countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Estonia, Latvia, Serbia & Turkey). The actors from the new countries were supported by the established EUREM partners in Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece and Spain. The EU-funded project “EUREMnext – Taking European Energy Managers to next efficiency levels by implementing energy audit recommendations”, started on 1st March 2018, headed by the Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the applicant and coordinator of the 13 partners from 12 countries. The 40-month project was funded by the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme of the European Commission under Grant Agreement No. 785032.

More information is provided in this project brochure.

Data on EUREMnext

Duration: March 2018 until June 2021
Budget: 1,809,556 euros
Partner countries: AL, AT, BA, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FI, GR, LV, RS, TR
Trainings: 18, Course participants: 222

Savings potential per participant:
Energy savings: 950 MWh/a
Cost savings: 80,000 Euros/a
CO2 emissions saved: 550 t/a
Investment costs: 250,000 Euros
Payback time: 4.5 years