EU companies drove strong research and development growth in energy, health, aerospace, and defence in 2024, according to the 2025 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. While the report highlights Europe's leadership in key industries, it also underscores the intense pressure from global competition, particularly in the ICT sector.

In 2024, the EU's leading industrial R&D investors in the electricity and renewable energy sectors increased their R&D investment by 19.8% and capital expenditure by 17.8%. This is a positive step toward achieving the goals of the Clean Industrial Deal. In the health sector, leading firms increased R&D investment by 13 %, a significantly higher growth rate than in other parts of the world. Additionally, European aerospace and defence firms are investing 4.8% more to increase Europe's defence readiness.

To respond to global competition and reinforce Europe's innovation ecosystem, the Commission is advancing several initiatives aligned with the EU Competitiveness Compass. Those include the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, to make Europe a top destination for launching and growing global tech companies; the European Innovation Act and the 28th Regime, expected in 2026; the European Strategy on Research and Technology Infrastructures, improving companies' access to world-class infrastructures and R&D support; and the European AI in Science Strategy with the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE), equipping scientists with the resources to adopt AI for their research. Accelerating these initiatives is essential to help innovative ventures scale up, particularly where Europe must bolster its sovereignty and technological leadership.

EU companies sharply increased R&D in energy (19.8%), far exceeding growth in the US (6%), Japan (-14.2%), and China (3.8%). In health, EU growth (13%) significantly outpaced the US (7.1%), Japan (9.1%), and China (0.1%). Aerospace and defence also recorded a 4.8% rise. Most R&D investment by the top 800 EU companies occurs in countries classified as ‘strong innovators' (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg). This highlights the potential of supportive ecosystems to grow R&D-intensive companies.

The world's top 2,000 companies invested €1,442.6 billion in R&D in 2024 (+6.3%). Growth was strongest in the US (+7.8%) and the rest of the world (+8.1%), followed by Japan (+7.1%). The EU (+2.9%) and China (+3.9%) saw more modest increases. Four sectors, ICT software, ICT hardware, health, and automotive, account for over 80% of the total investment. US firms lead in ICT and health, as EU firms remain global leaders in automotive.

Happy New Year 2019!

Više vijesti iz kategorije

MOST READ

TOP NEWS

LATEST

Sign up for newsletter

Follow us on Facebook