Enel enters the Top Ten of the most active companies in the field of Open Innovation in the Corporate Startup Stars Awards 2020, managed by the International Chamber of Commerce and Mind the Bridge. The ranking rewards companies that bring solid results in terms of the most successful and mutually beneficial collaborations with startups. Furthermore, the Group has also received the Corporate Startup Procurement Award 2020.
Enel has created a global network of 10 innovation hubs located in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Chile (Santiago), Israel (Tel Aviv), Italy (Milan, Catania, Pisa), Russia (Moscow), Spain (Madrid) and the United States (Boston, San Francisco), mostly discounting of startups with significant potential in terms of technologies and business models relevant to Enel's work.
The Group has been implementing its "Open Innovation" approach for 5 years, and of the more than 9 proposals from startups it has implemented around 320; offering them the opportunity to work in their laboratories together with the company's commercial and technical specialists, creating a contamination of culture and creating a space for the development of solutions.
Furthermore, Enel is constantly working onprocurement ecosystem, adding new levels of support (from mentoring, to incubation, to financial guidance). Once the idea has been tested and validated, the company offers startups the ability to scale their solution across their business lines worldwide.
“We always try to expand the search for innovative solutions capable of promoting sustainable development – he underlined Francesco Di Carlo, Head of Global Procurement at Enel -. To achieve the best results, we are constantly working on procurement processes and will continue to invest in our ability to accelerate solutions so that successfully tested solutions can be easily implemented at larger scales.”
Main areas of work also include: energy storage, big data, energy management, smart home, electric mobility, IoT, predictive maintenance, artificial intelligence, smart technologies and robotics.
“At Enel we are constantly looking for innovations that promote sustainable development, start-ups, independent innovators, universities and research centres, potential partner companies, NGOs and associations – he declared Ernesto Ciorra, Chef Innovability Office of Enel -. To be successful, you need to develop relationships that are mutually beneficial and create shared value for all stakeholders."
