Innovation Benchmark 2024: Core business more important than innovation

EWE is the new leader in the Innovation Benchmark Energy Industry 2024. The energy group E.ON is even scaling back certain products and slips to 9th place.

The ongoing global crises continue to have a significant impact on the innovation activities of German energy supply companies (EVU). This is shown by the Innovation Benchmark 2024 for the energy industry from management consultancy AXXCON. The average number of innovative products and services analysed for end customers offered by an energy supply company only increased very moderately last year – from 33 to 34. The new frontrunner, EWE, offered 48 of the 70 innovative services identified. Overall, the picture was mixed: regardless of the size of the companies, some expanded their innovative offerings for consumers, while others, such as the major group Eon, scaled back certain products and services.

Energy supply companies position themselves as a core hub

In recent years, the major innovation push in terms of digitalisation, transformation and sustainability had already failed to materialise and the energy supply companies have increasingly focused on developing their core business,” explains Harald Freitag, Managing Partner and energy market expert at AXXCON. The focus was on the implementation of innovations as well as more efficient and leaner processes, which the energy supply companies also worked on consistently last year. Innovative services for end customers were barely expanded or even reduced in some areas across all companies analysed.

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