Innovation
Tomorrow’s sources of energy will look very different from today’s assets. That is one thing we can rely on. But it is impossible to say exactly how things will pan out in the future. Essent is working in very many areas with a view to developing innovative solutions so that we can flesh out that future: from fuels to production, processing and energy storage, and from supplying to mobility.
Academic and research institutions
Essent is not intending to ‘reinvent the wheel’, but it is able to contribute significantly to ‘making innovations happen’. To this end, we have cultivated close relationships with academic and research institutions, enabling us to follow the latest developments very closely.
In combination with our knowledge, experience, infrastructure, customers and capital, we are able to convert all this into tangible results. On this basis, we have made a selection of the many possible technologies that we are going to be developing into new, profitable projects and services.
Management
A specially established department within the New Energy business unit is responsible for managing Essent’s innovation activities. In close cooperation with the rest of the company, this department is very busy developing and implementing the innovation strategy.
The department serves as a knowledge center, maintains contact with universities and other academic institutions and acts as a ‘sparring partner’ for venture capital funds and the authorities, initiating the development of new products and services. For this purpose it devises pilot projects, new business models and business cases. This continuous process of acquiring knowledge, making choices and setting up projects is represented schematically below.
