Today companies and organizations are addressing major questions about how exactly to move the global economy towards sustainable energy sources. But the best ideas tend to originate outside board rooms. Smart managers know to listen to employees up and down the org chart and turn an ear to the outside world. What does the crowd have to say? How can new arenas of competition spark tomorrow's innovation?
“We are always scouting for innovative ideas that can be transformed into actions which create value for our stakeholders, including of course local communities,” says Ernesto Ciorra, Chief Innovability Officer of Enel, Europe’s largest utility and the private global leader in renewable energy. "By tapping into these ideas, we can roll out sustainable energy solutions and boost social sustainability and inclusive growth, while contributing to a dramatic reshaping of the global energy market."
Economics and resources often stop disruptive and innovative ideas from leaving the garage. So in 2017 Enel launched Open Innovability, combining the principles of open innovation and sustainability, asking big questions to outside organizations and innovators, compensating or partnering with them. So far, Open Innovability has hosted over 80 challenges in a 400,000 participants ecosystem and collected over 4,000 solutions from companies, startups, researchers and individuals from over 90 countries around the world.
Enel has, in effect, launched several challenges, linked to the Group’s commitment on UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on ensuring access to affordable and clean energy, promoting inclusive economic growth, fostering resilient infrastructure, sustainable industrialization and innovation, smart cities and climate action.
Anyone can sign up to participate in active challenges, while unprompted project submissions are welcome too. There is an opportunity also for companies that need a platform to crowdsource their ideas.
Last year Enel concluded a challenge that asked how to better design electric vehicle charging lots so they don’t become parking lots for vehicles with internal combustion engine. They also handed out an award to women who had devised better energy efficiency technology, further diversifying a historically male field. Another challenge, already closed, found its circular economy based solution for the production of glass wool and insulating building materials from wind turbine blades. Enel has recently published calls for ideas across the world to devise innovative technology to aide in the COVID-19 crisis.
Enel is also looking for solutions to integrate renewable energy to foster the energy transition towards a generation 100% from renewables ($15,000 up for grabs). Energy storage is another huge question for tomorrow’s grid. That is why there is also a challenge around improving the technologies used to store energy produced in excess. Additionally, in the area of renewable energy transition, one of the biggest constraints for wind power has been detecting damage, cracks and delamination of the turbines. The Enel Boston Innovation Hub is looking for scalable solutions to this call.
“Open Innovability is about crowdsourcing the best international talents, ideas and technologies and creating valuable partnerships among innovators, startups, SME, and researchers at a global level,” says Ciorra.
Discover, among others, the Enel Innovation Hubs located in Boston, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Madrid, Milan, designed as a liaison between Enel and the countries with the highest innovation rate in the world, in order to identify the best startups.
This story was produced by WIRED Brand Lab for Enel Group.
