EU companies increase investment in research and development in key sectors

EU companies drove strong growth in research and development (R&D) in the energy, health, aerospace and defense sectors in 2024, according to the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard for 2025 published today.

While the report highlights Europe's leadership in key industries, it also underscores the intense pressure of global competition, particularly in information and communication technologies (ICT).

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 towards achieving the Clean Industry Deal targets.

In the healthcare sector, leading companies increased R&D investment by 13%, a significantly higher growth rate than in other parts of the world. Furthermore, European aerospace and defense companies are investing 4.8% more to enhance Europe's defense readiness.

These results, published in today's scoreboard, offer key insights into the global dynamics of research and development.

Commission action to strengthen Europe's innovation capacity

To respond to global competition and strengthen Europe's innovation ecosystem, the Commission is driving several initiatives aligned with the EU Competitiveness Compass , including:

• The EU Strategy for Startups and Scale-Up Companies, with the aim of making Europe one of the leading destinations for launching and growing global technology companies;
• the European Innovation Act and the 28th Regime, planned for 2026;
• The European Strategy on Research and Technology Infrastructures, which improves companies' access to world-class infrastructure and R&D support;
• The European AI in Science Strategy with the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE), which provides scientists with the necessary resources to adopt AI for their research.

Accelerating these initiatives is essential to help innovative companies expand, especially as Europe needs to strengthen its sovereignty and technological leadership.

Main conclusions

• Strategic strengths of the EU: EU companies significantly increased R&D in energy (19.8%), far outpacing growth in the US (6%), Japan (14.2%), and China (3.8%). In healthcare, EU growth (13%) significantly outpaced that of the US (7.1%), Japan (9.1%), and China (0.1%). The aerospace and defense sector also saw growth of 4.8%.
• Innovation hubs: Most of the R&D investment of the EU's top 800 companies is concentrated in countries classified as "strong innovators" (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, and Luxembourg). This highlights the potential of supportive ecosystems to grow R&D-intensive businesses.
• The global momentum is slowing: The world’s top 2,000 companies invested €1,442.6 billion in R&D in 2024 (+6.3%). Growth was strongest in the United States (+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.
• Sectoral focus: Four sectors—ICT software, ICT hardware, healthcare, and automotive—account for over 80% of total investment. US companies lead in ICT and healthcare; EU companies remain global leaders in the automotive sector.