During 2021, EIT InnoEnergy continued to spearhead the way to a decarbonised Europe through the leadership of three industrial alliances: battery storage, green hydrogen and solar PV. These alliances bring together the knowledge and experience required to support large innovative industrial projects, while solving the energy trilemma: security, cost and carbon.

It is reassuring to see that the Climate Law has been unanimously approved by the European Commission, the European Parliament and Council. As the Fit for 55 initiative accelerates pace, EIT InnoEnergy is tightly aligned in making a big contribution to the decarbonisation agenda by 2030.

This is demonstrated by our recently launched impact report which shows the environmental, economic and social impact EIT InnoEnergy has made in the past eleven years. The innovations we have supported are on target to generate over €72 Billion in revenues, save 1.1G tons of CO2e annually by 2030 whilst creating 25,000 jobs.

Whilst high electricity prices are a concern for many economies, the need for electrification via systemic solutions especially in areas such as industry and mobility are pivotal in playing a key role in the decarbonisation agenda. The good news is that high scale deployment of renewable energy technology is possible as prices have plummeted over the years.

A highlight of the year was the launch of the European Battery Alliance Academy, which aims to re-skill 800,000 workers across Europe by 2025 especially in areas such as electromobility and storage.

We continued to expand our trusted eco-system as we announced a strategic partnership with Volkswagen AG, who is spearheading the decarbonisation of the transport sector by accelerating its shift to electromobility. As part of this partnership, Volkswagen became a new shareholder of EIT InnoEnergy. Several other new shareholders will be announced early in the new year.

The final quarter of 2021 saw our entire ecosystem come together at our annual flagship event The Business Booster in Berlin. It was a privilege to meet people physically again rather than through computer screens. Nearly 1100 attendees from industry, investors and regulators took part at the event where we showcased 150 of our best innovations in sustainable energy.

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and look forward to 2022 where we will continue to play a pivotal role in accelerating the energy transition. We are on a mission, and we are delivering!