EDF and Open Innovation

What is open innovation?

Open innovation is a process of bringing together different ideas, knowledge and resources from within and outside an organization to create new products, services or processes.

Why has the EDF Group integrated the open innovation approach into its projects?

1

To support the business lines in accelerating their innovative projects

Open innovation allows EDF teams to accelerate their projects from the identification of the need to the implementation of the solution.
2

To invent new ways of innovating

The link with start‑ups encourages the group's businesses to draw inspiration from the agility of start‑ups and to open up to innovative ecosystems (incubators/accelerators, universities, competitiveness clusters, institutional establishments and even other large groups).
3

Create more synergies with other EDF’s Group entities

The Open Innovation program acts as a "Connector" between the Group's various entities, identifying potential synergies between businesses, and putting them in touch with innovative start‑ups offering solutions relevant to their business.
4

Detecting promising innovations

The open innovation program, EDF Pulse Connect monitors market trends through the prism of innovative start‑ups in France and around the world.
5

Creating tailor-made partnerships

The EDF Pulse Connect team develops tools to facilitate the relationship between the Group entity and innovative start‑ups in order to establish the partnership (commercial, research, experimentation, investment...).

How does an innovation project materialize in practice?

Open Innovation success story: EDF Pulse Connect X Sweetch Energy

First contact with and registration of the renewable start‑up Sweetch Energy in "Start‑up Impulse", an open innovation platform that allows business units to identify interesting trends and opportunities for their project.
EDF Pulse Connect teams were approached by EDF Hydro to assist in the creation of a partnership with Sweetch Energy.
Monitoring and support of the partnership project.
Signature of an innovation partnership between EDF and Sweetch Energy for a major project.