European companies increased research and development (R&D) investment in several key sectors — including energy, health, and aerospace and defence — during 2024.
In the electricity and renewable energy sectors, leading EU companies increased their R&D investments by 19.8%, while their spending on infrastructure or equipment— known as capital expenditure — rose by 17.8%, the European Commission reported on Monday.
In the health industry, the growth in R&D investment reached 13% among top EU companies, a higher rate than comparable companies in the United States, Japan, or China.
Aerospace and defence firms in Europe raised their R&D spending by 4.8% in 2024. This sector includes manufacturers of aircraft, spacecraft and military technology.
Global context and sector shifts
The European Commission's Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard also highlighted differences between regions.
Overall, the world's top 2,000 companies boosted R&D investment by 6.3% to €1,442.6 billion in 2024.
Companies in the United States and other regions saw higher growth rates — at 7.8% and 8.1% — compared with a more modest 2.9% increase among EU firms and 3.9% among Chinese companies.
More than four-fifths of global R&D spending in 2024 came from four industries: software and information technology (IT) services, IT hardware, health, and automotive.
While US firms dominated IT and health, European companies continued to invest heavily in the automotive sector.
R&D investment in the EU was highly concentrated in countries identified as "strong innovators" — including Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, and Luxembourg, according to the European Commission.
Most R&D from the EU’s top 800 companies was invested in these countries.
The Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard has tracked worldwide investment trends annually since 2004.
