Endesa : and Enel launch their Innovation Hub in Madrid

• Enel Innovation Hub Madrid is Enel Group's sixth start-up centre, set up with the aim of fostering collaborations with the best European start-ups, which are identified as having the greatest relevance and impact in terms of the group's strategy

• Enel Innovation Hub Madrid is an initiative aimed at finding solutions all along the energy value chain, from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to automation of power supply, also including new business models and new solutions according to the Group's strategic priorities

• The hub is headquartered at The Cube - Spain's first innovative business centre specialising in IoT technologies

Endesa and Enel inaugurated today in Madrid the world's sixth Enel Innovation Hub, as a result of the Company's drive for innovation in the world of energy and their desire to achieve its environmental goals by working with the best and brightest start-ups. The Innovation Hub aims to create a network of knowledge, ideas and business opportunities; to work hand in hand with European start-ups - especially those in Spain and Portugal, and to drive forward those which are identified as having greatest relevance and impact in terms of the group's strategy.

Enel Innovation HubMadrid is an initiative aimed at finding solutions all along the energy value chain, from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to automation of power supply, including new business models and new solutions according to the Group's strategic priorities. It is housed at The Cube, a space set up by and for entrepreneurs specialising in Internet of Things (IoT), which will be one of the key focus areas of this new initiative for the Group.

The inauguration was attended by Endesa's CEO, José Bogas, and Enel's Head of Innovation and Sustainability, Ernesto Ciorra, alongside many representatives of Spain's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

José Bogas stated: 'The Enel Innovation Hub Madrid demonstrates the Group's constant support for Spain and the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem which Endesa has helped create over the past 5 years, as well as strengthening the Group's innovation model which is aimed at reshaping the future energy scenario.'

Ernesto Ciorra, Enel's Head of Innovation and Sustainability said: 'The opening of a new innovation hub, like the one we are inaugurating today in Madrid, represents a golden opportunity for the entire Enel Group. It opens the door to limitless possibilities to continue to innovate; to see which way innovation is going, and to be able to take the right path, making the Enel Group increasingly competitive'.

The Innovation Hubs offer a new model of cooperation between Enel and start-ups, with the Group providing infrastructures and a worldwide entrepreneurial network as well as know-how and experience as a Global Industrial Partner.

Enel and Endesa, as part of their Open Power initiative, support an open innovation model as the way to approach the challenges in different business areas - a collaborative innovative model, bringing together suppliers, technology centres and research hubs, universities and start-ups, among others. In this context, start-ups are especially important, given the skills and capabilities they bring to the table: for example, they are at the cutting edge of technology and new business models, and are able to bring their developments to market quickly.

The setting up of such hubs, or innovation centres, all over the world is part of this drive for open innovation, but in addition to these, Enel is currently working on over 80 projects worldwide, with international start-ups in the areas of renewable energy, predictive maintenance, home automation, IoT industrial services, telecoms, etc., out of which more than twenty are under development by Endesa.

The Enel Innovation Hub Madrid opening demonstrates the Group's staunch support of Spain and the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which Endesa has helped create over the past 5 years. The open innovation model is in Endesa´s DNA, and collaborating with other relevant players has always been an essential part of the company's innovation approach. We have developed innovation projects with suppliers, research and technological centres, universities and start-ups to which the Group offers a 'tailored' collaboration approach, based on the impact their solution may have on our business or customers and how developed the solution is.

Endesa, an Enel Group company, is the leading electricity company in Spain, active in generation, distribution and sales. Endesa owns generation facilities in Spain and Portugal with an installed capacity of over 22.7 GW, producing approximately 72.3 TWh, and has around 11 million electricity customers. Endesa is also an important operator in the gas industry with some 1.6 million end users. The company has approximately 10,500 employees.

Enel is a multinational power company and a leading integrated player in the global, power, gas and renewables markets. It is Europe's largest utility in terms of market capitalisation and figures among Europe's leading power companies in terms of installed capacity and reported EBITDA. The Group is present in over 30 countries worldwide, producing energy with more than 86 GW of managed capacity. Enel distributes electricity and gas through a network of over 2 million kilometres, and with over 65 million business and household customers globally, the Group has the largest customer base among European competitors. Enel's renewables arm Enel Green Power already manages more than 39 GW of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydropower plants in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and has recently arrived in Australia.