EU companies remain robust and increase investment amidst stiff global competition

Companies in the European Union (EU27) have increased their investment in research and development (R&D) for the tenth consecutive year as included in the 2020 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard.

In 2019, they invested 5.6 percent more in R&D, up from 4.7 percent in 2018. This growth is driven by the automobile, ICT and health sectors. One successful example is the German company Biontech, leading the ground-breaking development of one of the first Covid-19 vaccines in use. Since its early days, it has benefited from EU R&D support now worth over €108 million.

Biontech ranks at number 654 in the world ranking and has been in this Scoreboard since 2013 It has multiplied its R&D investment by 6 and its net sales ten times in this seven-year period. EU companies in the Scoreboard are highly internationalised, showing a diversified and strong technological and industrial base. In the ranking of the top 2,500 R&D investing companies worldwide however, they lose ground against fast growing ICT and health sector companies based in the U.S. and China.