Energy start-ups on the rise in Germany, environmental technology sector down – report
Clean Energy Wire / Handelsblatt
The number of new start-ups in Germany increased by 17 percent in 2023, with energy sector companies on the rise, said a report by industry data provider Startupdetector. While most of the 2,558 new start-ups last year came from the software (452), medicine (276) and food (183) sectors, the number of new energy start-ups rose to 92 (from 70 in 2022). The share of start-ups which say they use artificial intelligence in their products has more than doubled since the beginning of 2022 to 17 percent in the first quarter of 2024, while the share of new companies that work in the area of sustainability fell by about half to 9 percent in Q1/2024.
Business daily Handelsblatt reported that the number of start-ups is regarded as a gauge of the mood in a sector that has recently suffered noticeably from rising interest rates, major economic and geopolitical challenges, and the financing crisis. "The latter in particular is far from over," said Handelsblatt.
Start-ups play an important role in advancing the climate-friendly transition of the economy. In Germany, the home of the Energiewende, many start-ups take advantage of the transformation by bringing novel business ideas to the market and taking a share of the market from incumbents in sectors such as renewables, heating, industry, and mobility. Germany has been dubbed "Green Energy Valley" thanks to its lively green start-up scene.
