The group Technology and Innovation division was created within the framework of the reorganisation of the group structure. This division is principally responsible for undertaking value-driven research and development (R&D) for the MVV Energie Group. The new division acts as the technology hub and integrator for the company's technical divisions.
The future of the energy industry is largely determined by the political framework. The wide range of instruments aimed at promoting environmentally-friendly, regenerative energy forms and at reducing CO2 emissions will lead in future to the further expansion of decentralised energy generation facilities. This in turn provides great opportunities for the development of new markets and products, as well as placing new requirements in traditional energy transmission and distribution networks. Technological development is also gaining in significance, with numerous innovations both in terms of primary technologies, such as facilities and networks, and of secondary technologies, such as information and communications technologies.
The group Technology and Innovation division has six employees. Furthermore, around 70 other employees of our company commit a significant portion of their work to innovation projects. R&D expenses amounted to Euro 4 million in the 2004/05 financial year (previous year: Euro 4 million). Of this sum, Euro 1 million was channelled into process optimisation projects, Euro 2 million into product development and Euro 1 million into technical enhancement.
The strategic objectives of our R&D activities are the targeted identification of profitable product and process enhancements, the permanent accompaniment and implementation of best-practice solutions and standardisation within the Group. Moreover, we also participate in national and international R&D projects. In order to reach our strategic R&D objectives, our work in the year under report focused on three areas, for which examples of current projects can be found below. Further projects have already been presented in our quarterly reports.
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