When Enel X was launched back in 2017, we carried out an extensive process of rationalisation, isolating every part of the company and trying to understand its priorities, potential, and future developments. We had the opportunity to go out in the market, change and break the rules of the game.
Get the market insight you need into the global oil & gas industry's energy transition – from the new newsletter from Upstream and Recharge. Sign up here
Over a relatively short of period of time, we became world leaders in the demand response segment, extracting this market from its concentration in the US to develop it around the world. We now have about 6GW of managed demand response capacity from over 15,000 commercial and industrial (C&I) sites, in 15 countries globally.
Going forward with more disruption, we have debunked two simple business equations, especially for the residential market, namely that sustainability does not equal convenience, and that convenience does not equal quality.
Sustainability is now affordable for everyone, as Enel X offers solutions like PV systems at market-competitive prices. We are committed to being a player of reference even in the retail market, creating a sustainable and accessible ecosystem for the home, and this can surely drive the electrification of residential consumption while also having a positive impact on decarbonisation.
Our footprint in this market is also growing and our goals in this field are becoming more ambitious thanks to Homix, our smart home product that acts as a gateway into our rapidly expanding Enel X home ecosystem to which a host of online services can be connected, even telemedicine, which is already offered in Italy.
Additionally, we broke into completely new markets. For example, today we are one of the main private operators worldwide for electric buses with around 1,400 vehicles, mainly in Latin America. We are disruptors also when it comes to the segment’s business model, as we developed the “e-Buses as a service business model”, in which Enel X takes care of the whole value chain — including the supply of vehicles, infrastructure, services and digital platforms. Our objective is to expand this new business model worldwide, which can also be applicable to private fleets.
Moreover, we leveraged on market opportunities by entering the fintech world. In fact, thanks to the European PSD2 payment services directive, we are part of a true digital revolution that makes people and companies’ lives smarter with Enel X Pay: an online account for cashless payments, exchanging money with friends, managing your own expenses and those of your children in real time, all with a single mobile app.
Last but not least, we have changed the market rules for the electric mobility sector. Enel X, through its JuicePass app, gives electric vehicle (EV) drivers access to around 95,000 public charging points, mainly in Europe and Latin America, thanks to our infrastructure plan and our participation in the eRoaming platform Hubject, which made it possible to expand the electric vehicle charging network through multi-company agreements.
We also launched our connected wallbox charger, JuiceBox, and we clinched several partnerships with automotive players in order to sell our wallboxes in bundles with EVs. Furthermore, we closed several agreements with various oil & gas companies for high power charging installations at their service stations.
We extracted value from a plethora of services and solutions.
In a nutshell, we extracted value from a plethora of services and solutions, selecting the most disruptive ones and cannibalising segments in order to meet the ever-changing needs of a society that is continuously evolving. Looking ahead, we will continue to push the boundaries of the intersection between technology and electricity, with the aim to maximise shared value for our stakeholders while advancing in the transition towards a zero-carbon economy.
- Francesco Venturini is CEO of Enel X
