Imagine that you are driving a vehicle and keep speeding up. That gets the adrenaline going. But things stay the same for the surrounding nature. Now you are flying in a rocket at the speed of light (300,000 kilometers per second). Then, everything changes. "Time stands still, your cells do not age, the ticking of the clock freezes, and distances shrink," asserts the scientific disseminator Christophe Galfard in To Understand E=mc².
The most famous equation ever written. It relates energy, mass, and the speed of light squared. It is a good example of the value of energy. Its theoretical and practical importance. Annual investment in this sector is $3.3 trillion (around €2.8 trillion) per year on this blue planet. An estimate from the International Energy Agency (IEA) reveals that growth in energy technologies accounted for 10% of the total GDP increase of the planet during 2023.
Companies that invest in energy innovation achieve higher productivity, which ranges from 15% to 18%. It is not surprising that the Third Vice President of the Spanish Government and Minister of Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, advocates for us to "accelerate, accelerate, and accelerate" the energy change towards a sustainable and green universe.
The pedal that must be stepped on to approach the speed of light is innovation. The same verb needed to change the energy mix. Greater technological advances, investment, networks, modern infrastructure, and food are needed. Because without that energy, which has turned a shade of green, difficulties, just like in Albert Einstein's equation, multiply exponentially. "Energy is the main bottleneck of AI (artificial intelligence). The new one million chip data centers from NVIDIA technology consume large amounts of energy," warns Manuel Fernández Losa, co-manager of Pictet Clean Energy Transition.
"There is an urgent need for electric companies that provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy and smart management systems, or advanced cooling providers [essential in data centers]," he says. And green hydrogen has its place. Generated with renewable energy, it will be used in essential industrial processes like the decarbonization of steel-making or for manufacturing fertilizers. Thanks to AI, "through time savings and efficiency from the automation of repetitive tasks (we see this in work and in personal life), it is now easier to carry out multiple developments, and these now require less effort. Using artificial intelligence, the error and failure rate is also lower," points out José Manuel Rodríguez, head of Data Analytics at Afi (International Financial Analysts).
Innovation in the Spanish mix started to take shape a long time ago. There is a growing sentiment that energy transition processes and climate change mitigation are derailing as the Trump Administration dismantles all previous initiatives, reports Roberto Scholtes, head of Strategy at Singular Bank. "However, the spectacular drop in battery prices will accelerate the electrification of transport, industry, and homes sooner rather than later. Even in the United States," he predicts. Again, speed appears in our sustainable equation. And not only because 21% of the Spanish energy mix comes from wind energy.
A recent report (The State of Energy Innovation 2026) from the IEA showed that Spain was at the forefront of public R&D investment in the energy sector among the countries that are part of that partnership. Sifting through a 287-page study yields —just like grains of wheat— valuable data, with which to plant the future. In the latest available figures, Spain allocated about $2.155 billion dollars — a little over €1.8 billion) — to energy innovation in 2023. Further on in the study comes the description of in which areas. By order. Three technologies. Energy efficiency, hydrogen and batteries, and renewable energy sources.
The entire strategy was lodged between infinitives — "accelerate, accelerate, accelerate" — proposed by the Minister of Ecological Transition. "If the public sector maintains a strategic vision that reduces regulatory uncertainty and stimulates private investment, the virtuous circle can consolidate quickly. Europe needs success stories that demonstrate that the Green Deal is not just a normative aspiration, but a viable industrial strategy, and Spain could be that example," reflects Enrique Dans, technologist and professor at IE Business School.
This story is even part of the Academy. The latest Nobel Economic Awards for 2025 (Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt) demonstrated that companies that innovate —as we have seen— improve their productivity, transform economic structures, and create advantages that are difficult to replicate. Enrique Dans notes that in terms of energy space, the capacity to generate clean electricity, abundant electricity, and cheap electricity is the contemporary equivalent of discovering oil in the 20th century. With the huge difference being the lack of pollution.
However, the energy transition is not just an environmental issue. It is, above all, a narrative of competitiveness. Spain starts from an extraordinary position. Few countries have our solar radiation and wind levels. If the commitment to storage (batteries, hydraulic pumping and green hydrogen) is added, the consequence can be an electrical system with very low marginal costs.
This is not only reflected in the household bill, but also in that the country becomes a magnet for attracting investment. Clean and cheap energy is a systemic national advantage. Investment funds — according to the IEA — have globally financed emerging companies in energy technologies with about $22 billion (more than €23 billion). And the total investment of public investment in R&D in the same sector amounts to $55 billion (about €46.5 billion).
Great numbers, great hopes. And innovation is associated with patents. Chinese inventors —according to the IEA— have submitted double the R&D applications related to energy in 2023 (latest available data) than the United States, Japan, and Europe. But the Old Continent is close to allocating 0.1% of its global GDP to patents aimed at energy research and development. Efficiency, in fact, is one of the items that receives the most requests. From there some ideas arise.
"For me, innovation means bringing research from universities or companies themselves to market in the form of specific products," explains Juan Carlos Ramos González, professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Navarra. And he also addresses patents. "If they come from public funds they should be open." The arrival, for example, of new materials can improve the hydrogen sector and its storage. In practice, 40% of global energy patents are focused on the storage process. Then, the infinitive descends like a mountaineer. "Accelerate, accelerate, accelerate." Because reaching the ground means strengthening energy security.