Achieving sustainable development and improving human well-being is a global priority. A lower score on the EIWB measure is a desirable outcome in terms of sustainability and improving human well-being. According to the methodology described above, the EIWB is calculated by dividing energy consumption by life expectancy. This study investigation into how expenditure in energy R&D and patent applications in determining the EIWB in Germany for the period 1990–2022. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of per capita income and CO2 emissions on the EIWB. The empirical analysis utilizes the ARDL approach introduced by Pesaran et al. (J Appl Econ 16:289–326, 2001). The results show that expenditure on energy R&D and patent applications have contributed to decrease the EIWB. In addition, per capita income and CO2 emissions have led to higher EIWB scores. As a result, while expenditure in energy R&D and patent applications improve EIWB, per capita income and CO2 emissions worsen it. It is reasonable to conclude that promoting expenditure on energy R&D and patent applications will facilitate the achievement of sustainable development and the improvement of human well-being.