Innovation Contest: 73 laureates for the 7th batch of the i-Nov contest

With the France 2030 plan launched in October 2021, France “develops its tools to recover its industrial and technologic sovereignty in strategic industries for the future” such as green hydrogen, low carbon planes, connected vehicles or the exploration of deep seabeds and space. This is the framework for the three innovation competitions, as the France 2030 plan “supports the entire life cycle of innovation up to its industrialisation, from fundamental research, to the emergence of an idea, to the production of a new product or service”.

73 projects on 8 themes

The i-Nov contest of excellence is indeed dedicated to innovative projects led in cooperation with a single partner by start-ups and/or SMEs, and leading to “encouraging the accelerated emergence of companies which are leader in their field and can claim a global scale”.

The i-Nov competition, which received 278 applications this year, eventually awarded 73 laureate projects, reaching €45.8 million in financial support, in eight main areas:

- Renewable energies, storage and energy systems, including hydrogen: energy production and storage technologies, development of new technical and economic models;

- Sustainable and smart mobility: energy recyclability, new generations of low-emission vehicles, inclusive, supportive and ecological transport and mobility;

- Energy and ecological transition issues in industry and agriculture: improving the energy performance of production systems, equipment or processes, transition to agro-ecology;

- Water and biodiversity: limiting the consumption of natural, agricultural and forest areas, water saving and integrated water management;

- Digital Deep Tech: quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and massive data processing (big data), augmented and virtual reality;

- Transformation of cultural and creative industries through digital technology: innovations that can open up new markets or create new fields of activity;

- Health - Disease diagnosis, screening and monitoring: devices based on new sensors or biomarkers, integrated systems for detection, prediction and monitoring in hospitals;

- Proteins and ferments of the future: pre- and probiotics, fermented foods, protein-rich foods using new technologies, new formulations and new resources.

Richness of the French economic fabric and culture of innovation

According to the Secretary General for Investment in charge of France 2030, who prefaced the press kit, “the very high quality of the winners of this 7th edition of the i-Nov competition once again testifies to the richness of our country’s economic fabric and the genuine culture of innovation that characterises our entrepreneurs”.

More precisely, the 2022 winners come from all French regions and have proposed projects in all areas of the competition.

Distribution of the 73 laureates by geographical area:

- 33 project leaders in Ile-de-France;

- 14 in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes ;

- 5 in Brittany;

- 4 in Occitania and 4 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine;

- 3 in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and 3 in Bourgogne Franche-Comté;

- 2 in Normandy and 2 in Pays de la Loire;

- 1 in Hauts-de-France, 1 in Grand-Est and 1 in French Guiana.

Distribution of laureates by theme:

- 33% of project focus on Deep Tech;

- 18% on sustainable and smart mobility;

- 14% on health projects;

- 11% on the challenges of energy and ecologic transition in industry
 and agriculture;

- 8% on the transformation of cultural and creative industries through digital technology;

- 7% on proteins and ferments of the future;

- 5% on renewable energies;

- 4% on water and biodiversity.

Since its creation, the i-Nov contest already awarded 462 laureates who are today leaders of business at the spearhead of their industry. And according to the French government, i-Nov “proved the relevance of its actions by contributing to the acceleration of development and launch on markets of solutions with high technologic content”.

To know more: 

- The i-Nov contest, laureates and projects 

Photo credit: © MESRI