London - 16/10/09

French innovation clusters welcome international partners

16 October 2009 – The French government has supported the creation of 71 high-tech innovation clusters since 2005. These clusters are designed to boost innovation in France and to encourage partnerships between industry and R&D organisations. The number of international companies participating in the clusters continues to increase, thanks to France’s advantageous research tax credit.

France’s high-tech innovation clusters, which are known in French as pôles de compétitivité, develop three types of collaborative projects. The core activity remains R&D projects, while innovation platforms develop advanced infrastructures designed to promote innovation by businesses. Finally, R&D spin-off projects – such as training, real-estate investment, ICT infrastructures, economic intelligence and surveys, and international development – are also essential to boost the competitiveness of companies within the cluster.

Over 2,000 R&D projects have already been launched within the innovation clusters. More than €5 billion have been committed, half of which has been funded by the French Government. In total, there are 10,000 researchers working on various projects with 5,000 businesses, including SMEs. The number of clusters is due to fall to 70 in late 2009, following the merger between the automotive clusters MTA and MOV’EO.

State funding will be maintained over the 2009 – 2011 period: the French Government is putting forward €1.5 billion over three years. It will also provide funding for specific programmes, such as the Crolles 3 project being developed by Minalogic, the global cluster for excellence in nanotechnologies, which is based in Grenoble. Local authorities are also helping to fund projects launched by the clusters.

Government funding is awarded through an interministerial fund controlled by the French Ministry for the Economy, Industry & Employment. This fund supports applied-research projects, selected based on calls for projects issued twice every year. In March 2009, the seventh call for projects selected 91 R&D projects from 53 high-tech clusters, which will now receive €107 million from this fund.

The French National Research Agency (ANR) provides additional funding, while the French Innovation Agency (OSEO) offers repayable advances of up to 50% of project costs. The clusters’ dynamic development is being further strengthened by the French research tax credit, which, since 2008, has been recognised as offering the best tax incentives in Europe. The tax credit is equivalent to 30% of R&D spending, capped at €100 million.

There are currently 500 international businesses actively participating in various research projects developed by the French innovation clusters, including 270 European companies. Xerox and Sony have joined the Cap Digital cluster in the Paris region, which is focused on images, multimedia and high-speed transfers.

The clusters have also established partnerships with clusters from other countries. For example, the Systematic Paris Region and Aerospace Valley clusters have built up a technological partnership with the Safe Trans cluster in Germany, with a view to setting up a dedicated European platform for embedded systems. Similarly, the three French clusters covering healthcare and life sciences (Cancer-Bio-Santé, Lyon Biopôle and Alsace Bio Valley) recently sealed an agreement with the Kansai Biomedical Cluster in Japan.

For David Appia, Chairman and CEO of the Invest in France Agency, “The innovation clusters that have been established in France since 2005 are playing a major role in attracting foreign R&D centres to France, combined, naturally, with the particularly advantageous research tax credit, which offers the best incentives in Europe. There are 500 foreign businesses already taking part in more than 700 projects being developed within the clusters. The benefits of setting up businesses in these clusters, or in the surrounding business ecosystems, offering a wealth of talents, partnerships and opportunity, are being consolidated by these success stories.”

About Invest in France (IFA)

The Invest in France Agency (IFA) promotes and facilitates international investment in France. The IFA network operates worldwide. IFA works in partnership with regional development agencies to offer international investors business opportunities and customized services all over France.

For more information about this press release, please contact Martin Hedges, Director of Communications at the Invest in France Agency in London: mhedges@investinfrance.org

For further information, please go to: www.investinfrance.org

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