Innovation competition: new edition of the i-Nov section

The French government is launching a new edition of the i-Nov program, which is part of the overall Innovation Contest program. The aim of the i-Nov program is to support projects developed by innovative startups and SMEs. Candidates have until May 12 to submit their applications.

A GOVERNMENT PRIORITY

The French government wants tomake France a leader in the creation and development of innovative companies, linked to cutting-edge French research, in the fields of technology and the ecological, energy and food transitions. It was with this aim in mind that the Innovation Contest was launched, a threefold scheme which, as the Ministry of Research points out, has already made it possible "to co-finance the creation of innovative companies.already enabled "the co-financing of research, development and innovation projects costing between 600,000 and 5 million euros".
Specifically for the i-Nov component, 62 projects have been selected in 2019, for a total of 34 million euros.

NINE INNOVATIVE THEMES

Until May 12, 2020, startups and SME candidates can submit their projects for the 5th i-Nov competition to the two operators, ADEME and Bpifrance, who are responsible for examining them according to 9 shared themes.

• The 4 themes managed by ADEME: renewable energies, energy storage and systems; sustainable transport and mobility; eco-efficient industry and agriculture; water and biodiversity.
  
  
• The 5 themes managed by Bpifrance: digital Deep Tech; health and emergencies; French Fab - industry of the future; cybersecurity; sustainable food for health.
  
  

THE INNOVATION COMPETITION, A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM

The Innovation Contest is made up of three complementary components:

• the upstreami-PhD competition, aimed at young researchers;
• the Lab competition, which supports research and researchers in finalizing an innovative technological product, process or service;
• the i-Nov competition, which supports start-ups and SMEs in developing innovative solutions.

To find out more: Visit the website of the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.