I-Nov Innovation Competition: The 8 Themes

The 7th edition of the “I-Nov Innovation Competition” (formerly the Innovation–Growth Competition) is now open!

This call for proposals is a program funded by the Investment for the Future Program (PIA), aimed at supporting innovative, world-class projects with a significant impact on the French economy.

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Environment, digital technology, culture, health, food, energy, mobility, and biodiversity…In this article, you’ll discover the eight themes for the 7th edition selected byADEME and Bpifrance, the sponsors of this competition.

If you’re a startup or an SME, we have good news! This excellence competition could be of great interest to you, as it provides co-funding for non-collaborative research, development, and innovation projects with total costs ranging from €600,000 to €5 million, over a period of 12 to 36 months.

Do you think you meet the eligibility criteria? Like our client Millionroads, a winner of the^6th round of the I-Nov competition, contact us to choose the right theme and give yourself the best chance of success!

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Projects funded by ADEME

Tosupport France’s energy and ecological transition, ADEME provides financial support for ambitious innovation projects aimed at developing products, services, and technologies that address today’s environmental and energy challenges.

With the goal of becoming a low-carbon society adapted to climate change, ADEME aims, in this^7th round, to support innovation projects that fall under one of the following themes:

"Water and Biodiversity" Theme

This thematic area supports projects aimed at developing innovative tools for diagnosis and monitoring, decision support, and operational implementation, with the goal of reducing pressure on natural environments.

In fact, under this component, ADEME is particularly interested in projects focusing, for example, on:

• The development of nature in urban areas and the reduction of the use of natural, agricultural, and forested areas
• Preserving and restoring biodiversity and soil functionality
• Reducing collisions between cetaceans and ships
• The recovery of microplastics and macroplastics
• Recovery of resources contained in wastewater or resulting from its treatment
• Innovative metrology systems

Theme: “Challenges of the Energy and Ecological Transition for Industry and Agriculture”

ADEME seeks to fund projects in the agricultural and industrial sectors that aim to develop innovative organizations and technologies committed to the ecological transition while generating sustainable economic activity.

In the industrial sector, the innovations being sought focus on:

• Improving energy efficiency
• Optimizing material and water intensity, as well as promoting the use of renewable materials and recycling
• Reducing the environmental impact of effluent discharges and air emissions
• Optimizing the use of raw materials, particularly strategic metals and rare resources
• Promoting the use of agroecological products or those bearing a quality label
  
  

For agriculture, applicants’ projects must address one of these challenges:

• Adapting agricultural and forestry production systems to the effects of climate change
• Improving the energy efficiency of production systems
• The transition to agroecology
• Development of eco-designed agricultural and food production systems

Theme: "Renewable Energy, Energy Storage, and Energy Systems, Including Hydrogen"

This theme focuses on the transformation of energy production and management models to address the challenges of decarbonizing economic sectors as outlined in the Paris Agreement.

ADEME is committed to supporting projects that develop innovative, competitive, and sustainable processes, technologies, industrial solutions, and services in two areas:

• The production of renewable energy and energy carriers
• Energy Storage and Systems

Theme: "Sustainable and Smart Mobility"

In France, the low-carbon strategy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the mobility and transportation sector by 28% by 2030 compared to 2015 levels, with the ultimate goal of achieving near-complete decarbonization by 2050.

To this end, the I-Nov Innovation Competition supports innovation projects that develop innovations aimed at promoting:

• Eco-design, recyclability, and energy multifunctionality
• The new generations of vehicles with low greenhouse gas emissions
• Smart services or systems for logistics
• Multimodal management and regulation of passenger mobility
• Inclusive, equitable, and eco-friendly transportation and mobility

If you would like more information about the^7th round of the I-Nov competition, ADEME is hosting an informational webinar on March 30 at 10 a.m.

Projects supported by BPIFrance

Bpifrance is committed to providing financial support for innovation projects in the fields of digital technology, space, the French Fab initiative, security and cybersecurity, healthcare, and more…

More specifically, the four themes selected for the^7th round of the I-Nov Excellence Competition are:

The "Digital Deep Tech" theme

By transforming their organizational structures and work practices, digital deep tech technology presents a significant challenge for the businesses of tomorrow. The goal here is to balance significant productivity gains with a reduction in the digital sector’s environmental footprint.

Applicants must propose digital projects that are also disruptive and innovative in terms of product or use at any stage of the value chain (from design to recycling).

Preference will be given to projects related to:

• Quantum technologies and other disruptive architectures for digital computing components
• Artificial Intelligence and Big Data
• 5G
• Blockchain
• Augmented reality, virtual reality
• Reducing the environmental footprint associated with digital technology

The theme "Transforming the cultural and creative industries through digital technology"

Immersive technologies, big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain, Holochain, 3D printing… Digital innovations in the cultural and creative industries are opening up a world of possibilities, as they influence creative and production processes, as well as distribution and engagement with the public.

Bpifrance is looking for projects with a digital component that will have an impact at any stage of the value chain (from the creation to the distribution of cultural offerings).

The Health Theme: "Diagnosis, Screening, and Monitoring of Diseases"

Through this initiative, Bpifrance aims to support significant innovation projects related to the screening, diagnosis, or monitoring of diseases.

Projects focusing on viruses with epidemic potential (particularly SARS-CoV-2), or on the emergence of resistance or evasion of preventive or therapeutic measures, may be of great interest to the jury.

In this area, Bpifrance primarily focuses on projects that address:

• Devices based on new sensors or biomarkers
• Signal processing technologies, methodologies to aid in reading or interpretation
• Pooling methods or technologies
• Easy-to-use devices for home use
• Integrated systems for detection, prediction, and monitoring in hospital or community settings
• Methods or technologies for water monitoring
• Modeling tools

The theme "Proteins and Ferments of the Future"

The goal of this initiative is to support innovative projects that have a significant impact on the development of technologies or products using new sources of protein and cultures for food applications.

This will not only help gain market share, create value and jobs in the region, but also contribute to the ecological transition of agriculture.

Particular attention will be given to projects focused on:

• Innovative products that provide new sources of protein
• Innovative equipment, processes, and technological solutions
• Dietary diversity
• Improving the food supply chain
• The Value of Environmental and Nutritional Services Provided by Proteins and Ferments

Our clients are talented

Choosing a theme, preparing the application materials and auditions…

Since the launch of the I-Nov Innovation Competition in 2017, we have been supporting our clients through every stage of this highly selective call for proposals.

During the 6th wave, we had the pleasure of supporting the winner, MillionRoads, in bringing their innovative project—focused on career guidance and preventing school dropouts—to fruition!

Justine Fasquelle, an innovation engineer at Dynergie who helped Millionroads win the award, tells us:

How did Millionroads' entry in the I-Nov competition go?

Great! It was awesome to think that we were going to start a project that really matters!

Although it was still very challenging, the only “snag” was the tight deadline. We had to move very quickly, but thanks to our team’s wide range of expertise, we were able to put the proposal together in two weeks.

What do you enjoy most about helping companies participate in innovation competitions?

I enjoy managing a project in its entirety and in all its aspects—whether technical, economic, financial, or related to storytelling. I also appreciate the sense of supporting a project with a significant impact and helping a company bring it to fruition.

What a joy it was when we won the call for proposals! As soon as we found out the project had been selected, I immediately called my client to congratulate him and wish him a happy new year—one that was bound to get off to a great start! Clearly, it’s results like this that make me want to get out of bed in the morning.

For further reading

Are you about to launch an innovative project with significant economic impact and global reach that aligns with one of the eight themes of the 7th wave?

Do you think you meet all the criteria to apply for the I-Nov innovation competition?

Our teams of experts can help you maximize your chances of success!

Learn more about the I-Nov Competition

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