The SATT Network: a major driver of innovation and the creation of industrial deep tech startups

As part of France 2030, €2.3 billion has been mobilized to accelerate the emergence of technology-intensive startups and support their industrialization. This strategy should enable us to renew the industrial fabric of our regions in the coming years and strengthen France's technological and industrial sovereignty in highly strategic sectors. Having supported the development of deep tech startups emerging from public research since their creation,SATTsare now confirming their commitment alongside the State to reveal the future leaders of French industry and help build the industrial sites of tomorrow.

A national strategy for the reindustrialization of our territories through innovation

In January 2022, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister Delegate for Industry, and Cédric O, Secretary of State for Digital Transition and Electronic Communications, announced the launch of the "Industrial Startups and Deep Tech" strategy as part of the France 2030 investment plan. In line with the government's support for innovation and industrial recovery since 2017, this €2.3 billion strategy aims to strengthen the pool of industrial startups, finance their industrialization projects, and remove barriers to their development.

Currently estimated at 1,500 in France, these industrial startups are active in the promising sectors of digital technology, robotics, healthcare, and biotechnology, as well as in more traditional sectors, where they are introducing new production concepts. They represent a tremendous asset in terms of innovation, jobs, competitiveness, and strategic autonomy for France, as well as strong potential for renewing the industrial fabric throughout the country. The new measures to be implemented by Bpifrance aim to create around 100 new industrial sites per year by 2025. The ambition is to use technologies developed in French research laboratories to create European and global players in France, thereby strengthening the country's technological and industrial sovereignty.

SATTs, major players in the creation of deep tech and industrial startups in the region

This strategy, which focuses on emerging players and technological excellence, relies heavily on the development of deep tech startups, technology-intensive companies that emerge from research laboratories and are positioned on disruptive technologies. Since 2012, SATTs (Sociétés d'Accélération du Transfert de Technologies, or Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies) have helped to stimulate, invest in, and support the creation of deep tech startups. These startups, propelled by SATTs, are now valued at over €1.7 billion. By identifying innovative technologies in public research laboratories, financing the technical, scientific, and economic maturation of these disruptive innovations, securing their market distribution, and supporting their commercialization through technological and industrial transfer, particularly through the creation of deep tech startups, SATTs represent an essential link in the innovation chain from research to industry. This is a major contribution to the goal of industrialization of the region, as emphasized by the government in the context of this new strategy.

Of the 672 startups created by SATT since 2012, around 100 now have an industrial focus. Among these gems areSINTERMAT, which is industrializing a process for designing enhanced materials from metal, composite, and natural powders;VALAME, which is developing a mobile plant for the eco-responsible recovery of asbestos; Gema, which produces the Walk-E robotic walker for the mobility and independence of elderly people,ROSI Solar, which recycles photovoltaic panels to recover metals, andNeocean, which is developing the Overboat, a flying boat that combines high-efficiency electric propulsion, high-performance foils, and automatic flight control.

Stronger action and dedicated tools serving the industry of tomorrow

For these startups, the success of such ambitions depends on support throughout the entire life cycle of their industrial project: from the early stages, with securing the business model or defining the industrial plan, to the later stages, with easier access to the local ecosystem or anticipating recruitment needs. SATTs have developed numerous programs aimed at strengthening the creation and development of these deep tech startups. Incubators, digital platforms dedicated to scientific expertise or talent search, entrepreneur sourcing, team training, investor search—they are active throughout the growth trajectory of these innovative companies. Among their strengths are 13 locations throughout France, which enable them to maintain a presence at the heart of the regions and thus close proximity to local players and investor networks to facilitate access to land, support the search for industrial sites, and assist with fundraising for these large-scale projects.

The aim is also to encourage links between these startups and major contractors by promoting open innovation initiatives. With this in mind, the SATT Network has been setting up "startup" and "business development" collectives at the national level for more than five years, with the aim of pooling best practices among the 13 SATTs spread across the country and developing initiatives to connect them with major French industries. This new direction was particularly evident atDeeptech Connect, held last November to promote the most promising startups in their portfolio. This ability to act at both the local and national levels is part of the SATT Network's DNA. It gives it the agility it needs to support the startups that will shape the future of French industry.