1 Project supported by the European Commission ECREIN Platform in Rhône-Alpes (RA) Policies and financial instruments dedicated to the first stages of eco-innovation : “research and demonstration” First workshop in Stuttgart, the 1 rst of june 2007

2 Summary I.Key figures for Rhône-Alpes II.Regional platform III.Examples of good practices IV.Working tracks

3 Key figures for the Rhône-Alpes Region  Area : 8% of the area of France, 2 nd French Region  Population : 6 Millions of Inhab (2006), 2 nd French Region  Economy : GDP total : 165 Billions€ (France : Bil€) GDP/Inhab : € (France : €) + 9% of companies setting up between 2003 and 2005 Traditional areas of activity : chemistry, textile, mechanical… Emerging areas in the vanguard of innovation : electronics, computer science, biotechnologies, … companies in Rhône-Alpes ( 91% have less than 10 employees ). The medium SMEs (50 employees) employ 45% of the working population. RA is one of the 15 European Regions which generate the most of affluence

4 Summary I.Key figures for Rhône-Alpes II.Regional platform III.Examples of good practices IV.Working tracks

5 Regional platform - 25 th of April 2007 First meeting - presentation of the ECREIN project 31 persons were present, they represented : SMEs ( chamber of commerce, professional associations …) Finance ( Business angels, venture capital investors, financial institutions …), Research ( industrial technical centres, development structures ) French institutions ( DRIRE, ADEME, OSEO, association of communes, …)

6 Regional platform – 10 th of May 2007 Implementation of financial instruments for ecoinnovation – Research and demonstration stages Second meeting – preparation of the workshop  Issues highlighted thanks to this meeting: oImportance of the public grants during the first stages of innovation, oDifficulties to commercialize an innovative technology, oDifficulties to identify the appropriate grant among all the existing one. oProblem with the human resources in the SMEs (innovation skills often exist but there is not enough time to use them)

7 Summary I.Key figures for Rhône-Alpes II.Regional platform III.Examples of good practices IV.Working tracks

8 Grenoble Angels  Goals oFinance new companies, oCreate a network of investors and entrepreneurs, oImprove the local economic development, oCreate a network with people who help companies at their creation and during their development.  Review o2004 : Assessment of the RA market potential ( carried out by the chamber of commerce in Grenoble ), oMay 2005 : creation of Grenoble Angels (15 members) oDecember 2005 : financing of the 1 rst project oJune 2006 : label and financial support from the « Ministry of SMEs… » o2007 : 60 members Explanation for this success : a high economic potential and an efficient partnership with the city and the association of communes

9  Economic activity oAverage of the investment per project : € oDirect investment in the economic activity of Grenoble : € oSuccess rate : 250 requests 64 set up files 28 pre-selected files 9 financed files  Place for the environment ? oNo specific financing, o10 “environmental” files are setting up. Grenoble Angels Non selected projects still have some advices and contacts with people of the network

10 Floralis  Floralis is a subsidiary company of the University J. Fourier. (authorized capital of 1,5 M€)  Goal : transfer technology from research to market o Support collaborative research by initiating R & D partnerships with public laboratories and private companies, o Supervise the technical and marketing development of innovative technology before initiating their commercialization, o negotiate the industrial exploitation of new technologies.

11 Floralis  Financing examples : Proof of concept (1 to 2 years) This step requires some funds used to prove the future cost-effectiveness of the exploitation. Capital investment: 100 to 200 k€ (Contracts, Valorisation funds of the UJF, public funds : National agency for research, Region) Business unit (3 to 6 months) Concerns technologies mature enough to be available on the market in a short time frame (3 to 6 months). Floralis develops a business unit, which provides a specific service or product that Floralis manufactures and sells.  Advantage : Floralis ensures the financial risk (often very high). When the company is set up, they already have one or two profit and loss form. Allow job creation

12 Adaptability of an existing financial instrument Network technological benefit (=PTR)  Description oIncentive grant for a technological innovation (managed by Oseo and RA ), oIntervention of technological provider to help SMEs to implement their innovative project.  Financed actions oCreation of a new product, oFeasibility studies oIndustrial property (Apply for a first patent), oProducts development : try, calculation, economic model, …  Amount of grant oGrant ceiling: 75% of the estimate oGrant maximum : € plusVAT

13 Adaptability of an existing financial instrument Network technological benefit (=PTR)  Beneficiary oSMEs with less than 250 employees  Advantages oSpeed : 1 week of waiting period oFlexibility : the grant is directly paid to the provider oRelease effect : 200 PTR per year, 3/10 have another grant after to continue their project.  Desired evolution oDevelop this kind of grant by allowing the ecoinnovative projects to apply for such a grant.

14 Summary I.Key figures for Rhône-Alpes II.Regional platform III.Examples of good practices IV.Working tracks

15 Working tracks  Recurring problems : oDifficulties to identify the appropriate grant, oNeed for a guide.  Working track: the innovation Gate CCInnovation (CCI of Lyon and its partners) oOne counter, oSimplifying of the procedure : spare time and money, oEasier access the the investors network, oSpecialized advisers Recent initiative, no feed-back yet