Financed by the Programme d'Investissements d'Avenir (PIA), the call for projects "Concours d'innovation - i-Nov" aims to select innovation projects with particularly strong potential for the French economy. The application for the label must be submitted before September 21. This competition of excellence is dedicated to innovative single-partner projects carried out by start-ups and SMEs and leading to the accelerated emergence of leading companies in their field that can claim to have global reach. The "i-Nov Innovation Contest" call for projects allows the co-financing of research, development and innovation projects with total costs of between €600,000 and €5 million and a duration of between 12 and 36 months. The project must also be concerned by at least one of the themes detailed in the specifications.

The 8 themes of this 6th wave

For this sixth edition, the 4 themes operated by BpiFrance are :
  • the digital Deep Tech;
  • reducing the digital footprint;
  • Space;
  • health - mental health and Rapid and Nomadic Health Diagnostics.
And the 4 themes operated by the Ademe are:
  • the circular economy;
  • the environmental performance of buildings;
  • Adaptation of territories to climate change and metrology of environmental exposures ;
  • hydrogen.

Eligibility and selection criteria

  • Complete file ;
  • Area covering one of the above themes;
  • Total cost of the RDI project between €600,000 and €5M for a duration of 12 to 36 months ;
  • To be carried by a single SME;
  • Innovative nature and added value of the project;
  • Economic impact;
  • Ability of the promoter to carry out the project;
  • Eco-conditionality of the project.

Financing arrangements

The financing provided under the Innovation Contest will take the form of State aid, two-thirds of which will be in the form of grants and one-third in the form of recoverable advances. For the share of eligible expenditure, the maximum rates of assistance shall be as follows :
  • 45% for small businesses;
  • 35% for medium-sized enterprises.

Submitting an application

Deadline for submission: October 06, 2020 at 12:00 noon. For more information, visit the BpiFrance website or the Ademe website.

Assessment of the first 4 waves of the i-Nov Innovation Contest

Ademe Themes

Since 2017, out of 458 projects submitted in the first 4 waves, 125 projects have been selected and supported (including 56 projects labelled by competitiveness clusters). The projects focus on the themes of sustainable transport and mobility, renewable energies, storage, eco-efficient agriculture, industry and forestry, the circular economy, the environmental performance of buildings, water and biodiversity, etc. To find out more, consult the files of the winning projects.

Bpifrance Themes

Since 2017, out of 654 projects submitted in the first 4 waves, 132 projects have been selected and supported. The projects focus on the themes of digital, space, security and cyber security, health, French fab, etc. To find out more, consult the files of the winning projects.

FranceAgriMer Themes

Since 2017, out of 51 projects submitted in the first 4 waves, 14 projects have been selected and supported (including 5 projects labelled by competitiveness clusters). The projects focus on the themes of intelligent food and innovative agriculture. To find out more, consult the files of the winning projects. Translated from La vague VI du Concours Innovation – i-Nov ouvert aux PME et aux start-ups est lancée avec 8 thématiques

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