An extensive range of research outputs are produced within the 60 research laboratories covering the full spectrum of disciplines across the Lorraine site. Protection of intellectual property, promotion of research outputs and transfer to businesses form the cornerstone of the system at Université de Lorraine. We focus on multi-partner achievements – the Carnot Institutes, Tech Transfer Acceleration Company (SATT) SAYENS, Incubateur Lorrain, Technological Research Institute (IRT), Materials, Metallurgy & Processes (M2P) and clusters – through interaction between the various schemes fostering transfer, innovation and promotion in Lorraine.
A committed, shared strategy
The following actions underpin the strategy bearing on the commercialisation and transfer of scientific knowledge produced in our laboratories:
- Increasing public/private partnerships and developing university/business mobility in the context of the PACTE legislation (on the action plan for business growth and transformation)
- Supporting new business formation
- Building more bridges between research and businesses by engaging researchers more in an innovative mindset, such as business creation or development
- Contributing to a thriving local, national and global business scene via technology transfer towards SMEs, mid-caps, large corporate groups, etc.
- Raising the profile of the science and technology offering: Plug In Labs Lorraine expertise platform
One of the ambitions of the I-SITE LUE project is to develop research infrastructures and bring them together in a network through the Infra+ programme. This programme has given rise to Plug In Labs Lorraine. Accessible for free, this platform presents the offering of the Lorraine site’s research platforms and laboratories in terms of research, scientific and technological expertise, equipment, technologies (patents, software) and engineering. It currently lists 60 laboratories and more than 100 technology platforms.
Research empowering our society
Commercial application of Université de Lorraine research outputs is primarily carried out by the SATT SAYENS with which the University has signed a framework agreement. Université de Lorraine’s intellectual property portfolio primarily comprises trade marks, software and patent families. The University’s ownership of this portfolio is either sole or joint with third parties (public science & technology establishments/EPSTs or companies for example). Since 2014, SAYENS has assisted countless projects in their development stage.
Commercial application of inventions, innovations and creations can be achieved by forming a new business (Start-up) in partnership with the Incubateur Lorrain or existing companies (SME or large corporate group) with, in both cases, the negotiation and signature of agreements of use. Looking to protect/promote research outputs? Interested in information on non-commercial application and pre-development calls for proposals?
Searching for a licence to boost your capacity for innovation? Considering developing new products?
The collaboration between Université de Lorraine, the Institut Jean Lamour in particular, and the simplified joint-stock company Viessmann Faulquemont SAS in the solar thermal sector – which has been going strong for nearly 10 years – has brought to market the Thermprotect layer coating, a global innovation for the protection of solar thermal sensors against the effects of stagnation. Several patents have been jointly filed and a number of theses (based on a CIFRE industrial agreement for training through research in particular) are supporting these research activities.
Eric Bertrand, R&D Manager, Viessmann Faulquemont SAS
New business formation
One way to promote the outputs of Université de Lorraine research is technology transfer with a start-up (called a spin-out) created specifically to commercialise these outputs. In this case, the start-up is incubated at the Incubateur Lorrain, an association founded by Lorraine-based higher education and research institutions (UL, INRAE, INRIA, INSERM, CNRS and Nancy university hospital/CHRU). The purpose of the Incubateur Lorrain is to support researchers, research professors and PhD students eager to commercialise their research outputs by participating in a start-up.
The Incubateur Lorrain supports all projects across the region. In the space of two decades, 174 projects have been supported, 105 companies have been founded – 78 of which are still in business, with a 71% survival rate looking back over the full 20 years and 97% in the past 6 years – and 400 direct jobs have been created.
KEY FIGURES
105
COMPANIES FOUNDED
70%
OF START-UPS ARE STILL
IN BUSINESS SINCE 2000
94%
Julien Vasseur est responsable d’une équipe de 30 personnes en charge des travaux neufs du domaine électrique ainsi que les essais avant mise en service.
Noureddine Takorabet, Professeur des universités, enseigne à l’ENSEM. Il est, depuis 2018, directeur du GREEN, laboratoire de recherche de l’Université de Lorraine.