Back to the Rendez-vous Carnot 2024!

Once again this year, the Rendez-vous Carnot 2024 brought together companies from all sectors and of all sizes to promote research and innovation within SMEs, startups and large corporations. The event was marked by a number of highlights, including the prize-giving ceremony to congratulate all those involved in research, and a speech by the new French Minister for Higher Education and Research.

Partnerships awarded four Carnot prizes

During the Rendez-vous Carnot 2024, the Carnot Partnership Research Awards recognized innovative projects carried out in collaboration with companies in strategic sectors such as hydrogen mobility, energy storage, advanced materials and sustainable wood construction. These awards highlight the tangible impact of applied research on French industries and the economy. This award reinforces the key role played by Carnot institutes as catalysts of innovation in meeting industrial and environmental challenges.

"We're very proud of these awards, which highlight the unique expertise of Carnots in France and internationally, and demonstrate the unique model of our label. There has never been a greater need for France to defend its position as an innovative powerhouse, with strong, dynamic companies at the cutting edge of technology. These projects show that partnership research is the right response to this major challenge", commented Alexandre Bounouh, President of the Association des Instituts Carnot.

• Prize for research in partnership with an SME: David Teixeira, head of the Numerical Physics of Porous Media department within the Carnot IFPEN Ressources Énergétiques, was awarded the prize for a large-scale electricity storage solution project, carried out in partnership with the STOLECT company.
• Partnership led by a young researcher: Lucile Cornu, R&D engineer at Cerfav, member of Carnot Icéel, was rewarded for a project in partnership with Pangolin Défense, inventor of bulletproof protection from tempered glass beads.
• Long-term partnerships (over 3 years): Robert Collet, head of the LaBoMaP wood team (Carnot ARTS), who died in 2023, received a posthumous award for a project conducted with Bois Croisés de Bourgogne. Guillaume Pot, one of Robert Collet's closest collaborators, received the award in recognition of a 10-year partnership between LaBoMaP and the Bois Croisés de Bourgogne association, which brings together some fifteen SMEs in the wood industry or from the construction world, and designs cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels from secondary-grade oak.
• Partnership research supporting business creation: Olivier De Almeida, deputy director of IMT Mines Albi's Centre Institut Clément Ader (Carnot M.I.N.E.S), was rewarded for a project ranging from the idea to the mass production of key components for the deployment of hydrogen mobility, carried out in partnership with start-up Hycco.

Speech by the Minister of Higher Education and Research

Invited to the Rendez-vous Carnot 2024, Patrick Hentzel, French Minister for Higher Education and Research, stressed the crucial importance of partnerships between research and industry in meeting the challenges of competitiveness and technological sovereignty in France. He encouraged Carnot institutes to step up their support for SMEs and ETIs, focusing on strategic sectors such as the ecological transition and digital transformation.

His speech also emphasized the government's commitment to strengthening synergies between public and private research, and to accelerating innovation for the benefit of the economy. To reinforce these synergies in particular, the Minister indicated that he would follow two major axes in his roadmap:

1. Strengthening national public-private investment in research and innovation: "To preserve France's competitiveness. We have European and international competitors who, as we know, invest heavily in research.
2. Steering a range of higher education courses in line with socio-economic needs: "To better guarantee access to the professional world and meet the needs of our companies, which are the backbone of the French economy. We believe that higher education and research should contribute to prosperity.

Finally, Patrick Hentzel announced the launch of the next Carnot call for projects, in spring 2025: "The conclusions are expected by the end of November, and will ensure that the Carnot institute system is well positioned in our partnership research landscape, to reinforce its dynamism and impact on private research. The aim will be to propose a new call for applications in spring 2025."

By placing themselves at the heart of France's digital research ecosystem, the 39 Carnot institutes of the Carnot Network, of which Carnot TSN is a part, have reaffirmed their role as catalysts for the digital transformation of companies large and small. During this 2024 edition, the Carnot TSN institute also offered participants direct access to its technologies and expertise, illustrating its commitment to the development of innovations applicable to industries. This 17th edition enabled participants to benefit from personalized matchmaking, with over 8,000 business meetings organized between project leaders and research experts. A catalog of over 2,000 professionals, including 1,100 researchers, helped to optimize meetings, facilitating collaborations focused on technology development and transfer.

To relive this annual event in pictures, we invite you to browse through our gallery: