FRANCE & GERMANY

Ten years ago, a mature French SME took the conscious decision to invest in innovation by adopting an Open Innovation model for its organization. Within a few years, the company had grown thanks to a diversification of its activities which led to a continuous increase in turnover, 20 new innovation projects and over 10 patents filed as well as 30 strategic collaborations initiated with key players.

A revolutionary concept for a new composite technology owned by Airbus Innovation Works is developed in several stages from proof-of-concept to prototype outside the company by a shifting group of partners up to its commercialization through a new start-up.

A start-up in the south of France was invited to join an Open Innovation programme set up by a major French industrial group.  Thanks to a substantial investment and the references provided by its larger partner, the SME has been able to take its technology to a higher level and develop solutions for customers in the security, automotive and construction sectors.

The experience of this German start-up shows how entrepreneurs who have top-class expertise and are open to external collaborations can create a successful new business.  The key ingredients for a long-standing international partnership are trust, commitment, shared goals and mutual cultural understanding.

NAWA Technologies was founded in April 2013 with a clear vision: to develop new technologies that improve energy conversion, storage, transport and efficiency by using carbon as the material of choice.  A pioneering company based in the south of France, NAWA Technologies was set up thanks to a €2.5 million venture capital investment.  With a staff of 25 employees, the company now owns its own pilot production line and creates new interface materials, as well as an innovative generation of ultra-capacitors and battery electrodes.

InFactory Solutions is an example of inside-out open innovation in which a young start-up developed an invention belonging to a large corporation (in this case Airbus) and commercialized it both within the mother company and with external customers.  In light of the spin-off's strategic importance for the mother company, and after two years of independence, InFactory Solutions was acquired by another Airbus Company, TESTIA, in September 2018.