Physics regularly contributes to the innovations needed to address major technological, economic and societal challenges. This is why partnership between CNRS Physique and industry - from large companies to SMEs - are constantly intensifying. Research results such as inventions, software or know-how can be the subject of technological transfer, through the creation of start-ups or through licenses to existing companies.
Physics has always had a considerable societal impact. Many scientific advances have been transferred to technology that is now widely marketed in products such as computer chips, CD-ROMs or GPS systems. The CNRS Physics' research is often carried out far ahead of its later potential industrial applications. Nevertheless it remains a real source of innovation for major societal issues, particularly in the fields of health, materials, sustainable energy and data transfer.
The CNRS Physics' technology transfer strategy is constructed in synergy with the objectives defined by the CNRS's Business Relations Department (DRE) and is based on the early involvement of industrial partners in the research process.
The laboratories involve these partners as soon as a promising project with industrial application-potential is identified. This cooperation has led to the creation of two joint research units (UMRs) and 33 joint research laboratories , including 7 ANR LabComs.
The CNRS/Thales joint physics laboratory (now called Laboratoire Albert Fert) was set up in 1995 in Palaiseau, at Thales Research & Technology, and associates the CNRS, the University of Paris-Saclay and the Thales industrial corporation. Since its creation, the laboratory's research has focused on spintronics, following on from the discovery of giant magnetoresistance by Albert Fert and his team (Nobel Prize in Physics 2007). It was then extended to study heterostructures and superconductors. The research recently contributed to the development of artificial synapses and neurons.
This joint venture set up in 1990, by the CNRS and Saint-Gobain, conducts joint research to design high-performance materials which address the challenges of sustainable development. Examples of innovative research resulting from this cooperation include: understanding how glass is formed from its initial granular compounds; limiting the energy required to make glass; studying the dewetting of thin metal layers to change the interaction of glass with light; 3D imaging to show how a wet granular material captures new grains during mixing; decoding the behavior of a drop of water on a hydrophobic surface to invent new self-cleaning glass surfaces.
[1] Glass Surfaces and Interfaces
Driving new partnerships
CNRS Physics pursues a proactive technology transfer and innovation strategy:
The importance of CNRS Physics' relations with companies and the socio-economic sphere is reflected by the existence of:
Since 2015, the CNRS pre-maturation program has provided financial support and guidance during the early stages of development for innovative projects, in order to facilitate their transfer to industry or the creation of a company.
Since its creation, the pre-maturation program has funded 90 projects from CNRS Physics units, with a total investment of €11M.
Project leaders are invited to submit their proposal to inp.valorisation@cnrs.fr and to send a copy to the Partnership and Development Department (SPV) of their Regional Delegation.
Eligible applicants include researchers, lecturers-researchers, and engineers, affiliated with a CNRS research unit.
Project submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Projects are first reviewed by the Physics Institute's Management Committee, then evaluated by a pre-selection committee chaired by the Directorate General for Innovation, and composed of representatives from CNRS institutes and CNRS Innovation. The project leader is then invited to present the project before a jury of experts from the economic world.. The decision to fund or not to fund is sent by post.
