The CEA is a technological research organisation, dedicated to industrial applications. In 2003, the CEA Industrial Applications Department was created to strengthen this strategic positioning.

Technological innovation is today one of the keys to company competitiveness and job creation. Such innovation relies on technology transfer capacities, i.e. the ability to rapidly apply knowledge produced in the research world into the industrial arena.

In this field, the CEA has implemented a proactive policy that relies on the close ties it has always taken care to develop with the industrial world. In its capacity as a technological research centre, it constantly monitors the application of its work from its four principal areas of research: information technology and technologies for the health and defence sectors.

Promoting intellectual property

Combining a dynamic research policy with a solid approach to intellectual property makes it possible for the CEA to generate an ever-increasing number of “external” resources: contracts with industrials, supranational and European programmes, transfers of patents or licenses, etc.

Positioning and promoting the technology offering

A marketing-based approach has been set up upstream from the technology application strategy: it is designed to raise awareness of the available technologies to then better position them, thus constituting the core of technology transfers or start-up creations. Technological research centres are positioned against increasingly strong international competitors, both with regards to their industrial customers and in the context of bids launched by different institutions in France and across Europe.

To conduct market analysis and positioning studies, the CEA has set up a marketing department. Its teams use the most recent techniques to examine technological opportunities, such as the “focus groups” - organised in conjunction with industrial players – that are used to validate potential technology applications.

Encouraging collaborations

The CEA works with numerous academic and industrial partners, from local start-ups to large national and international groups, using various approaches:

• Bilateral research programmes
  
• Multiple-partner programmes,
  
• Sale of patents,
  
• License agreements,
  
• Creation of joint laboratories.

With regards to joint laboratories, it can offer industrial players the opportunity to coordinate the laboratory themselves thus ensuring the research conducted truly corresponds with their objectives. Dozens of joint CEA laboratories currently exist, with participation from large companies such as STMicroelectronics, Soitec, BioMérieux, Airbus, THALES, and EDF etc. In general, industrial players sign up for a (often renewable) period of 5 years.

"Industrial relations"unit
04 38 78 50 50
relation.entreprises@cea.fr