France Relance: unprecedented support for SMEs committed to ecological transition

The Minister also highlighted the results of the “springboard for the ecological transition of SMEs” window, created within the framework of France Relance and which has made it possible to support more than 1650 companies in the transformation of their activity to the tune of 23 million. euros.

Finally, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition is today publishing a report on the deployment of the France Relance plan, a little over a year after its presentation.

“30 billion from France Relance are dedicated to ecological transition. This is the mark of the Government's will to prepare our country for climate change. But beyond the billions, the whole question is whether this spending is effective, if it really helps our businesses to change models. This is what we want to show today: yes, thanks to the expertise of Ademe, operator of my ministry, and thanks to the dynamism of business leaders across the country, we are transforming our economy. In all regions, all departments, entrepreneurs have started up thanks to France Relance. And this concerns both young companies which immediately enter the green economy market, for example in reconditioning, eco-design, or renewable energies, as well as more traditional companies which wish to evolve. Some were reluctant to invest in less polluting machines, to set up recycling procedures for their waste, to industrialize a good ecological idea that was still at the prototype stage: with the support of the State, they took the plunge. . What I want to convey is that the transition is not just for start-ups. On the contrary, the transition needs all companies to be successful. Everyone has a role to play. " says Barbara Pompili, Minister for the Ecological Transition.

Call for projects "Companies committed to the ecological transition": 9,6 million euros to support 96 companies

This call for projects supports small and medium-sized companies marketing innovative products and solutions linked to the ecological transition. It offers aid of 100 euros per company to support the expenses necessary for the industrialization and marketing of their offer: design and implementation of the manufacturing process, investments allowing industrialization, preparation of the fundraising, marketing of the solution.

This assistance comes at a decisive stage where it is sometimes difficult for companies to gather the resources necessary for a large-scale deployment of their solutions, once the development phase is over.

Faced with the success of the first wave of this call for projects, Barbara Pompili announced in May an increase of 8 million euros in the budget dedicated to this device, allowing the financing of a second wave. A total of 96 companies have been selected and will each receive 100 euros, for a budget of 000 million euros.

The winning companies are based across the country and particularly in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Île-de-France. Two overseas projects (Guyana, Mayotte) were also selected. The winning projects mainly target the building, transport and mobility sectors as well as the circular economy, but also eco-efficient renewable energies, agriculture and industry.

This second wave of the call for projects is a real success, like the first one last May. In total, nearly 700 applications were received between January and April 2021 and 230 companies supported in the industrialization and marketing of their innovative solutions for a total of 23 million euros (15 million euros of initial budget, replenished by 8 million euros).

Some examples of selected projects

• Project of the Nenufar company in Ile-de-France and Brittany. The company will benefit from financial support from ADEME to industrialize and market its pneumatic cover for recovering biogas produced in slurry pits, for recovery for self-consumption on farms.
• Project of the Circouleur company in New Aquitaine. The company will benefit from financial support from ADEME to industrialize its innovative process for creating recycled acrylic paints from unused paint remains.
• Project of the Insectosphere company in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The company will benefit from financial support from ADEME to industrialize its production of ladybirds, sold as a biocontrol solution in the agricultural sector.
• Project of the company Ciel & Terre International in Hauts-de-France. The company will benefit from financial support from ADEME to industrialize and market the new range of its floating photovoltaic system.

The complete list of laureates is available By clicking on this link.

"Perfecto" call for projects: € 3,1 million committed to support 15 companies, a new session in the fall of 2021

The results of the call for projects “Perfecto: Implement an eco-design approach in an R&D project to improve environmental performance” were also announced by the Minister for Ecological Transition. The 15 winning companies benefit from support in the implementation of an ecodesign approach based on life cycle analysis, during the R&D stage aimed at bringing a product, a process or a service with high environmental performance. The amount of aid per company varies between 50 and 000 €.

A total of 42 projects were submitted, and 15 selected at the end of the selection process. All these projects are based on the same method: life cycle analysis, which reduces the most significant environmental impacts of the product and the associated risks of impact transfer. These projects allow companies to benefit from technical and financial support from ADEME, advice for the ecodesign of their next products or services in order to reduce the risk associated with innovation and improve their profitability. .

The Ministry of Ecological Transition is pleased with the success of this call for projects. Building on this success, ADEME will publish as part of France Relance a new session of the Perfecto call for projects from November 2021, with a closing scheduled for February 2022. It will also be open to large companies.

The complete list of laureates is available By clicking on this link.

“Springboard for the ecological transition of SMEs” window: 23 million euros committed to support more than 1650 companies

This window offers grants of 5 to 000 € to finance environmental studies and investments in a wide variety of areas: climate, building, mobility, circular economy, eco-design. It is a simplified and online financing window, allowing SMEs to benefit from flat-rate subsidies on a list of simple actions that they can choose from a catalog in different themes (climate, building, mobility, economy circular, eco-design).

With more than 1500 beneficiaries in one semester, it has proved its effectiveness as a call mechanism making it possible to reach a new target, since 96% of beneficiary companies are financed for the first time by ADEME. Among these companies, 85% have less than 50 employees. They are spread over the entire metropolitan territory and overseas (40 overseas companies supported). Half of these companies belong to the trade and industry sectors (370 industrial SMEs supported), the others being spread across all sectors of activity.

These 1650 projects correspond to 3000 actions for a total investment of € 80 million. ADEME's total aid stands at € 24,5 million, all companies having already received a 30% advance. In the end, for 1 € of public funding, 3 € private are invested.

The acclaimed springboard actions

Structuring studies so that SMEs can undertake long-term ecological transition actions, which could be helped by other France Relance / ADEME mechanisms.

• More than 200 companies have initiated a GHG Report and more than 30 have initiated a much more ambitious ACT carbon strategy
• More than 100 companies have initiated an eco-design process and a dozen have embarked on responsible digital labeling
• About thirty have launched an energy audit of their buildings and about fifteen are being supported in the implementation of their energy saving work.

Quick-win investments to make a concrete commitment to the ecological transition:

• Nearly 400 companies have carried out LED relamping and / or natural lighting actions
• More than 300 companies have improved or changed their commercial refrigeration equipment to use refrigerant that has less impact on the climate;
• 425 companies have acquired waste management equipment, including around fifty construction companies for their site waste;
• 270 companies have acquired electric cargo bikes for their urban logistics, corresponding to around 800 bikes;
• 150 companies have invested in electric vehicles, mostly vans and vans
• More than 130 industrial or agricultural companies have invested in the thermal insulation of the walls and roofs of their buildings, as well as in their ventilation