Med'Innovant

Introduction

The Euroméditerranée Urban Development Agency

Innovation at the heart of the construction of the new Marseille

The MED’INNOVANT competition is organised by the urban and economic development agency Euroméditerranée (EPAEM), the largest city-centre urban renewal and economic development operation in Southern Europe.

For 25 years, Euroméditerranée has been designing, developing and building a comprehensive model for the Mediterranean sustainable city. Spread over 480 hectares in the centre of Marseille, France’s second city, the development programme brings together public services, retail, office space, housing, transport and parking infrastructures, public parks and more to create a new way of ‘living together’. Home to over 5,300 businesses and 45,200 jobs, Euroméditerranée is now France’s third-biggest business district.

Awarded the ‘EcoCité’ label, the regeneration project is a test bed for urban planning where innovative services and technologies can be assessed, developed and deployed in order to simultaneously meet objectives such as connectivity, convenience, quality of life, cost efficiency and environmental performance. To supports its ambitious plans, Euroméditerranée decided to proactively seek out innovative companies and, over 10 years ago, created MED’INNOVANT: : an innovation competition designed to help start-ups accelerate their eco-innovation projects that offer solutions in line with the new development and sustainability objectives pursued by Mediterranean regions.

The actors of the Mediterranean sustainable city

EPAEM has developed a comprehensive approach to open innovation that encompasses the following areas:

• Multi-energy smart grids
• Urban digital services
• The natural city and public spaces
• Demonstrator buildings
• Optimisation of the water cycle
• Waste management
• Soil and materials management
• Soft, low-carbon transport

MED’INNOVANT is part of an operational strategy to launch, in the short- to medium-term, pilot and demonstration projects within the Euroméditerranée Eco-City, (a test bed spread over 480 ha in the heart of Marseille, France’s second-biggest city) and more broadly the Aix-Marseille Provence Metropolis. The competition also has the backing of industrial partners that support Euroméditerranée in its pursuit of an open innovation approach and are looking to team up with innovative and creative enterprises!

Innovators: invent solutions for our rapidly changing world!

Tackle one of six challenges to win a year’s sponsorship by one of the competition partners!

The list of 2021 challenges is as follows:

Challenge #1 : Design and build tomorrow’s urban developments alongside users

Theme : Mastering use

Sponsor : Etablissement Public d'Aménagement Euroméditerranée

Challenge #2 : Develop mechanisms to promote a circular economy in city planning

Theme : Land and materials

Sponsor : Saint-Gobain Bâtiment Distribution France

Challenge #3 : Support residents in new ways to reduce the energy footprint of housing

Theme : Energy

Sponsor : ENGIE

Challenge #4 : Design comfortable, low-carbon buildings at an affordable price for buyers

Theme : Construction

Sponsor : REDMAN - EIFFAGE - Saint-Gobain Bâtiment Distribution France

Challenge #5 : Use social innovation as a lever for a more resilient, productive, and inclusive city

Theme : Economy and urban inclusiveness

Sponsor : ICI MARSEILLE

What are the benefits for the winners?

FINANCIAL BOOST : €54,000 split between the winners of the 5 Challenges  5 "JURY AWARDS’"

REGIONAL ACCESS PASS:

• A laboratory for testing and demonstrating the innovative solution: the Euroméditerranée Eco-City*
• A personal tour of the Euroméditerranée catchment area with a representative of the urban development agency to access the potential scope of application for the award-winning innovation;

ACCELERATION PACKAGE:

• A two-hour work session with the Business Development Director and the Innovation Manager of Euroméditerranée to define the ways in which the award-winning solution will be implemented in the Euroméditerranée Eco-City
• A two-hour meeting with the key sponsor of the challenge accepted (monitoring of the award-winning solution at an ad hoc steering committee, etc.)
• Free soft landing for three months at the accelerator P.Factory
• Legal support from FIDAL law firm: a two-hour training session covering intellectual property and information technology law, contract law, company law and property law
• A dedicated plot in Connectwave’s showroom*** at La Coque for projects integrating contactless (excluding payment) technology and business connected devices
• Three months’ access to the ICI Marseille collaboration factory and its “Helping Hand” support programme for the winner of Challenge #5 (one month for the winners of the four other challenges)
• Targeted introductions with the competition partners and associated organisations (incubators, accelerators, competitiveness clusters, etc.)
• Integration with EMUL (Euroméditerranée Metropolitan Urban Lab), a network of industrial partners working to develop innovative solutions on the themes linked to the resilient and sustainable Mediterranean city
• Free one-year membership to La Cité des Entrepreneurs d’Euroméditerranée (association co-financed by Euroméditerranée and the CCIMP, which organises and networks over 250 business entrepreneurs who wish to be associated with the economic dynamic driven by Euroméditerranée.)

* 480 hectares within the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 14th and 15th arrondissements of Marseille.

**for a total of 6 hours, usable within a period of 6 months from the date of the award ceremony.

***Digital Innovation and Event Centre of Aix-Marseille !

PROMOTIONAL PUSH:

• 5-minute pitch delivered to an audience during the 2021 Challenges - Jury Awards ceremony (23 November at La Coque - Marseille)
• Communications: press and social media, website, trade fairs, etc.
• A video interview with the winner presenting their innovative solution broadcast on the Euroméditerranée YouTube channel

Organiser

For the past 20 years, the Euroméditerranée Urban Development Agency has been designing, developing and building the sustainable Mediterranean city of the future, right in the heart of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis. This “operation of national interest”, State-run in partnership with local authorities, has created over 37,000 private-sector jobs and 6,500 public-sector jobs and led to the establishment of more than 5,300 businesses. The impact of Euroméditerranée extends beyond the international business district and its 650,000m² of offices. Piece by piece, the puzzle is being put together, involving public and private facilities, shops, residential buildings, transport and parking infrastructure, parks and public spaces. The scheme is therefore not yet complete. It is now being continued over 170 hectares to the north of the original 310 hectares, and has entered a new phase. Labelled “EcoCité”, this new area is intended as a testing ground for urban planning, in which innovative services and technologies for smart, sustainable cities are tested, deployed and developed.