Situated in the French south west, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region is one of the largest regions in Europe and has 5,94 million inhabitants.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine is under the Regional Competitiveness and Employment objective of the Cohesion Policy. For the period 2021-2027 the structural funds for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region represent a total budget of 2.3 billion €.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine’s main industrial sectors encompass: aeronautics and space, wood, paper and furniture, agro-food, advanced materials, photonics, etc. The regional Development and Innovation agency (ADI-NA) also plays a major role in supporting Nouvelle-Aquitaine’s industrial sectors.
The Aeronautics and Space sectors account for 900 companies and organisations, 70,000 jobs, and 3.6 billion € exports. Companies in Nouvelle-Aquitaine include Dassault, SAFRAN, ARIANEGROUP, Thales, STELIA, etc.
The cluster TOPOS Aquitaine, created at the initiative of the Regional Council of Aquitaine in 2006, now includes around fifty active members with expertise in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
Founded in cooperation with Occitanie Region to sharpen the competitive edge of the two regions, the Aerospace Valley Competitiveness Cluster has gained international recognition in the fields of aeronautics, space and embedded systems.
Aerospace Valley is the leading aeronautical and spatial cluster of Europe and one of the most important ones in the field of airborne systems. It brings together organisations, representing 1/3 of France’s workforce in the aeronautics, over 50% for the space sector, 8500 researchers and prestigious aeronautics and space engineering schools.
The cluster TOPOS Aquitaine, created at the initiative of the Regional Council of Aquitaine in 2006, now includes around fifty active members with expertise in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
Other Competitiveness Clusters of Nouvelle-Aquitaine represent sectors using space applications. For example:
– Alpha – Route des Lasers (on laser photonics and applications);
– Agri Sud Ouest Innocation (on innovation in agriculture);
– Xylofutur (on forest-based sector);
– Avenia (on subsurface sectors geosciences for energy and the environment)
In March 2020, a new project has been launched in the Bordeaux area: the creation of “Tarmaq – Cité des Savoirs Aéronautiques et Spatiaux” [https://www.tarmaq.com/en/]. Conceived as a flagship site for the Aerospace sector, Tarmaq will focus on four areas: Knowledge Acquisition, Knowledge Transmission, Knowledge Dissemination and Knowledge Valorization.
In 2021, the Regional Council also supported the creation of the Way4Space Innovation Hub [https://www.way4space.com/] to accelerate the deployment of new space cases and products.
AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine is a unique concept in Europe, a training campus dedicated to aviation and space industries as well as a business campus dedicated to welcoming companies for congresses, seminars, events and training sessions, and an incubator for training companies.
AEROCAMPUS is a public/private-funding association founded by the Aquitaine Region, the Ministry of Education, and National and Regional Unions of industrial companies. Members include industrial companies (Sabena Technics, Safran, Thales, Dassault), and training organisations in the aerospace sector. Located in Latresne, close to Bordeaux, its location is unique, with a 13th century castle surrounded by 26 hectares of buildings and a wooded park.
It offers vocational training courses for all types of students, at initial level through educational training or apprenticeship, and continuing vocational training in aircraft maintenance. It also offers top-class training facilities (classrooms, multipurpose rooms, aviation workshops, technical platforms, aircraft hangars, etc.) and innovative training tools (immersive virtual reality room, A320 maintenance simulator, etc.). Adapting training offers to industrial needs, and therefore building strong partnerships with both the industry and Vocational Education and Training providers, is in AEROCAMPUS Aquitaine’s DNA.
