BOREAL
©BOREAL

THE ACHIEVEMENTS

Engaged in over 100 actions in support of its members (twice as many compared to 2020), the Aerospace Valley strategic drone sector has become the leading European community with over 220 members (156 in 2020). Nearly 75% of the actions carried out are now linked with strategic road maps in Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Plan Maryse Bastié, NAQ Rebond, NeoTerra) and Occitanie (ADER 4, aeronautics recovery plan…).

As part of the animation of this ecosystem, the Cluster was very involved in the UAV Show, the only national drone show operated from Bordeaux. As a member of the COPIL of this show, the strategic drones sector has contributed in several ways: expertise and support, networking, providing prospects and content, which has made it possible to obtain the following results:

  • Participation in the European collaborative stand shared by Aerospace Valley (FRA), CURPAS (Germany) and Silesian Aviation Cluster (POL) as well as the workshop conference on the European Drone Cooperation (EDC: informal group of 9 European Drone clusters with the objective of fortifying the links between their members to create dual collaborative innovation projects).
  • Over 30 visits to the stand with 3 collaborative drone projects identified
  • Presence at the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region stand within the « Team Drone Nouvelle-Aquitaine ».
  • Workshop with the  COBATY association on the theme: drone and construction
  • Brief at the Drone EDF Seminar to present Aerospace Valley members and their contributions to the electric sector
  • Roundtable organized by the Aeronautics and Astronautics Association of France (3AF), on the  topic of urbain air mobiliity
  • Smart city conference: TINDAIR project presentation

Within the scope of efforts to advance the innovation of its  members on the regional, national and European scale, a few notable actions include:

During the call for expressions of interest, « aeronautics and aero-terrestrial innovations for crisis and catastrophe management” launched in December, 2021 by Aerospace Valley and Nîmes Métropole, the strategic drone sector was asked to participate as a jury assessor for 5 drone applications including the Carto-Nuit project. Developed by 2 members (Boreal – Magellium) and supported by the Cluster and Nîmes Métropole, this project will show usage of a drone to provide accurate surveillance mapping of a fire zone.

In June 2021, another collaborative project DEFFHY drone  - H2 liquid drone demonstrator was supported with regard to funding and partner identification aspects.

In the development field, the priority was given to College 2 (SMEs)  members to enable them to benefit from the acquisition of drone market studies at a negotiated group rate.

In June 2021, ten drone manufacturers and Aerospace Valley members teamed up with their peers from other French regions to create a national professional organization of Drone manufacturers: l’ADIF -Association des Drones de l’Industrie Française. In this challenging period for equipment and parts supply, the Cluster has proposed to put the ADIF in contact with members likely to become their future suppliers. Presentations of our members on key components that can be pooled were created for ADIF members (actuators, optronic load…)

In the defense field, the Aliénor technical innovation Cluster of the DGA Technical Directorate in Nouvelle-Aquitaine launched in 2021 a call for an expression of interest with 2 topics focusing on Drones: convertible, rechargeable VTOL Drone & Firefighting assistance Drone. The Cluster has contributed to the publication of the call for expressions of interest as well as providing support with applications at the request of our members. Finally, the sector showcased its expertise within the scope of a challenge on interactions between air and land drones at the request of a defense manufacturer.

ZOOM ON:

INITIATIVE 1

Support for the INEMAR project – Inspections of offshore wind turbines by robust automated drones

Launched in June, 2022, INEMAR aims to develop an automated solution to inspect offshore wind turbines. Supported by the Occitanie Region, this project brings together 3 cluster members out of its 5 participants: DIODON Drone Technology, Donecle et ISAE-SUPAERO. The Cluster provided assistance in the form of a letter of support as well as by facilitating contacts with end-users.

UAM PLAZZA INITIATIVE 2

The Air Mobility Start-up Accelerator.
In the field of urban air mobility, a European accelerator project led by Toulouse Métropole and co-financed by the EIT Urban Mobility has been launched: the UAM Plazza Accelerator. Each year, the accelerator programme selects the 10 most promising emerging start-ups in Europe in the field of urban air mobility and provides them with support and the opportunity to test their solutions for several months.

SELECTED WEBINARS AND EVENTS

THE FIRST WEBINAR SERIES DEDICATED TO REGULATORY AND STANDARDIZATION REQUIREMENTS

  • May 21 - Webinar on standardization for drones via the EC label
  • Oct. 21 - Webinar on drone regulations in Europe: specific category

STRENGTHENING TIES WITH NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS

Participation in awareness days organized by l’Union Nationale des Exploitants et des Professionnels de l’Aéronautique Télépilotée in regions. The Cluster’s participation in this event enabled to meet new regional actors some of whom have become Cluster members.

EUROPEAN ACTION CONTINUES

June 21:

Drone Innovation webinar, organized by the Belgian Drone Federation and the Professional Civil Drone Federation (FPDC) within the scope of an inter-regional project, «Drone Future» France-Wallonie-Flandres.

« The Aerospace Valley Cluster, with its excellent knowledge of the aeronautics sector and the related industrial stakes is a major asset for the ADIF (Association of Drones of French Industry). The Cluster provided ADIF with a complete ecosystem, both industrial and academic, which is critical for our still young sector to mature, along with expertise and proven methods in the aeronautics field. For its part, through its dynamism and the new technological issues raised by drones, ADIF offers new challenges and promising development opportunities to aeronautics sector actors, especially in light of the strategic issues that drones represent today.”

Bastien Mancini, President of the French Industry Drones Association (ADIF)

TINDAIR
©TINDAIR

PROJECTS AND ACTIONS UNDERWAY SINCE MARCH 2022 AND TO COME:

Three areas have been investigated with an expanded drone team and the objective of  making drones:

MORE HUMAN

Several innovative collaborative projects were submitted to the Cluster to organize projects tacking sea rescue, protection of protected marine areas and humanitarian transport in disaster-stricken areas. The aim is to transform these initiatives into collaborative projects validating an economically viable market. These initiatives have consolidated the Cluster’s contribution to climate change adaptation and other health situations.

MORE EUROPEAN

TINDAIR : Very large-scale demonstrations for the summer of 2022. Aerospace Valley is one of 11 Tindair partners

Tindair is a European project the aim of which is   to test in real conditions air traffic management services for autonomous air vehicles, U-space services. Through four demonstrations (planned for the summer of 2022), consortium partners will test the service for avoiding in-flight conflicts created during the project. The flights will take place in the Bordeaux and Toulouse regions and they will involve a range of flying vehicles including diverse drones, a helicopter and an air taxi. Aerospace Valley is in charge of the project’s communication and outreach operations.

UAM Plazza Accelerator: to support the development of the urban air mobility sector.

Launched in 2022, it could continue to be supported by EIT Urban Mobility through 2024. The aim of the project is to become self-financed by participants to ensure the long-term sustainability of the acceleration program.  

SESAR 3 ATM: The flagship R&D single European sky program aimed at reshaping air traffic management in the single European sky, the SESAR program entered its 3rd phase in December, 2021. Bringing together the European Union, Eurocontrol and over 50 organizations covering the entire aviation value chain, this new European partnership, in which drones are an integral part, will invest over 1.6 billion euros by 2030 to accelerate through research and innovation.

AND AT THE SAME TIME MORE SOVEREIGN

In the certification field, the Cluster is supporting its members to help bring about the inception of the first accredited drone laboratory in the Greater Southwest.

 As called for under EU regulations 2019/947 and especially 2019/945, an accredited drone laboratory should carry out compliance testing (mechanical and vibration..) with industrial standards on behalf of manufacturers.

The Cluster’s main actions will focus on the development of this laboratory including:

  • Identification of needs from public authorities and standards bodies
  • Pre-identification of stakeholders in the territory,
  • Helping members to complete applications within the scope of the recovery plan

In the field of industrialisation, the cluster provides support to members of the professional federation representing the French drone industry, ADIF, with the aim of pooling supplies and production.
The Pole coordinates and leads the approach between the members of the ADIF: it aims to pool purchases in order to reduce costs, secure supplies and increase the proportion of French and European products. In a second stage, it aims to pool expertise and production resources, which could lead to the setting up of a drone "factory" in France