Europe is an integral part of Atlanpole’s DNA. The quality of support provided by the incubator to assist startups in their European, and even international, development was recognised early on with the “EU | BIC” label. Atlanpole has also strengthened its European positioning by expanding partnerships with other innovation actors at this level and by engaging in networks such as EBN or the European Space Agency’s incubator network (ESA BICs).
«EU | BIC» is an excellence label awarded by the EBN network
Since 1998, Atlanpole has been a “BIC,” an acronym for “Business Innovation Center.” This label, awarded by the European network EBN and recognised by the European Commission, attests to the quality and professionalism of the services provided to innovative businesses. There are over 100 BICs certified across Europe, all part of the EBN network—a community of professionals dedicated to helping startups grow in the most effective and sustainable way.
Atlanpole served as the president of this network from 2004 to 2007. Currently, Samuel Bachelot, Innovation & Development Advisor at Atlanpole, is a board member representing French structures.
EBN also plays a significant role in lobbying European institutions, promotes the exchange of best practices, and seeks to encourage all business and partnership opportunities for European SMEs. Being part of this European network has been a natural fit for Atlanpole, which continually strengthens connections with all innovation stakeholders for the benefit of its region and supported businesses.
ESA BICs: European Space Agency Business Incubation Centres
The ESA BICs are incubators or networks of incubators supported by the European Space Agency (ESA). Their goal is to promote the creation and development of companies based on the transfer of technologies from the space sector to other economic sectors and on the development of services and applications stemming from space technologies. The ESA BICs form a European-wide network and include two main incubators: ESA BIC Nord France and ESA BIC Sud France.
Launched in 2018, ESA BIC Nord France is supported by the association of Breton and Ligurian technopoles, Ouest BIC Technopoles, which includes Atlanpole. It is also backed by the ASTech Paris Région competitiveness cluster and the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).
Each year, ESA BIC Nord France allows around fifteen entrepreneurs to benefit from:
- Tailored support (internationalisation, financial engineering, help with finding partners, etc.),
- Dedicated funding,
- Significant technical and scientific support from CNES and other partners.
Among the startups that have already been selected are some notable companies supported by Atlanpole: Eclore Actuators, Farwind Energy, InVirtus Technologies, Miura Simulation, Nav4You, Oceano Vox, SMT Performances, Valeur Tech, VR2Planets, Xsun…