1,615 patent applications published at the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) were recorded in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in 2021, which places the region in second place nationally (12.1% of patent applications from persons morals), far behind Île-de-France (62.8%) but clearly ahead of the other regions.
According to the list published on Tuesday by the INPI, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes thus hosts eight of the 50 main patent applicants in France. None, however, reached the Top 10 dominated by Safran and trusted by the automotive sector (Stellantis, Valero, Renault, Faurecia).
Automotive and electronics
The Clermont-based tire manufacturer Michelin fell seven places to 15th position, with 185 patent applications, while the Lyon-based equipment manufacturer Plastic Omnium remained stable in 26th place.
In the midst of the semiconductor world war, the specialists STMicroelectronics (14th nationally, but with only half of its patent applications filed in the region) and Soitec (40th, 2nd ETI in France) have also shown themselves to be innovative. The SEB group (21st) completes the picture, with the universities of Grenoble Alpes (29th) and Lyon I (43rd).
SMEs in the region innovate
A particularity of the region, SMEs are particularly active in this area. Among the ten small and medium-sized enterprises having filed the most patent applications in France, six come from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, including…three on the podium: two Grenoble-based microelectronics companies, Aledia and Isorg, followed from the villeurbannais SuperGrid Institute research center.
The neighboring region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté has 192 patent applications, or 1.4% of applications published in France. The largest applicant there is URGO Research Innovation and Development, a pharmaceutical ETI specializing in wound healing and based near Dijon.