We no longer present what is considered a sort of French-style Silicon Valley. Paris-Saclay has effectively become a territory of attractiveness and innovation which is gaining momentum in France, notably by bringing together Polytechnique, Normale Sup, Supélec, but also R&D centers of large groups or even an ecosystem of some 400 start-ups. up… In total, a pool of 50,000 students at the gates of Paris. “It is the first European university in the Shanghai ranking, the first in the world for mathematics”proudly explains Grégoire de Lasteyrie, president of the agglomeration, at the microphone of Jeudi Pro, also recalling the expertise of Paris-Saclay in the field of artificial intelligence, but also quantum computing.
The “plateau” has bet on synergies between the academic, scientific and economic worlds, in order to create a world-class innovation center capable of competing with California’s Silicon Valley but also Israel’s Silicon Wadi. And to reinforce this attractiveness, the territory must constantly innovate. This notably involves the launch in 2022 of Playground, a 6,000 m² building comprising an incubator, a nursery and a business hotel.
This innovation dynamic also involves the creation of a platform, Decarbonized City, which makes it possible to create a simulable digital twin to be able to invent the public policies of tomorrow. “It’s a kind of giant Sim City which on the issue of energy allows us, when we develop a new district, to have the best choices in terms of energy production”, continues Grégoire de Lasteyrie. A digital double launched in 2022 which makes it possible to do without design offices and to save time in political decision-making, he argues.
More efficient, faster and less expensive
After this first phase of creating a demonstrator, the conurbation has just taken a new step forward towards this digital twin, in particular in partnership with Dassault Systèmes, by launching Twin 2030, a new platform which will be usable by all municipalities in the agglomeration and will make it possible to go beyond energy issues, to affect regional planning and urban mobility in particular.
This beautiful high-tech toy was officially presented on Wednesday March 15 as part of the Mipim real estate fair in Cannes. However, it is not within the reach of all municipalities, since it costs the trifle of 10 million euros. But the president of the agglomeration is counting on a rapid profitability of the digital twin.
It is in a real race for attractiveness that Paris-Saclay has therefore embarked, which intends to dredge up large French and foreign groups, beyond SMEs and innovative start-ups. “We want to have companies of all sizes. Everyone has to be able to position themselves on set. But it has to be the right groups that have a synergy with the set. We have to have R&D teams in conjunction with our research laboratories”, concludes the president of the agglomeration. The TotalEnergies episode (aborted project to set up an R&D center on the Polytechnique campus) did not dampen its enthusiasm, quite the contrary.