Sustainable composite materials: when French startups innovate
France boasts a large number of composite companies dedicated to the development of composite materials, as well as innovative start-ups whose products are based on composite materials.
Composites are made of a combination of several materials with complementary qualities. They consist of a reinforcement that forms the skeleton of the part, and a matrix that binds the elements together.
Combined with matrices or resins, metallic reinforcements, mineral (carbon fibers, ceramics, etc.) or organic (glass fibers, aramid, bamboo, flax, etc.) origin enable French companies to manufacture innovative eco-designed products from more sustainable composites.
Composite and eco-design company
Aerospace and aeronautics composites
2 million € in sales by the end of 2023*.
This is the goal that Spanish composite materials manufacturer Prosix, recently established in France, in Bayonne (Basque Country), is well on the way to achieve, thanks to the support and expertise of Basque Invest.
Their gamble (a successful one!): use the cross-border strength of the Basque country to break into the French market and then international markets.
Specialized in composite materials made of carbon fiber, glass or metal, this composite company is active in the aerospace sector, collaborating on numerous projects with Airbus in particular, thanks to its location in the Basque Country. The company also produces composite parts for submarines. Basque Invest team help composite industrie france to develop their performance.
(*Source : Placéco)
Composite materials, green economy and circular economy
On the eco-design front, start-up company Harago Cycles, has chosen the Basque Country to develop its innovative products based on composite materials.
Cyril Thizy, entrepreneur, engineer and passionate cyclist, was supported by the Basque Invest team in the success of his project: business plan, search for investment and financing, professional networks and collaborators, contacts with composites companies for product design, etc.
Specializing in the manufacture of bicycle accessories made from environmentally-friendly composite materials, the startup takes advantage of the sustainable flax fiber or bamboo fiber to ensure the performance of its cycling products, notably an innovative, stronger and lighter bicycle saddle.
The aim: to penetrate the high-end cycling market with accessories made from bio-sourced and eco-friendly materials.
The project of this innovative start-up from the Basque country is also part of a circular economy approach, with a plan to reuse aeronautical waste. This is already the case for Optima Aero, a major player in the recovery, renewable and recycling of parts for helicopter engines (Safran Helicopters projects), established in France with the help of the Basque Invest team.
Setting up your composite company in France
The Basque Invest team offers you a unique service (financed by public services) to set up your composite company or help you find the resources to develop your eco-designed products based on composite materials.
Numerous innovative companies have chosen the Basque Country, an economically and culturally rich region, to develop their activities in the aeronautics and aerospace industries, and in composite and mechatronics.
Located mainly on the Technocité site in Bayonne, more than 30 companies specializing in composite materials, robotics and aeronautics have chosen France and the Basque Country to create and develop their projects. These include Compositadour, Roboticadour and Addimadour, equiped with high-tech tools dedicated to the manufacture of composite parts (notably a Coriolis robot and a KUKA platform), and Pika Composites, a subcontractor for Daher-Socata, Dassault Aviation, Turbomeca and Astrium.
A number of aeronautical programs for Airbus, Eurocopter, Boeing, Mirage and Rafale have seen the light of day in the Basque Country!
Basque Invest is also a team dedicated to helping innovative start-ups get off the ground. We draw on the know-how and experience of leading companies to support tomorrow’s major innovative projects in a selection of sectors of excellence: aeronautics (ASD: aeronautics, space and defense), mecatronics and composites, as well as healthcare (digital health and medical devices), circular economy, green and blue economy, industrial production, digital and digital.
Our dedicated business location service will help you find the most start-up-friendly city in France and the Basque Country to make your project a success. We also help you setting up a business in france after brexit.
Do you have an idea? Do you have a business creation or development project? You would like to set up a business in france?
Contact our composite business expert François Applagnat.