In the autumn of 2020 France announced an ambitious € 100 billion stimulus package where digitalization of industries as well as reshoring and strengthening of manufacturing industries are one of the cornerstones. Investments will be made in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, 5G, cybersecurity, cloud services and quantum computing.
Again, in October 2021, a further € 30 billion investment package "France 2030" was announced where green transition, decarbonising industry, sustainable transport and mobility are among the key themes.
The European Commission launched the European Battery Alliance in October 2017 to address massive transformation from fossil to electric, batteries being the enabler. The annual market value was estimated at €250 billion from 2025 onwards. For Europe, the establishment of a complete domestic battery value chain is imperative for a clean energy transition and a competitive industry. France has been among the strongest players in this European transformation and hence represents huge potential for collaboration and partnerships cross whole value chain.
Team Finland business delegation will visit Paris, France on 16-18 May 2022 together with high-level governmental participant.
The goals of the visit are
- To familiarize with the current state of manufacturing industries, to establish relationships with important stakeholders, and to explore related business opportunities. Opening doors and influencing in the right networks and among ecosystem actors (public & private), as well as to other end customers.
- To strengthen collaboration in batteries and electrification value chain, in order to dig deeper on company specific opportunities arising from previously initiated actions especially within the French automotive industry and related value chains.
The following topics are of importance and have been identified: industrial automation and digitalization, sustainable production of battery mineral, battery and related solutions manufacturing, electrification of automotive and mobile machines and recycling of batteries.
Smart manufacturing & Cyber security
A number of initiatives have been put in place to accelerate the uptake of new technologies in manufacturing industries and to ensure its competitiveness in the future. France is one of the major #RRF recovery funding recipients and our Finnish strongholds in the fields of digitalization of industries and electrification match perfectly with the ambitions of the French government.
As part of the program the smart manufacturing delegation will visit Global Industrie exhibition. Finnish-French AI Village collaboration is also part of the exhibition.
France meets Finland: R&D networking event on Artificial Intelligence in industry
Batteries & Electrification
Both France and Finland have been major players on creating sustainable battery value chain in Europe to support fast low carbon transition of industries e.g. automotive. There is strong collaboration ongoing in battery value chain already today.
Finland made previous ministerial delegation visit to France in January 2020, prior Covid-19, and now it is time to reconnect physically to strengthen further relationships and business. Finnish battery ecosystem is keen to strengthen existing relationships and to create new openings.
Why France?
France is the second largest economy in the EU and one of the most active market areas. The gross product of its manufacturing industries is about 260 billion € and it employ more than 3 million people. France is a major influencer of EU, a home for major global corporates in several sectors such as automotive, aviation, mobile work machines, as well as telecommunication. France represents an important market potential both in trade and investment promotion.
Who should attend?
Finnish companies delivering industrial automation, digitalization and cybersecurity products and/or solutions (i.e. "Industry 4.0 solutions"). Additionally companies working with sustainable production of battery mineral, battery and related solutions manufacturing, electrification of automotive and mobile machines and recycling of batteries.
Industrial sectors include for instance manufacturing of automotives, aircrafts, and batteries. Technical scope of products and solutions include automation and robotics, business (software) automation, industrial data management (AI), industrial 5G solutions, predictive maintenance, supply chain management, visualization and simulation ("digital twin"), for example.
Practicalities
We are closely following the Covid-19 travel restrictions and any possible changes related to them. France is open to fully vaccinated visitors and they are exempt from quarantine, and from presenting a negative Covid-19 test result.
To cover the expenses of arranging the visit, Business Finland will charge a participation fee. The cost estimate is based on 10 companies participating in both sectors.
- Micro Businesses and SMEs: 978 EUR + 24% VAT per person
- Major Companies: 1 150 EUR + 24% VAT per person
Business Finland will invoice the participation fee after the visit based on the actual costs. The invoiced fee will not exceed the amounts mentioned above. Kindly note that the participation fee does not include flights or accommodation nor meals outside the business delegation program.
