Technopole Pays Basque, operating instructions

With all the digital services and industries at Izarbel, aeronautics, advanced materials and robotics at Technocité, sustainable construction at Arkinova and the blue economy at ID Océan, Technopole Pays Basque is developing a dynamic ecosystem around higher education, training and research, economic development and innovation, to increase the attractiveness of our region. 

In just a dozen years Technopole Pays Basque has found a place on the map of the most innovative ecosystems in France. The technological emergence of our area began in 2007 when the Izarbel Technology Park on the Basque Coast, located at Bidart around Estia and its support team of project leaders known as ‘Estia Entreprendre (Estia Enterprise)’obtained RETIS quality certification (see elsewhere). Its range of skills was extended two years later to include the aeronautics industry with the opening of a business incubator at the Technocité technology park in Bayonne, further enhancing the technology offer already presented by the Compositadour platform.

In 2015, the ‘Technopole Côte Basque (Basque Coast Technology Park)’ as it was called, enjoyed fresh recognition from the RETIS network, which certified its four technology parks: Izarbel and Technocité, joined by the Arkinova site in Anglet (sustainable construction) and ID Océan. Two years later, with the creation of the Communauté d’Agglomération Pays Basque, Technopole Côte Basque became ‘Technopole Pays Basque (Basque CountryTechnology Park)’ with the aim of covering the whole of the region.

The latest milestone was in 2019 when the ecosystem ID Océan – for Sustainable Innovation in the service of the Ocean – continued its growth with the creation of the Créaluz site at Saint-Jean-de-Luz: a business incubator and prototyping workshop intended to support project leaders in the eco-design of innovative products, in particular those for use in board sports and other water sports and sailing.

“Powerhouse of economic development”

The Technopole Pays Basque aims to be the powerhouse of economic development of the Pays Basque. Within strategic activities it is focussed on three well-defined areas: higher education, training and research, then economic development, with innovation as the driving force. It has several principal aims: to support innovative businesses, to open up the area and the ecosystem to innovation. Its ambition is to encourage productive activity and the creation of jobs with high added value. 

As a pioneer of the Technopole Pays Basque, the Izarbel technology park in Bidart, dedicated to digital services and industries, hosts the campus of Estia – over 1000 students – around which extend two technology platforms, PEPPS (evaluation of prototyping and use testing) and Energea (electrical engineering and automatic control for renewable energies), as well as three business centres, a business incubator and accelerator and the Pays Basque Digital cluster.

Major player in aeronautics

In Bayonne, Technocité has become a major player in aerospace and advanced materials, awarded Aerospace Valley certification, the premier competitiveness cluster in the world for the aerospace sector. The technology park hosts some thirty businesses and supports several others located throughout the Pays Basque. They all have the benefit of the on-site expertise of the two technology platforms, Compositadour (implementation of composites and robotics) and Addimadour (manufacture of metallic additive). At the heart of this hi-tech ecosystem, there is also an incubator for young leaders of innovative projects and a business centre.

The Arkinova site is another concentration of innovation and research, extending over 49 hectares and devoted to sustainable construction in Anglet. It includes the Cantau High School, the ISA BTP Engineering School and the Fédération Compagnonnique des Métiers du Bâtiment (= Training and Mentoring Federation for the Building Trades), and hosts the Arkinova business generator - a new generation incubator-accelerator -, the Nobatek/Inf4 technology resource centre with some thirty engineers, research laboratories and a research chair in ‘Architecture and Urban Physics’ (soon to be joined by a Junior chair), as well as the Odeys cluster.

Multi-site approach for ID Océan

The most recent addition to the technology sphere, ID Océan, devoted to the blue economy, is notable for its multi-site approach on the Basque coast. It relies on specific tools according to the type of activity and sector concerned: the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (UPPA) and its associated research laboratories on the Montaury Campus in Anglet (Science and Technology School training in Energy and the Environment, IFREMER, Science laboratory for applied mechanical engineering, Chair in HPC Waves, etc.), Créaluz in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (see above), the INRA ‘aquahub’ devoted to aquaculture associated with the Saint-Christophe Agricultural School at Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, the Aquarium in Biarritz and the Cité de l’Océan, the port of Bayonne – hosting activities in line with renewable marine energy and exploration of the deep ocean – as well as research laboratories, a resource centre and a research Chair related to the field of marine biomimetics. 

Buoyed by the growth of the businesses it supports, Technopole Pays Basque continues to take an interest in other business sectors with great potential. Thoughts are currently focussing on developing a fifth area of strategic activity around agriculture and agribusiness. 

Since 2007 Technopole Pays Basque has enjoyed RETIS certification, awarded by the French network of professionals and players supporting innovation in the local area. This distinction, in addition to recognising the relevance of the Technopole, helps it to benefit from the advantages of national grouping and to access European finance. The network brings together the Technopoles, the CEEIs (European Centres of Business and Innovation), the competitiveness clusters and the public and private incubators throughout the whole of France. It represents over 800 collaborators in almost 100 support structures and13,000 innovative businesses receiving support.

110 businesses and over 1100 employees on the Izarbel technology park.

34 businesses and 315 jobs (+12% in 2019) on the Technocité site.

Over 2000 students on the Arkinova site, divided between Cantau High School, the ISA BTP Engineering School and the Fédération Compagnonnique des Métiers du Bâtiment (Training and Mentoring Federation for the Building Trades).