AEROSPACE VALLEY

Their core work

Aerospace Valley is a major French aerospace and space industry cluster based in Toulouse, acting as an innovation intermediary that connects SMEs, startups, and research institutions with market opportunities across aerospace, space, and emerging technology sectors. They specialize in building cross-sectoral value chains — helping smaller companies access new markets by combining capabilities from aerospace, drones, satellites, maritime, and transport domains. Their core business is cluster management: facilitating collaboration, running incubation and matchmaking programs, and orchestrating EU-funded support actions that bring SMEs into industrial supply chains. They bridge the gap between space/aerospace technologies and downstream commercial applications in non-traditional sectors.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2014–2017), Aerospace Valley focused on traditional aerospace networking: international R&D cooperation (SUNJET II, ICARe), engineering education quality (PERSEUS), IP support for SMEs (VIP4SME), and space NCP coordination (COSMOS2020). From 2018 onward, the cluster pivoted sharply toward building new industrial value chains around emerging technologies — drones, small satellites, maritime smart systems — and connecting these to SME growth and market creation (UFO, GALATEA, Astropreneurs). The shift is clear: from supporting existing aerospace ecosystems to actively creating new cross-sectoral markets where aerospace and space technologies meet non-traditional industries.

Aerospace Valley is moving from traditional aerospace cluster management toward becoming a cross-industry innovation orchestrator, with growing emphasis on drones, UAM, and space-derived commercial applications for SMEs.

How they like to work

Aerospace Valley primarily operates as an active partner (13 of 17 projects), joining large European consortia and contributing cluster management, SME networks, and regional ecosystem access. When they do coordinate (3 projects), they take on ambitious cross-sectoral themes — their coordinated UFO project was by far their largest at EUR 3.3M. With 174 unique consortium partners across 32 countries, they function as a high-connectivity hub, rarely repeating the same partnership configuration, which makes them an excellent gateway into the French aerospace and space ecosystem.

Exceptionally broad network of 174 unique partners across 32 countries, reflecting their role as a major European aerospace cluster. Their reach spans well beyond France into a truly pan-European and international collaboration footprint.

What sets them apart

Aerospace Valley is one of Europe's largest aerospace clusters, headquartered in Toulouse — the continent's aerospace capital — giving them direct access to Airbus, CNES, and hundreds of aerospace SMEs. Unlike pure research organizations, they are an industry cluster that mobilizes entire regional ecosystems: they don't do the R&D themselves but connect the companies, labs, and startups that do. Their growing focus on drones and small satellites as drivers of new value chains makes them a strategic partner for anyone wanting to bring space or aerospace technology into non-traditional markets like maritime, agriculture, or urban mobility.

Highlights from their portfolio

• UFO
  Their largest project (EUR 3.3M, coordinator role) focused on building new value chains around drones, small satellites, and high-altitude platforms — represents their strategic direction.
• GALATEA
  Cross-sectoral blue economy project (EUR 565K) connecting aerospace cluster capabilities with maritime smart ports and shipyards — exemplifies their cross-industry bridging role.
• NEPTUNE
  Early coordinator project (EUR 888K) on cross-sectoral value chain creation for SMEs — established the template they later scaled up with UFO.