INRAE TRANSFERT SAS

Their core work

INRAE Transfert is the technology transfer and partnership management company of INRAE, France's national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment. They manage intellectual property, negotiate contracts, and handle the administrative and financial aspects of collaborative EU research projects on behalf of INRAE scientists. Their involvement spans livestock genetics and breeding, crop diversification, agroecology, forest management, and veterinary research infrastructure. In practice, they are the gateway for any external partner wanting to collaborate with one of Europe's largest agricultural research institutions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), INRAE Transfert focused heavily on livestock production efficiency — precision feeding, feed processing, genomic selection, and genetic resource management. The later period (2019–2023) shows a marked shift toward sustainability, animal welfare, resilience under climate stress, and ethical dimensions of farming, with emerging interest in microbiome research and multi-actor participatory approaches. This mirrors the broader EU agricultural policy pivot from productivity optimization to sustainable and socially responsible food systems.

Moving firmly toward climate-resilient agriculture and responsible animal farming, making them an ideal partner for projects addressing the Farm-to-Fork and Green Deal agendas.

How they like to work

INRAE Transfert never coordinates — across 45 projects, they consistently participate as a partner, reflecting their role as a support structure for INRAE researchers rather than a project-initiating body. They operate in large research consortia (619 unique partners across 49 countries), which means they are experienced at navigating complex multi-partner projects and administrative requirements. Their breadth of connections makes them an excellent entry point into the French agricultural research ecosystem.

Exceptionally well-connected with 619 unique consortium partners across 49 countries, making them one of the most networked agricultural research entities in H2020. Their reach is truly global, though the densest connections are within the EU-27, reflecting the structure of Horizon 2020 consortia.

What sets them apart

INRAE Transfert serves as the single contractual gateway to INRAE, one of Europe's top three agricultural research organizations. Partnering with them gives access to a massive research apparatus — thousands of scientists, experimental farms, phenotyping platforms, and biocontainment labs — through one professional technology transfer interface. For consortium builders, this means streamlined negotiation and IP management when working with French public agricultural research.

Highlights from their portfolio

• VetBioNet
  Highest single-project funding (EUR 449,879) — building a European network of high-containment veterinary research facilities for emerging animal diseases.
• SMARTER
  Exemplifies their evolution: combines genomic selection with welfare, resilience, and feed efficiency trade-offs in small ruminants — bridging their early genetics work with recent sustainability focus.
• AQUAEXCEL2020
  Major research infrastructure project (EUR 376,074) providing transnational access to aquaculture facilities, showing their role beyond terrestrial agriculture.