METROPOLE DE LYON

Their core work

Metropole de Lyon is the metropolitan authority governing Greater Lyon, France's second-largest urban area. In H2020, it serves as a living laboratory for smart city solutions — deploying IoT infrastructure, integrated urban energy systems, and nature-based water treatment at district scale. Their participation brings real municipal governance, urban infrastructure, and citizen engagement capabilities to EU research consortia, enabling pilot demonstrations in a major European city.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Lyon's early H2020 work (2016-2019) centered on digital smart city infrastructure — IoT interoperability, connected smart objects, and inclusive urban governance platforms. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward environmental resilience: climate change adaptation, circular economy, nature-based water treatment, and cultural heritage preservation. This mirrors a broader European urban trend from technology-first smart cities toward sustainability-first green cities.

Lyon is moving from digital urban infrastructure toward green urban resilience — future partners should expect interest in nature-based solutions, water reuse, and climate-adapted city districts.

How they like to work

Metropole de Lyon participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a city authority providing urban testbeds rather than leading research. They work in large consortia (116 unique partners across 4 projects), indicating they join ambitious, multi-city demonstration projects. Their value to a consortium is access to a major European metropolitan area for real-world piloting and policy integration.

With 116 unique consortium partners across 20 countries, Lyon has built a broad European network through large-scale demonstration projects. Their partnerships span Western and Southern Europe, typical of smart city lighthouse projects that cluster peer cities together.

What sets them apart

As France's second-largest metropolitan authority, Lyon offers something most research partners cannot: direct control over urban infrastructure, planning policy, and public services in a city of 1.4 million people. This makes them an ideal demonstration site for any project needing real-world urban deployment at scale. Their track record spans both digital (IoT, data platforms) and green (water, energy, climate) urban innovation, making them versatile across multiple EU funding themes.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SMARTER TOGETHER
  Largest project by far (EUR 1M+ to Lyon), a flagship smart city lighthouse project integrating energy, mobility, data, and citizen governance across European cities.
• bIoTope
  Early IoT interoperability project positioning Lyon as a testbed for connected smart objects across buildings, mobility, and urban services.
• MULTISOURCE
  Most recent project, signaling Lyon's strategic pivot toward nature-based water solutions and circular economy in urban settings.