NAVAL GROUP

Their core work

Naval Group (formerly DCNS) is a major French defense and naval shipbuilder specializing in the design, construction, and maintenance of military and civil vessels including submarines, surface combatants, and energy systems. In EU research, they focus on advancing shipbuilding through new materials, additive manufacturing, composite automation, and modular construction methods. They also bring deep expertise in maritime security — surveillance systems, cybersecurity for maritime logistics, and command-and-control platforms. Their R&D efforts bridge traditional naval engineering with digital transformation technologies like digital twins, IoT, and Industry 4.0 applied to shipyard operations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Naval Group's early H2020 work (2016–2019) centered on traditional naval defense themes: border surveillance and command-and-control (CAMELOT), advanced ship materials and condition monitoring (RAMSSES), and building cybersecurity infrastructure (ECHO). From 2020 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward manufacturing innovation — additive manufacturing at scale (Grade2XL, NUCOBAM), composite automation for shipyards (FIBRE4YARDS), and digital industrial tools like digital twins and AI (SeCoIIA). The trajectory shows a company moving from primarily operational security and materials testing toward transforming how ships are actually built.

Naval Group is investing heavily in next-generation shipbuilding — additive manufacturing, composites, and digital twins — signaling readiness for partnerships that modernize large-scale maritime production.

How they like to work

Naval Group operates exclusively as a participant, never coordinating — consistent with a large industrial end-user that contributes domain expertise and real-world validation environments rather than leading research agendas. With 234 unique partners across 27 countries, they spread their collaboration widely, joining large consortia (typical for IA and RIA projects) where they serve as the naval/maritime application partner. This makes them a reliable, experienced consortium member who brings industrial testbeds and sector-specific requirements to the table.

Naval Group has collaborated with 234 unique partners across 27 countries, forming one of the broadest networks among European naval defense companies in H2020. Their partnerships span the full EU geography with no narrow regional clustering, reflecting the pan-European nature of both defense and maritime transport research.

What sets them apart

Naval Group is one of very few organizations that sits at the intersection of naval defense, advanced manufacturing, and maritime cybersecurity — three domains that rarely overlap in a single consortium partner. They bring something most research partners cannot: actual shipyard-scale industrial environments where lab-developed materials, manufacturing processes, and digital tools must prove they work on real vessels. For any consortium targeting maritime applications, they provide both the technical depth and the end-user validation path that reviewers look for.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Grade2XL
  Their largest funded project (€838K), pushing wire-arc additive manufacturing to extra-large structures — a direct bridge from lab-scale 3D printing to industrial shipbuilding reality.
• ECHO
  A major European cybersecurity network-building project (€799K) that positioned Naval Group within the EU's cybersecurity competence center ecosystem.
• FIBRE4YARDS
  Directly targets shipyard modernization through fibre-reinforced composites and Industry 4.0 automation — the clearest signal of Naval Group's manufacturing transformation agenda.