PAYS DE LA LOIRE

Their core work

Pays de la Loire is the elected regional government of western France, headquartered in Nantes, responsible for economic development, territorial planning, and innovation policy across a region with strong maritime and agricultural traditions. In EU projects, they act as a public authority partner — bringing regional co-funding capacity, access to regional industry networks, and policy legitimacy to pan-European consortia. Their H2020 participation reflects two strategic regional priorities: exploiting the Atlantic coastline for ocean energy, and accelerating digital transformation of the region's substantial agri-food sector. They do not conduct research themselves but connect European research networks to regional businesses, competence centres, and innovation hubs.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their H2020 entry in 2017 was anchored in ocean energy, reflecting the region's Atlantic geography and early-stage interest in wave and tidal power through ERA-NET transnational funding coordination. By 2018 the focus shifted sharply toward digital transformation of agriculture — smart farming, digital innovation hubs, food security, and business innovation — which aligns with the region's agri-food industrial base and EU smart specialisation policy priorities. The trajectory suggests a regional government moving from niche marine energy advocacy toward broader digital-industrial policy implementation, with agriculture as the dominant strategic bet.

The region is positioning itself as a territorial orchestrator of digital agriculture innovation, likely to pursue further roles in agri-food digitalisation, rural digital infrastructure, and food system resilience projects.

How they like to work

Pays de la Loire participates exclusively as a consortium partner — never as project coordinator — which is typical for regional public authorities that contribute institutional weight, co-funding, and territorial access rather than scientific leadership. Both of their projects were large pan-European networks, exposing them to 123 unique partners across 23 countries despite only two participations. This indicates comfort operating inside complex multi-actor consortia where the region's value is connecting national R&I infrastructure to local businesses and innovation actors.

Despite only two projects, Pays de la Loire has been exposed to 123 unique partners across 23 countries — an unusually wide network for a minimal H2020 footprint, explained by both projects being large network-type instruments (ERA-NET Cofund and Innovation Action with open calls). Their geographic reach skews European with probable depth in Atlantic-arc countries given the ocean energy context.

What sets them apart

As a regional government rather than a university or research institute, Pays de la Loire brings something most consortium partners cannot: direct access to regional policy levers, public co-financing instruments, and territorial networks of SMEs and innovation clusters in one of France's most productive agri-food regions. For project consortia that need to demonstrate regional uptake, stakeholder engagement, or deployment at territory level in western France, this region is a credible and well-connected institutional anchor. Their combination of Atlantic maritime assets and a strong agri-food industrial base makes them a natural fit for projects intersecting ocean resources, food systems, and digital transformation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SmartAgriHubs
  A flagship EU Innovation Action connecting 160+ digital innovation hubs across Europe; the region's involvement signals genuine commitment to deploying smart farming solutions at territorial scale through open calls and competence centres.
• OCEANERA-NET COFUND
  An ERA-NET Cofund instrument coordinating national and regional funding programmes for ocean energy — the region's largest single EC award (EUR 311,095) and a rare example of a subnational authority co-funding transnational marine energy research.