France 2030 is not a blank check. It is a competition engine. More than 200 distinct funding calls have been launched since the plan’s October 2021 inauguration, collectively processing over 20,000 applications and distributing billions of euros to companies and research organizations that demonstrated the strongest alignment with France’s strategic industrial objectives. This page is the master tracker for every competition in the France 2030 system.
How the Competition System Works
The mechanics of France 2030 competitive funding differ from most government grant programs in their rigor, selectivity, and the administrative weight placed on applicants.
Application and Eligibility: Most France 2030 competitions require applicants to be French-registered legal entities (or European entities with a significant French operation). Individual calls specify minimum project size (typically €500,000 for I-Nov to €5 million for I-Démo), consortium requirements (many require at least two partners, including a research organization for technology calls), and sector eligibility criteria.
Evaluation Process: Applications pass through a two-stage filter. First, an administrative admissibility check confirms that basic eligibility criteria are met and documentation is complete — rejection at this stage is common (15-30% of applications). Qualifying applications then enter substantive evaluation by expert panels comprising technical specialists, sector economists, and in some cases international reviewers. Large strategic projects receive additional assessment by SGPI officials.
Evaluation Criteria: Across all France 2030 competitions, five criteria recur with consistent weighting:
- Technical Innovation — Is the technology genuinely novel? Does it advance beyond the state of the art?
- Economic Viability — Is the business model credible? Are financial projections grounded?
- Environmental Impact — How does the project contribute to France’s 2030 climate objectives?
- Strategic Alignment — Does the project serve France’s sovereignty interests in a priority sector?
- Team Capability — Does the applicant have the management capacity to execute?
Timeline: From call publication to funding contract signature, successful applicants typically wait 6 to 18 months. Large strategic projects (I-Démo, Aide aux Projets Structurants) take longer due to deeper due diligence. I-Nov, designed for startups, has compressed its evaluation cycle to approximately 6 months for smaller grants.
Three Tiers of Competitions
Tier 1: Open National Calls
Open calls accept applications across all sectors from any eligible French company or research organization. They generate the highest volumes and are the primary entry points for startups and SMEs:
I-Démo (Innovation Demonstration) — The flagship demonstration funding program. Grants and repayable advances of €5 to €30 million per project. Seven waves since 2021. Total budget committed: over €3 billion. Designed for projects at TRL 5-7 (technology ready for demonstration, not yet commercial). The most competitive and most prestigious of France 2030’s open calls.
I-Nov (Innovation Startup) — Annual startup-focused innovation competition with 13 thematic challenges. Grants of €600,000 to €4 million. Over 1,500 winners since 2021. The highest volume competition in the France 2030 system and a critical pipeline for the French deeptech ecosystem.
First Factory (Première Usine) — Industrialization support for technology companies building their first production facility in France. Grants covering up to 50-80% of eligible costs. 250-plus projects funded, average grant €2 million. Critical bridge between TRL 8-9 and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 7-9.
Concours d’Innovation — Co-administered by Bpifrance and ADEME, targeting early-stage innovations. Smaller grants (€200,000 to €1 million) for proof-of-concept and pre-commercial development. Three annual waves, approximately 400 winners per year.
Tier 2: Sectoral Acceleration Strategies
The Stratégies d’Accélération are thematic competition frameworks published with detailed technology roadmaps. They target specific sectors and attract more focused applicants:
Plan Quantique — €1.8 billion national quantum strategy. Hardware, communications, sensors, and algorithms. Key beneficiaries: Pasqal, Alice & Bob, Quandela.
Plan Nano 2030 — €5 billion combined national and EU semiconductor R&D program. Crolles ecosystem, CEA-LETI, advanced node research.
Stratégie Batteries — €2 billion-plus battery technology program. Cells, recycling, BMS, solid-state. Complements the larger gigafactory direct grants.
Stratégie Hydrogène — €9 billion hydrogen ecosystem. The largest acceleration strategy and the most complex to execute.
Stratégie Santé — €2 billion-plus health and bioproduction strategy. ProFIL bioproduction, oncology precision medicine, pandemic preparedness.
Stratégie Cyber — €1 billion cybersecurity strategy. Post-quantum cryptography, OT/ICS security, SecNumCloud.
Deeptech Programs — Cross-cutting deeptech funding including Bpifrance’s €2 billion Deeptech fund and the PEPR (Priority Research Programs) framework covering 23 strategic research areas.
Capacity Building — Industrial skills, research infrastructure, digital transformation. The enabling programs that underpin all sectoral strategies.
Tier 3: Strategic Project Negotiations
Aide aux Projets Structurants — Direct bilateral support for transformative industrial investments exceeding €500 million. Not competitive in the traditional sense — these are negotiated agreements. STMicro-GlobalFoundries Crolles, ArcelorMittal Dunkirk, ACC Billy-Berclau.
Application Volumes and Success Rates
| Competition | Annual Applications | Success Rate | Avg Grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-Nov | 3,000+ | 12-15% | €1.5M |
| I-Démo | 400-600 | 15-20% | €10M |
| First Factory | 600-800 | 25-30% | €2M |
| Concours d’Innovation | 1,500+ | 20-25% | €400K |
| Sectoral AAPs | 150-400 | 15-25% | €5-15M |
| Aide Projets Structurants | 5-15 | 50-70%* | €100M+ |
*Strategic project negotiations are pre-screened; formal application implies advanced bilateral discussion.
Key Competition Operators
France 2030 competitions are managed by four primary operators, each with different sector mandates:
Bpifrance manages the largest portfolio: I-Nov, I-Démo, First Factory, Deeptech, and most sectoral acceleration strategies outside energy and agriculture. Bpifrance’s role is both operator (managing evaluation and contracting) and co-investor (providing equity alongside grants for strategic startups).
ADEME (Agence de la Transition Écologique) manages all energy transition competitions: hydrogen calls, industrial decarbonization programs, sustainable aviation calls, and the energy efficiency investment programs. ADEME brings sector expertise that Bpifrance cannot replicate.
ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche) manages the PEPR priority research programs — the upstream research competitions that feed into France 2030’s industrial strategies. ANR evaluates on scientific merit and technological frontier positioning.
DGE (Direction Générale des Entreprises) and SGPI play a coordinating and oversight role, particularly for large strategic projects requiring interministerial validation.
The Deduplication Challenge
One structural criticism of France 2030’s competition architecture is that the sheer number of programs creates confusion for applicants. A hydrogen startup may be simultaneously eligible for I-Nov, the hydrogen acceleration strategy call, a Bpifrance Deeptech equity round, and an IPCEI Hydrogen selection process. Managing four simultaneous applications with different operators, timelines, and reporting requirements strains small company management teams.
The SGPI acknowledged this in its 2023 mid-term review and has taken steps to introduce a unified application portal (Démarches Simplifiées) and consolidated reporting for companies receiving multiple France 2030 awards. The implementation remains partial as of early 2026.
Application Guidance
Companies seeking to navigate France 2030 competitions should begin with the how-to-apply guide, which provides step-by-step process guidance, document checklists, and evaluation criteria in detail. The guides section provides sector-specific strategy for maximizing application success rates.
The critical insight for applicants: France 2030 evaluators are not looking for interesting technology. They are looking for projects that will produce French industrial production at scale. The selection rubric systematically favors applications that demonstrate a credible path to French factory-floor jobs, sovereign technology capabilities, and measurable contribution to decarbonization targets. Technology alone, without an industrial scale-up plan, rarely wins.