Greater Lyon, a land of innovation & experimentation
The city of Lyon actively encourages technological, organisational and social innovation in business. Lyon has a proven track record as a European city of innovation, as demonstrated by the number of patent applications, inter-company collaborations and teaching and research centres, as well as by its total expenditure on research and development. The city also boasts 126,000 students, 10,000 researchers and 500 public and private laboratories.
- 1 international competitiveness clusters: Lyonbiopôle
- 1 global-focused competitiveness cluster: Axelera
- 3 other competitiveness clusters: Techtera, Imaginove, Lyon Urban Trucks and Bus
- 2 Thematic Advanced Research Networks (RTRA), accredited in 2007, out of a total of 13 nationally: "Innovations en infectiologie", "Institut d’études avancées en sciences humaines et sociales".
- 3 Thematic Healthcare Research Networks (RTRS), accredited in 2007, out of a total of 10 nationally: "Neurodis", "Synergie Lyon Cancer", "Centaure"
With 126,000 students across the urban area, more than 500 public and private research laboratories, 10,000 researchers and 18 higher education establishments, the Lyon urban area offers world-class training and research potential in a variety of sectors, including chemistry and engineering, life sciences, information sciences, human and social sciences, etc.
The vitality of Lyon’s universities is based on its strong research centres, as well as the presence of international institutions, the city’s 5 competitiveness clusters, etc.
Research and development in Rhône-Alpes
- Levels of expenditure equivalent to those of Finland or Denmark, or the Madrid and Barcelona regions combined (€4 billion per year)
- The second highest region in France for patent applications
2 excellence sectors
- Number 1 in the world for human and animal vaccines
- Number 1 in the world for bacteriological diagnosis
- Number 1 biological production centre in the world
One of the highest concentrations of scientific and clinical activity in Europe:
- renowned establishments: the Hôpital Édouard Herriot, regarded as one of the top ten hospitals in the world (Newsweek, 2007), the Centre Léon Bérard (cancer research),
- well-known specialists: Christian Trepo (virology), Jean-Michel Dubernard (organ transplants), Gilles Salles (cancer research),
- world firsts: partial face transplant in 2005, hand and forearm transplant in 2000, hand transplant in 1998
Exceptional infrastructures
- The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
- The Centre Européen de Santé Humanitaire (CESH) (European Human Health Centre)
- The Centre Européen de Virologie et Immunologie (CERVI) (European Virology and Immunology Centre)
- A BSL4 laboratory, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
- The neurology and cognitive sciences R&D centre
- The WHO centre for lobal infectious disease surveillance
- Interpol’s general secretariat and bioterrorism prevention unit
- The infectiology Centre
Cleantech
With this range of key advantages and a critical population size of 1.5 million, the urban area has decided to position itself as an area of experimentation in the Cleantech sector, with an aim to become a leading global area of experimentation.
The urban area is large enough to exhibit all the challenges of a dense urban environment, whilst being small enough to focus on experimentation. This experimentation covers such diverse areas as transport (infrastructures ranging from dense urban areas to motorways), housing and business property (high-rise buildings) and water.