Key figures

The cluster’s mission and strategy

The Capenergies competitiveness cluster was formed on 14 November 2005 and subsequently obtained accreditation as a PRIDES on 30 March 2007.
Founded in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) region, the cluster’s member network includes major industrial firms, businesses, research and education organisations, and financial backers.

Since its inception, the cluster has been supported by three founding members: the Corsican authorities (represented by ADEC), the CEA and EDF. In 2013, the cluster embarked on a new strategic roadmap, seeking to boost economic growth across the region and to create value for its members.

Capenergies’ ambition is to unite its members to build a robust ecosystem, to drive economic growth and boost competitiveness across the energy sectors in PACA, Corsica, Guadeloupe, Reunion and the Principality of Monaco.

The cluster provides a structured set of services across three portfolios:

• Business growth support services : growth accelerators for start-ups and SMEs, focusing on major buyers.
• Innovation services:  accreditation and support for innovative projects, to enable project initiators (businesses and laboratories) to access financing mechanisms and raise the funds they need.
• Local authority services: expert advice for public decision-makers on energy matters and help developing activities locally.

The Capenergies competitiveness cluster addresses three major challenges facing our society:

The energy transition

The cluster works in tandem with innovators to foster the emergence of private and public-private collaborative research projects focusing on non-greenhouse gas-emitting energy.

It is therefore directly involved in disseminating hands-on solutions that address climate change management, building a solid reputation across the “low-carbon” energy mix, with a particular emphasis on energy efficiency, grid integration (energy and storage vectors, load balancing, Smart Grids) and energy resource production (renewables and nuclear).

The cluster is also actively involved in work on low-interconnected and island grids. Its ambition is to help meet the specific needs of the territories it covers, which have a wealth of renewable energy resources but suffer from connectivity issues (eastern PACA region) or are geographically isolated (Corsica and overseas territories).

Making France more competitive

Capenergies works to give energy-sector firms in the region and throughout France a competitive edge, helping transform high-potential research into marketable products and services.