On the occasion of the third session of its Call for Expressions of Interest "EuraClimat: innovating for climate excellence", closed the 11th of April, Lille Metropole furthered its commitment to the decarbonisation of the economy. Concerned about the preservation of both the environment and the local companies on its territory, Lille Metropole has consistently placed the partnership between the economic world and innovation at the heart of the implementation of the greenhouse gas emission reduction trajectory set out in its climate plan.

Lille Metropole created EuraClimat, a local cluster of excellence, in 2021. EuraClimat mainly seeks to stimulate and accelerate the development of innovative solutions and projects, and in particular those contributing to economic decarbonisation.

At the end of two first sessions in 2022 and 2023, 30 local, innovative and climate-beneficial initiatives were rewarded through the attribution of a label. Building on this success, Lille Metropole has been able to reassure and accompany the economic actors of the Metropole. This includes companies, but also innovative ecosystems, sites of excellence and associations, as all concerned by climate issues and their economic consequences. The submitted projects are divided into two distinct categories: “Emergence”, for projects that are still in a state of creation, and “Excellence”, which focusses on a phases of acceleration, enlargement, duplication or massification of an initiative undertaken.

With this third session, the winners will benefit from the attribution of a label – this label will help increase the project’s visibility, ultimately contributing to the successful development of their projects. However, Lille Metropole wishes to go further than simply proving a credible and recognized label to these projects. By creating and leading a community of entities having received the label, embedded within an active ecosystem that favours sustainable innovation, Lille Metropole offers an additional capacity to network and exchange on topics such as financing, incubation and search for land. This community was recently launched for those who were granted the label during the first two rounds of calls for expressions of interest. This launch unfolded in presence of Maxime de Rostolan, a well-known environmental activist and impact entrepreneur, who shared his experience and insights regarding the development of innovative and sustainable technologies. This illustrates Lille Metropole’s capacity to support these projects, as members of the community will benefit from dedicated events in order to foster project synergies, exchanges with impact entrepreneurs and meetings with funders. In addition, Lille Metropole will help orientate members of the community towards complementary services that will enable them to gain expertise on environmental issues related to the development of an economic project.

The call was organised around 5 priority themes

- Digital

- Materials/chemicals formulated or not/textiles

- Energy (production, storage, management, transformation)

- Logistics, mobility and transport;

- The building

The projects of the applicants will be evaluated on the basis of their innovative character, their technical and scientific reliability in particular on the demonstration of the announced beneficial climate impact, and their exemplarity and potential for replicability.