SATT Ouest Valorisation

By project DeepTechValleys

Published on 09 June 2025

France

About this good practice

SATTs consolidate technology transfer at university sites, eliminating structural fragmentation. Their mission is to boost the efficiency and economic impact of tech transfer, professionalise research development, and strengthen skills.
Main stakeholders: Public Research Institutions/Laboratories, Public Authorities, and Investors.
Main beneficiaries: Businesses (SMEs and large firms), Start-ups, and Researchers.
Ouest Valorisation manages intellectual property from regional laboratories. Its experts in industrial property guide researchers from invention disclosure through patentability and market analysis to IP protection. It also invests in maturation programmes that support proof of concept, prototype development, and market validation.
The SATT funds ambitious R&D projects from TRL 2–3 to TRL 6–7 to accelerate market transfer. Through co-maturation, Ouest Valorisation partners early with companies to ensure alignment with market needs. This leads to either:
- Transfer to an existing company (via sale or licence)
- Creation of a new company
SATTs offer strong technology scouting, covering up to 70% of French academic research, via connections with 165 institutions and 150,000 researchers. This includes access to 13,000+ innovations, 2,150 mature projects, and 2,800 patents.
It also helps companies by:
- Clarifying and addressing their innovation needs
- Identifying relevant technologies, expertise, or equipment
- Negotiating and securing collaboration agreements

Resources needed

SATT Ouest Valorisation was created on July 20, 2012, as part of the "Investissements d'Avenir" (Investments for the Future) program. It has a social capital of 1 million euros and was endowed with 70 million euros to invest in R&D projects.

Evidence of success

The SATT model (like Ouest Valorisation) is considered effective because it professionalises technology transfer from public research to industry. It bridges the "valley of death" by funding project maturation, making "deeptech" innovations marketable.
Evidence of success includes hundreds of millions of euros invested in maturation, significantly higher growth for SATT client companies, and the creation of startups and licenses (e.g., 5 startups and 106 CIFRE theses in 2023).

Potential for learning or transfer

The SATT model offers valuable lessons for regions:
- Dedicated "Maturation" Funding: Crucial for bridging the "valley of death" by investing in early-stage tech development.
- Centralized, Professionalized Expertise: Streamlines tech transfer by providing a single point of contact with specialized skills.
- Proactive Project Sourcing: Actively identifies high-potential research.
- Strong Academic-Industry Linkages: Ensures market-aligned development (e.g., CIFRE theses).
- Regional Support: Integrates the entity into the local innovation ecosystem.
Transfer is hampered by cultural resistance, inadequate long-term funding, IP issues, skills gaps, and poor market understanding. The model is gaining international interest, with collaborations already in Romania and Tunisia, showcasing its transferable principles for boosting research valorization.