10 years of shared innovation: AKTANTIS and MecaTech, Wallonia’s industrial motor

I am currently leading the Europe/International unit. This unit comprises a small, close-knit team, supplemented by sector experts. Together, we support our members in accessing European funding and projects, particularly cascade funding. We actively participate in European projects, either as coordinators or partners. We also carry out international technological missions, either on an ad hoc basis or in synergy with European projects, with the aim of building a strong international network that benefits our members. 

MecaTech brings together nearly 400 stakeholders, including more than 260 companies, as well as numerous research centres, universities, etc. Together, they have initiated over 176 projects, mobilising approximately €528 million in investment since 2006. The cluster’s main mission is to support the economic development of Walloon industrial companies through a collaborative ecosystem and innovative projects. This mission is based on three pillars:

1. Promote synergies between members and partners (industry, research, training) 
2. Foster creativity and innovation by helping to anticipate and integrate advanced MecaTech technologies  
3. Improve performance and competitiveness by optimising processes and skills and encouraging the circular economy

MecaTech is a cluster that focuses on four complementary areas of technology: advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, mechatronics and data technologies (IoT, AI, etc.). Our ecosystem is mainly structured around five sectoral ecosystems:

• Sustainable energy (batteries, low-carbon transition, energy communities, hydrogen, etc.), which accounts for around 33% of our regional projects.
• Industry 5.0 (integration of humans, AI, agile production), accounting for 18% of projects.
• Defence & Security (equipment, ammunition, cybersecurity, smart surveillance, etc.), which account for 13% of projects. 
• MedTech (medical devices, digital health, in vitro diagnostics, etc.), which accounts for nearly 14% of projects.
• Circular economy (metallurgy, batteries, transport, eco-design, recycling, etc.), representing 8% of projects.

MecaTech’s ecosystem is also strengthened by numerous structural initiatives, such as the Circular Wallonia regional plan, which we are implementing in the battery, metallurgy and mobility sectors. At a European level, we collaborate with the EIT Manufacturing and EIT Raw Materials networks. The cluster also plays a central role in European projects related to Industry 4.0 (DREAM, GEMSTONE, etc.), the European Digital Innovation Hub (WALHUB), and materials. 

In terms of action and support, MecaTech launches three regional calls for projects per year, in January, June and October. For each one, it offers comprehensive support: coaching, project development, maturity assessment, liaison with scientific experts, business plans, financing, liaison with government agencies and promotion of results. The cluster offers specific and personalised support for numerous other regional and European calls for proposals. 

Our services include support for ideation and innovation strategies, operational excellence support services (process optimisation, skills development, digitalisation, circular economy diagnostics) and networking activities at regional and European level.   

In short, there’s no time to get bored 😉

Within the cluster, we are taking steps to strengthen technological and commercial networks, both with and between our European partners, local players and MecaTech members, thereby promoting innovation, competitiveness and the integration of cluster members into European value chains. We can count on the support of several regional partners. On the commercial side, for example, we work closely with our regional export agency (AWEX). 

We create this network through our participation in European projects on the one hand, but also by facilitating access to European funding for our businesses on the other. We specialise in cascade funding, enabling our SMEs to participate in small-scale international collaborative projects, such as Proof of Concept (POC) initiatives. We also carry out targeted actions on large-scale European project calls (Horizon Europe), whose subject matter is particularly relevant to our members. An excellent example is the creation of the Europe Batteries support programme, which has assisted 22 regional project leaders in drafting and submitting their applications over the past two years, with four projects receiving European funding. 

Our two clusters came together almost ten years ago when we submitted a proposal for a European project. Since then, we have enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration. We have truly succeeded in building bonds of trust and transparency between our two European units. For me, this personal connection has been one of the keys to success. 

This collaboration must obviously also be relevant, and this is clearly the case here, because in addition to having common objectives, we have two complementary industrial ecosystems. In concrete terms, this means without too much overlap and with a presence in different verticals: smart mobility, industry of the future, cybersecurity, digital technologies, etc. for AKTANTIS, and energy solutions, defence, advanced manufacturing, materials and circular technologies for MecaTech.

Our discussions began when we submitted an initial European project in 2016, which was not selected, followed by a second version called IoT 4 Industry, which was successful. This project has been a huge success, financing 39 innovative collaborative projects involving 77 European SMEs, and it also won the European Cluster Partnership of the Year award from the European Commission.

We then collaborated on the European project DREAM, which aimed to strengthen the digital ecosystem within the European manufacturing sector. The project was a resounding success, with 35 innovative collaborative projects funded through cascade funding, each involving a digital SME and an industrial company.

These two projects have delivered tangible and significant benefits for our manufacturers, with strong involvement from our bases and numerous projects being funded. We also collaborate on other initiatives, such as exchanging speakers for our respective events and sharing pools of experts.

Given our joint successes, we are highly motivated to sustain this relationship in the long term. To this end, we will submit new proposals for European projects as soon as possible, with the aim of continuing to connect our ecosystems and create benefits for our members.   

Regarding our short-term collaboration, both of our clusters have won a project under the European EUROCLUSTER call (the JEWEL & CITADEL projects). This gives us the opportunity to create synergies in the defence and security sectors and to explore cross-financing opportunities. 

Over the past 10 years, we have developed a trusting relationship, and I am confident that our partnership will continue. This collaboration also shows that competitiveness clusters play a key role in implementing internationalisation initiatives that have a real impact on manufacturers.