During the salons of the Region’s office in Paris, an economic meeting was held under the theme of “Reunion, land of innovation and sustainable solutions”.
This meeting was aimed at answering questions from investors, institutions and start-ups interested in the concept of “sustainable solutions island”. These actors are always on the lookout for information on energy innovation.
According to Philippe Jean-Pierre, head of Innovons la Réunion, “it’s an important meeting to show that all our challenges are investment opportunities.”
For his part, Gaston Bigey, director general of Nexa, the island’s regional development agency, suggested that Réunion’s situation has unsuspected advantages.
“Isolation and location in a non-interconnected area are perhaps finally assets to develop innovative technologies. Indeed, the islands are the first to be affected by the issues of sustainable development and must therefore react,” said Nexa’s CEO.
The meeting took place in two stages, with two round tables on the sectors in which Réunion excels. Dominique Vienne from Teeo, Charly Bell from Les Smart Grid and Yann Rivière from Gaïa presented their know-how in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The figures speak for themselves
To date, there are 2,766 jobs in the energy sector with a mix that leaves 33% to renewable energy and 15% to hydro.
As a reminder, Gaston Bigey pointed out that “Reunion is ranked 5th in Europe for photovoltaic and 2nd for solar collectors.”
This is why, before thinking about the energy transition, we must rationalize the use of energy, hence the Teo software he created. The latter can reduce a company’s or institution’s energy costs by 25% without any investment!
“It’s a challengeable and changeable expense over time,” he said.
We find the same optimism with Charly Bell who promotes self-consumption or the use of solar energy for drying wood that Gaïa is developing: “There are markets to be taken in France”, Yann Rivière tells the conquered public.
And two …
The second round table was devoted to renewable energy and the circular economy, with Nicolas Imbert of Green Cross, who works internationally, Laurent Blériot of Bioalgostral and the head of Albioma, Pascal Langeron.
In order to demonstrate these prospects favourably, Gaston Bigey recalled all the measures favourable to investors:
- Exemption from social security charges and VAT not collected, recoverable as a tax credit;
- A single VAT rate of 8.5%;
- Freight assistance.
Yolaine Costes, vice-president of the Region, invited all those present to come and invest in the island. In fact, she said:
“Our island is small but agile, far from the metropolis, but dynamic. Moreover Reunion is French and European, surrounded by developing countries, which will be as many markets for your companies in the years to come.”
Creativity for innovation
Still under the theme of innovation, Reunion celebrated, from 3 to 10 April, the 8th edition of the innovation week, placed under the theme of creativity in the service of innovation. This week rich in creativity allowed various companies to discover and practice new methods, entitled :
- Innovative problem solving;
- The design of your new services or products;
- The organization of creativity;
- The improvement of your management.
These actions are organised by Nexa within the framework of Innovonslareunion, and co-financed by the European Commission, Europe is committed to Reunion Island with the ERDF.
Source: Clicanoo.re
