Deeptech as Source of Societal Solutions: Scientific Innovation
Scientific innovation is not merely an academic pursuit but a powerful generator of concrete solutions to society’s greatest challenges. This article explores how deeptech startups bridge the gap between laboratory discoveries and marketable products, examining the ecosystem that supports this transformation and showcasing real-world examples where scientific breakthroughs have addressed pressing societal needs in health, agriculture, and beyond.
Scientific Innovation: An Invisible Revolution
Scientific breakthroughs may begin in laboratories, but their true value emerges when they address real-world problems and reach the people who need them most.
Science’s impact on our daily lives often represents a silent revolution. Most major innovations that have transformed our existence – from the Internet to lasers to mRNA vaccines – were first born in research laboratories. In 2020, for example, the rise of messenger RNA technology enabled the creation of a vaccine in less than a year after a virus emerged, whereas previously it took nearly ten years to develop one.
Today, faced with crises like climate change or pandemics, scientific innovation remains our best asset for developing solutions: clean energy, new medical treatments, sustainable materials… However, these potential answers remain invisible until they leave the laboratory. It often takes years of prototyping and validation for a discovery to become a concrete solution accessible to all.
Deeptech Startups: When Science Must Prove Its Market Value
This is where deeptech startups come into play. Their purpose: to transform a cutting-edge discovery into a viable product or service. By definition, a deeptech startup aims for the successful economic exploitation of an innovative scientific advancement, bridging the gap from laboratory to market. However, proving an invention’s value outside the academic framework is a genuine challenge. The innovation must confront technical realities (industrialization, reliability) and economic terrain (customer needs, costs, competition). Many projects fail due to lack of funding or a suitable environment to transition from prototype to finished product.
In recent years, an ecosystem has formed to support these applied science adventurers. Incubators, accelerators, and specialized funds – both public and private – help reduce risks and time-to-market. In France, the Deeptech Plan launched in 2019 accelerated this movement by funding the maturation of technologies from laboratories.
As a result, France now has nearly 2,600 active deeptech startups, supported by rapidly increasing funding (€4.1 billion raised in 2023). This growth demonstrates the strengthening bridge between research and industry. Launching a deeptech remains a long-term journey, but some young companies manage to cross the threshold and integrate into our daily lives. Let’s look at some examples where science has transformed into concrete solutions.
Scientific Innovation: An Invisible Revolution
The story of Crusoé, a new kind of mosquito repellent spray, shows how a scientific idea results in an everyday product. Researcher Claude Grison, specializing in bio-inspired chemistry, developed a 100% natural repellent against tiger mosquitoes. Her formula, named Crusoé, proved 90% effective in laboratory tests (compared to 55% for the reference molecule, DEET). With support from the startup studio TechnoFounders, this laboratory innovation became a certified product sold in pharmacies – more than 400,000 bottles have already been sold. A sustainable solution, without synthetic pesticides, born from science and now serving everyone.
Transforming laboratory discoveries into everyday solutions requires patience, vision, and an ecosystem that nurtures innovation from concept to market.
Another success, UV Boosting tackles the reduction of phytosanitary products through light. This startup has developed machines equipped with UV-C lamps that stimulate plants’ natural defenses, making vineyard crops, for example, more resistant to disease. Result: up to 50% to 100% of fungicides can be avoided on certain crops thanks to this process, without yield loss for the farmer. After seven years of R&D, the technology is now deployed in vineyards and vegetable farms and has attracted industry interest (the giant Kubota even invested in the company). By replacing chemical inputs with a simple UV flash, this innovation from a biophysics laboratory provides a concrete response to the challenge of sustainable agriculture.
In healthcare, Plasana Medical also illustrates the power of deeptech to bring new tools to caregivers. The startup applies cold plasma (a weakly ionized gas) to treat chronic wounds. This technology, developed at École Polytechnique, eliminates pathogens while stimulating tissue healing. Plasana is developing a promising portable device for treating ulcers and wounds that heal poorly – proof that a scientific advance can lead to a novel medical tool.
These stories show that when science meets a favorable ecosystem and a clear use case, it can provide concrete societal solutions. Long invisible, specialized knowledge eventually translates into tangible products – and this is how scientific innovation will continue to improve our lives in the face of tomorrow’s challenges.
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