42 business R&D in new materials and nanotechnology

In 2014, 20% of firms in France that carried out R&D in-house incurred R&D expenditure in the fields of new materials or nanotechnology. Overall research expenditure in these two fields was €3.6 billion in 2014, or 11.7% of total BERD.

In 2014, 21% of firms in France that carried out R&D in-house incurred R&D expenditure in the fields of new materials or nanotechnology. Overall research expenditure in these two fields was €3.6 billion in 2014, or 11.7% of total BERD (business enterprise intramural expenditure on R&D). This amount is stable compared to 2013 when it stood at €3.5 billion, after a strong increase in previous years.

In 2014, 18% of R&D firms were involved in research into new materials (table 42.01). The total R&D expenditure on new materials was €2.8 billion for 2014, accounting for a quarter of all intramural business enterprise expenditure on R&D (BERD). When expenditure is broken down by industrial branch, the automotive industry (15% of all R&D expenditure devoted to this field) is now ahead of the chemical (14%) (chart 42.02).

In 2014, 3.2% of R&D firms were involved in research into nanotechnology totalling €800 million, or 2.6% of all BERD (chart 42.02).

In 2014, three fifth of expenditure on nanotechnology research (60%) was devoted to the ‘Manufacture of electronic components and boards, computers and peripheral equipment’ research branch. This share rises sharply over the last year: it was only 55% in 2013.

There are relatively few small businesses active in the field of new materials: in 2014, only 30% had less than 20 employees, compared to 49% for all R&D companies (chart 42.03). Furthermore, 52% of companies active in new materials had at least 50 employees, compared to 32% of all R&D companies and 39% of companies active in nanotechnology

Comparatively, in nanotechnology, more small businesses spend money on R&D. In 2014, 61% of companies active in R&D had fewer than 50 employees. The proportion of companies in this personnel band was significantly the same in France as in South Korea (60%) and Finland (59% in 2013). By contrast, this category was more strongly represented in Germany, where 75% of companies active in nanotechnology had fewer than 50 employees (2012 data) and the United States (69%).

Companies dedicated to these two fields are, on average, smaller structures than R&D companies as a whole (220 people for companies dedicated to new materials and 60 people for companies dedicated to nanotechnology, compared to 240 people for all R&D companies).

Companies dedicated to new materials represented around 8% of all R&D companies. They devoted nearly all their BERD, i.e. €1.6 billion in 2014, to new materials. Companies dedicated to nanotechnology represented very few of all R&D companies (0.9%). They also devoted nearly all their BERD, i.e. a little under €0.2 billion in 2014, to nanotechnology.

Stéphane Montenache