Drones Hub

The Drones’ Hub will strive to strengthen the dynamics of the Paris Region sectorial branch and accelerate its development while preserving its territorial anchorage.

To this end, it will mobilise all of its assets to fully play its role as an accelerator of innovation and economic development. It will also bring support for the creation of skilled jobs and contribute to the international reach of french pioneers in the sector.

The Drones’ Hub will manage the largest air space dedicated to drone operators in the Paris (Ile-de-France) region, as well as the administration of its building, intended to be a place of business incubation and work spaces for its members.

The Paris (Ile-de-France) region has the potential to make a major contribution to the development of the drone industry in France. Indeed, Paris Region (Ile-de-France) currently has more than 19% of registered drone operators and also has the largest numberof companies likely to use this technology.

The Drones’ Hub therefore wishes to consolidate and develop this potential to make the Paris (Ile-de-France) Region the leading region in the french drone sector. That said, its influence should not only be national. The Hub is aiming to raise its visibility internationally by increasing its members’ participation in the various worldwide calls for proposals that will help promote french innovation and know-how in the drone market.

The Drones’ Hub will benefit from the synergy of all Systematic Hubs and Stakes, which are all greatly interested in the potential of drones, and especially to give the Paris Region (Ile-de-France) sector the means to :

• strengthen France’s capacity for innovation in UAVs, in particular through collaborative R&D projects resulting from the creation of an ecosystem of excellence in the Paris Region;
• accelerate the transition towards industrial scale by offering an operational tool adapted to drone experiments and use cases;
• help French drone industry champions emerge by facilitating their access to markets, particularly export markets;
• support public authorities in the validation and certification of UAV operations and help France maintain its position as a leading aerospace nation.

• Federate the drone ecosystem around a vision of national and European construction
• Ensure the Hub’s leadership through promotional actions for the sector, via industry monitoring, promotion of skills and technologies, as well as animating the ecosystem through events
• Manage the development and operational implementation of the new test centre,
• Build a technological roadmap to bring out R&D projects and use cases (autonomous systems, cohabitation between drones and aircraft, propulsion of the future, anti-drone combat, embedded AI, 5G, etc.).
• Support competitiveness
• Facilitate access to funding

The Centre is located between Saint-Quentin en Yvelines (where there are two sports’ sites hosting world competitions and the site of the future 2024 Olympic Games, the “Commissariat du futur” site, and the “5G experimentation” site) and Brétigny sur Orge (requalification of the former airbase n°217, which was an objective of both the Region and the State to give it a major role in aeronautics through drones).

The initiative to create the CEDIF is supported by three main players: Thales, Eurocontrol and Systematic, with the aim of offering a complete platform to incubate, validate and industrialise all direct and indirect drone activities.

The ambition of the Centre of Excellence for Drones is threefold :

1. Territorial ambition :
   • To bring together on this site the first players in the emerging “Drone France” sector (manufacturers, engineering, fuel incl. hydrogen, maintenance, start-ups, associations, universities, etc.),
   • To generate activity and qualified jobs,
   • To effectively address the issue of nuisance and risks.
2. National ambition :
   • To position Paris-Region (Ile de France) as a national leader in the development of drone technologies and use cases that will be carried out by all players,
   • To support the development and integration of all technologies required for the growth of drone traffic,
   • To promote french technological know-how during the 2024 Olympic Games.
3. Pan-European ambition ::
   • To define and harmonise procedures and regulations,
   • To implement drone standards, traffic management systems and communication and surveillance solutions that facilitate market access for the various players.