Grenoble Alpes Métropole

AN ALPINE METROPOLIS
Grenoble-Alpes Métropole is the largest European conurbation located in the heart of the Alpine massif. At the crossroads of France, Switzerland and Italy, it enjoys a privileged location in the heart of the Rhône-Alpes region, one of the most prosperous and dynamic in Europe.

 It is the eleventh largest city in France and the second largest in Rhône-Alpes. Its economic dynamism and the potential of its research centres make it an extremely attractive territory for many French and international companies, which have set up their headquarters or R&D (research and development) centres here.

 Between the massifs of Belledonne, Vercors, Chartreuse and Oisans, the Alpine metropolis has an exceptional mountain environment that offers a wide range of leisure activities, both in winter and summer.

INNOVATION, RESEARCH, HIGHER EDUCATION... THE ASSETS OF THE GRENOBLE METROPOLIS
The Grenoble region, a land of excellence and innovation. It is our trademark and the economic heating heart of the Metropolis. For more than 150 years, the men and women of this territory have invented a unique model, based on the close links between university amphitheatres, company workshops, research centre laboratories and community hemicycles. There are many successes, and the model continues.

 A few figures:

 2nd French research centre
1st most attractive French city for students (L'Etudiant Mag, 2016).
5th most innovative city in the world (Forbes, 2013)
5 major European research facilities: ILL (Laue Langevin Institute), EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory), ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility), LNCMI (Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Intenses), IRAM (Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique)
23,500 public and private researchers
It is the result of a history, that of an ecosystem in which scientists, entrepreneurs and elected officials have forged close relations in the service of the same ambition of development and fulfilment through innovation, excellence and also quality of life.

THE METROPOLIS OF THE ENERGY TRANSITION
Here more than anywhere else, the reality of global warming is a daily reality. More than anywhere else, because alpine ecosystems are more sensitive than others. The consequences are more visible, and the changes are faster. This, combined with the exceptional location of an urban area nestled in the heart of the mountains, in permanent contact with a majestic natural landscape, has endowed the inhabitants of the Grenoble area with a particular environmental sensitivity.

In 2004, the Grenoble metropolitan area was the first French conurbation to adopt a Climate Plan, a kind of first roadmap for the energy transition. Since then, through all its policies, and now with new levers of action thanks to its status as a metropolis, it has constantly innovated to make the challenge of the energy transition more concrete.

But this challenge is not being met alone: the Grenoble area is rich in resources and actors. Its economic history is based on renewable energy sources: it was the invention of "white coal" - hydroelectricity - that led to the development of the Grenoble region, but also to the development of the famous "Grenoble model": a unique model, based on the close links between universities, companies, laboratories and local authorities.

Since then, the energy sector has always remained strong here and has encouraged trade and the improvement of this model. The basin is home to major national and international energy players, but also to an incredible network of start-ups working on digitalisation and energy transition, a competitiveness cluster, Tenerrdis, with 200 members, which combines the innovations of all these players; a leading university system, which addresses the issue of energy transition in all its disciplines... Not to mention citizen mobilization, particularly around a very rich network of associations.