Provence Promotion begins its Prospective mission in the United States

A multi-faceted business trip in terms of objectives and destinations

This year begins under the sign of perseverance and commitment as meetings, business appointments and other presentations to promote Provence to American investors are maintained. First of all, Provence Promotion's team is attending the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas with the support of the delegation of companies from the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, exhibiting in the South Region pavilion. Secondly, the team will embark on a roadshow of major industrial port cities and hold joint meetings with the Port of Marseille Fos.

The CES, the world's largest tech show, takes place in Las Vegas from the 5th  to 7th of January 2022. In view of the health situation, the organisers have decided to close the event one day earlier, but for the participants who have confirmed their participation in person, these two days remain a unique opportunity to make their products and technologies known. The South Region, the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis and several other economic actors of the territory are present, alongside many start-ups that have been preparing for several weeks to pitch their solutions and demonstrate their talents.

Among these start-ups, Cearitis, which left Paris last spring to set up in the Technology cleantech hub Arbois, is presenting its innovative "Pira" device designed for farmers to fight crop pests such as fruit flies in an ecological way. This Aggrotech, helped by Provence Promotion during its installation in Provence, is representative of the Provencal delegation and more broadly of the French turn toward the ecological transition through innovations concerned with offering sustainable solutions in any field: agriculture, mobility, energy, health, etc... 130 people is attending the event, compared to the 140 initially planned. A great mobilization from the French Tech actors who constitute the 1st international delegation after the United States.

The London-based start-up xRapid, which set up its R&D center in Aix-en-Provence following the Brexit announcement in 2016, is also at CES. With its blood diagnostic device, xRBlood, an innovation that  already received two awards at previous editions.

Utah and its partnerships

Provence Promotion will then travel to Utah to meet several energy and logistics players, including the authorities of the Utah Inland Port in Salt Lake City, the largest under construction in the United States. The discussions will focus on the supply chain and a shared vision to make it greener through more sustainable energy and the optimization of goods flows. "As part of our influence strategy, we will be meeting with Utah companies specializing in reducing the environmental impact of logistics and energy activities," explains Christophe Perez, director of business development for Provence Promotion, who is also closely following another partnership with students from the University of Utah. The results of their work on the identification of growing environmental industries such as in CO2 recovery, plastic recycling, biofuels, hydrogen energy storage and much more will be the culmination of a year of collaboration to refine the strategy and targets for Provence. A meeting with Utah's economic authorities will be an opportunity to address the issue of accelerating FDI flows between the two territories.

Provence strengthens its port authorities relations

After meeting the Port of New York/New Jersey in December 2021 during a trip to the East Coast of the United States, Provence Promotion and the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) have jointly approached the ports of the Mid-West and West Coast.

These new relationships with Utah, Houston, San Diego and Long Beach should enable a new dialogue on subjects of common interest such as the Smart Port with San Diego or the preparation of the post-oil era with Houston. "The GPMM and Provence Promotion will be received by the three port authorities and several meetings are also scheduled with major groups with the aim of presenting investment opportunities with an international outlook. In total, some twenty meetings are on the agenda for this mission," said Bernard Deflesselles, President of Provence Promotion, who will lead the mission with Christine Rosso, Director of Development for the Port of Marseille Fos, Christophe Perez, Director of Business Development, and Nicolas Cambazard, Industry Manager at Provence Promotion. A strong start for the promotion of the innovations in Provence and for meeting with American companies detected for their international development projects.