Naval Group, Inria and Simula sign partnership cooperation agreement

Naval Group, Inria and Simula Research Laboratory have signed on June 5th a partnership cooperation agreement. The signature was hosted by Innovation Norway, Norway’s official Trade and Investment Promotion Organisation, at the Norwegian Club of Paris.

The agreement lay the foundation for cooperation on advanced research and innovation in key digital and maritime defense technologies. The cooperation will include areas like communication systems and digital transformation, all highly important for modern naval capabilities.

For Naval Group, the collaboration is part of a broader effort to deepen cooperation with trusted research institutions to support the technological needs of the Royal Norwegian Navy and allied forces.

“This agreement reflects a shared commitment to excel in digital innovation and national security,” said Sébastien Rousset, Director of Artificial Intelligence at Naval Group. “Inria and Simula bring unique strengths in scientific research, and we are proud to work with them on solutions that benefit not only Naval Group but also our partners in Norway and Europe.”

Inria, which is the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology, plays a pivotal national role in advancing digital science and supporting defense and security policy. Since January 2024, it has led the Program Agency for Digital Technologies, with a growing emphasis on contributing its scientific expertise and digital capabilities to national defense and security stakeholders. “This agreement is fully aligned with our strategic partnerships, respectively with Naval Group and Simula. Together with Naval Group and Simula, we aim to accelerate digital technologies that serve both our national interests and the European defense ecosystem” said, Bruno Sportisse, Chairman and CEO of Inria.

Simula, owned by the Norwegian government, is a renowned institution for digital research with a mandate to address societal and industrial challenges through science, innovation, and educating next generation experts. Its research in several technology areas is of high relevance to defense and security applications, making Simula a natural partner for Naval Group. “This collaboration gives us the opportunity to further our research contributions within the maritime and national defense sectors. We look forward to collaborating with Naval Group and our long-standing research partners at Inria to jointly pursue research and innovation that benefit society » said Lillian Røstad, CEO of Simula Research Laboratory.

Sigrun Daireaux, Director France of Innovation Norway, added: " Innovation Norway and Team Norway support and promote French-Norwegian industrial and commercial cooperation. France and Norway have a long-standing history of joint industrial development, and a great potential for future cooperations. We are therefore proud to host this Cooperation Agreement's signature between leading players in the field of digitalization and maritime research".