Safran launches construction on a new research and development centre in Valence

Valence, France, October 9, 2019

Safran Electronics & Defense announced the start of construction work on its future studies and research centre in Valence during a ceremony attended by a number of councillors of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Focusing exclusively on Research & Development (R&D), the centre will concentrate its work on developing more electric aircraft and new technologies for highly integrated electronics. Its research will target all large-scale aviation, space and defence programmes in France and abroad. These are sectors in which Safran Electronics & Defense operates as an equipment manufacturer or contractor. Safran will be concentrating a significant proportion of its resources for electric control systems and technologies for integration and electronic assembly in harsh environments, both regarded as strategic, here in Valence.

Launched in 2017, the project has been managed in close concertation with local authorities. The centre of some 4,500 square meters (48,450 sq ft), which will be built on a one-and-a-half-acre site in Châteauneuf sur Isère, represents an investment of over 20 million euros. With 500 m² of clean rooms and almost one third of the surface of this building dedicated to high-tech electronic laboratories, this new center will have significant resources to meet the challenges of more electric aircraft. Early in 2021 the new, larger, more modern and more environmentally responsible centre will open its doors to research teams and resources currently housed at the Safran Electronics & Defense plant in Valence. Within the Rovaltain business park, this center will have quick and easy access to major cities thanks to the vicinity of the TGV station.

“Safran continues to grow and is strengthening its position both in France and worldwide. In Valence, where Safran employs 130 people, we are consolidating our R&D activity to increase our competitiveness in complex technologies and to prepare for the future. Safran is demonstrating, once again, that technological differentiation is at the heart of its strategy. This is what enables Safran to establish itself as a major player in all its business sectors,” said Jean-Paul Trabis, Director of Engineering at Safran Electronics & Defense.