In November 2024, Ecollant, which became REC in late 2025, took part in Créer Demain in Dijon for the fourth consecutive year, before continuing the day at the French Tech Night. These two events provided an opportunity to reconnect with our regional innovation ecosystem, share the progress of our project and discuss the challenges surrounding innovation and industrial development.
Créer Demain 2024: Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
On 28 November 2024, we attended Créer Demain, held that year at Polytech Dijon. For Ecollant, now REC, this event had become a key date in the calendar. For the fourth consecutive year, we joined entrepreneurs, project leaders, industrial companies and economic stakeholders from Burgundy-Franche-Comté for a day dedicated to innovation. Créer Demain is much more than a professional event. It is a true hub for ideas, meetings and exchanges among those contributing to the development of new solutions and new economic models across the region.
The 2024 edition focused on a particularly topical theme:
“Exploring Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
The theme provided an opportunity to discuss the transformations brought about by AI within companies, as well as broader new approaches to innovation, project development and economic and industrial transformation.
Reconnecting with our innovation ecosystem
What makes these events particularly important for REC is also the opportunity to reconnect with the stakeholders who have supported our journey since the very beginning. We were delighted to meet again with several partners and members of our regional innovation ecosystem, including:
- DECA-BFC;
- AER BFC;
- Bpifrance;
- ADEME.
These organisations have contributed to supporting and developing our project at different stages of its journey. For an industrial Deeptech company, this ecosystem plays an essential role. Developing a breakthrough technology requires much more than simply developing an innovation: it requires scientific and technical expertise, dedicated support programmes, industrial partners, funding and a network capable of helping a project progress through its different stages of development.
From incubation to industrial scale-up
These events are also an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on how far we have come. When the project began under the name Ecollant, we were in the incubation and technology development phase. Since then, the project has evolved considerably.
Founded in 2019 in Auxerre as Ecollant, the company became REC in 2026 and is now based in Joigny.
This evolution reflects a change in scale: after the initial years dedicated to research, development and technology validation, REC is now pursuing the industrialisation of polyamide recycling from complex textiles and materials.
Meeting other regional project leaders who are also navigating the different stages of development is therefore particularly valuable. We can share our experiences, challenges, progress and perspectives, while also taking stock of how far we have come since leaving the incubation phase.
Sharing our progress and projects
Créer Demain is also a valuable opportunity to share updates on our project. In 2024, we were able to discuss the progress of our work on textile recycling and nylon transformation.
Our ambition is to develop a technology capable of recovering polyamide from complex textiles, particularly when it is combined with other fibers such as elastane. The goal is to transform difficult-to-recycle waste into recycled raw material that can be reintroduced into new industrial applications. Since our participation in Créer Demain, this ambition has continued to progress through the industrial development of REC in Joigny.
Discover REC’s industrial ambitions
French Tech Night: reconnecting with those driving innovation in Burgundy-Franche-Comté
The day continued with the French Tech Night, an invitation-only event that allowed us to extend the discussions in a more informal setting. The evening had a particular significance for us as it brought us back into the world of our own French Tech accreditation. We were particularly pleased to reconnect with the start-up founders from AuxR Lab, our “home” and the place where our project first took shape. Meeting again with those who shared the early stages of our journey is always a special moment.
The evening also gave us the opportunity to meet many stakeholders involved in the region’s economic and technological development, including Nicolas Soret, as well as numerous entrepreneurs and members of the French Tech ecosystem.
Celebrating start-ups and regional innovation
The French Tech Night also provided an opportunity to highlight the region’s most ambitious start-ups and celebrate the 2024 French Tech BFC award winners. These initiatives demonstrate the vitality of the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and the diversity of projects emerging across Burgundy-Franche-Comté. For an industrial Deeptech company such as REC, being part of this environment is particularly stimulating.
The innovations developed across the region address very different challenges, but they often share the same underlying issues: turning an idea or technology into a concrete solution, finding the right partners, financing the different stages of development and successfully scaling up.
From Dijon to Joigny: the journey continues
In 2024, Ecollant returned to Dijon to share its journey and latest developments. In 2026, the company has become REC and is continuing its industrial development from Joigny, in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. This change in scale does not mean turning the page on our regional history. Quite the opposite: the stakeholders who supported us during the early stages of our project remain an integral part of this journey.
Dijon and AuxR Lab were among the places where our project first began to take shape. Joigny now represents a new stage in our industrialisation journey.
And the journey continues.
Thank you to our ecosystem
A huge thank you to the organisers of Créer Demain and the French Tech Night, as well as to everyone helping to build and strengthen the innovation ecosystem in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Thank you also to DECA-BFC, AER BFC, Bpifrance, ADEME, AuxR Lab and to all the partners and entrepreneurs we have met throughout this journey. We leave these events with new connections, new ideas and, above all, an even stronger conviction:
Great innovations are rarely built alone. They move forward thanks to the people who surround them.
See you soon for the next chapter of the REC journey.
