Régis Combaluzier, the new head of EDF Pulse Incubation, talks to us about his objectives and vision for the incubator within the EDF Group.
You are the new Director of EDF Pulse Incubation. What motivated you to take up this position?
Innovation is a fascinating and varied field that moves very fast and where we learn every day. I've been working in this sector for many years, having started at EDEV before joining the Innovation and Pulse Programmes Department (DIPP).
Over the course of my career, I've been lucky enough to hold directorships in several Group subsidiaries and to manage a portfolio of investment funds. This varied experience gives me a global perspective on what works and what doesn't, so that I can provide start-ups with the best possible support.
What's more, these different positions have given me the opportunity to meet many passionate, committed people who are full of ideas. I wanted to be part of that energy and those ideas, and to help turn them into concrete projects. This job gives me the opportunity to put my experience to good use in the Pulse Incubation programme.
What are the programme's priority themes over the next few months?
The ideal situation for an incubator is, of course, to find an idea and a project owner at the same time. But that's not always possible.
It's important to remember that we meet a lot of employees who want to embark on the intrapreneurial adventure, sometimes without having an idea for a project to incubate. In this case, we are looking for motivated employees to take on the project and live the entrepreneurial experience.
At the same time, the DIPP explores innovation issues around the major strategic themes for the Group linked to ‘Ambitions 2035’: electrification of uses, decarbonisation, flexibility, etc. It can also take on issues of a more general nature. It can also take on more specific subjects that are part of EDF's raison d'être. Depending on the case, this can give rise to minority investments in start-ups outside the Group by Pulse Ventures, to industrial demonstrator projects by Pulse Pilot or, lastly - and this is what motivates me - to project incubation opportunities when the Group has assets or skills, or when the activity has a strategic dimension.
What challenges will the incubator face in 2025?
First of all, I think it's important to point out that the incubator has come a long way since it was set up in 2017. It has become much more professional and structured. It's a programme we can be very proud of when we compare it with the incubators and accelerators of other major groups. EDF stood out by winning a special prize at the Corporate Startup Stars organised in Paris by the International Chamber of Commerce last December. The award recognises the company's practice of developing new businesses from projects led by Group employees.
Based on my experience in start-ups, I remain convinced that we are always stronger when we work together and, above all, more effective. So for 2025, I'd like to see an incubator that's even more outward-looking, by imagining collaborations with other incubators or large companies. Eventually, why not create a start-up jointly with an external partner? The advantage of working with partners is that they bring technical expertise that complements the Group's own and give us access to different customers.
The other challenge facing the incubator is to continue to find new ideas and new project leaders. Indeed, by definition, intrapreneurship and incubation are built with the ideas and employees of the Group. That's why I'm calling on all Group employees to share their ideas, whether with their innovation coordinators or directly with the incubator (edfpulseincubation@edf.fr).
Come and meet our team! Nikoletta Belkheiri and Vincent Vidal will be delighted to help you turn your idea into a solid business project.
About Régis Combaluzier
Régis Combaluzier has always been attracted to the world of finance: ‘I read a finance book like a novel’. It was an obvious choice for him to go down this path, where common sense and experience are essential.
After graduating from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Montpellier, Régis Combaluzier joined EDF's Finance Department as a market operator, then as a project manager, where he led the acquisition of generation assets at Rybnik in Poland, as well as the financing of several combined cycle projects in Mexico. Throughout his career, he has worked in various Finance Departments at EDF, ENEDIS and EDEV, until joining the Innovation and Pulse Programmes Department in 2017, where he has managed a portfolio of 21 investment funds and around thirty start-ups. On a day-to-day basis, he monitors investments and the execution of deals: ‘I work my way up the chain, going back to the source and therefore to incubation’.
Régis Combaluzier has had the opportunity to follow all the life cycles of a start-up, from acquisition through to sale (and sometimes closure), via the development phase, which in his view are important parameters to bear in mind when launching a business. He will now be able to put his expertise to good use in his new role as Director of EDF Pulse Incubation.