Inauguration of the Renovated Hydropolis La Valette Facility: Joining Forces to Pursue Water-Related Research

The Hydropolis Project: Actors and Objectives 

Pierre-André Durand, Prefect for the Occitanie region and the département of Haute-Garonne, Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie Regional Council, Philippe Mauguin, CEO of INRAE, and Valérie Verdier, Chairwoman and CEO of IRD, were present to inaugurate the new Hydropolis La Valette buildings alongside Laurent Buisson, Managing Director of AgroParisTech, Catherine Lagneau, Chairwoman and CEO of BRGM, Élisabeth Claverie de Saint Martin, Chairwoman and CEO of Cirad, Anne-Lucie Wack, Managing Director of Institut Agro, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, Eric Servat, Director of the UNESCO ICIREWARD International Center, and Sophie Béjean, Head of the Occitanie Regional Education Authority and the Montpellier Education Authority. 

This ambitious project aims to bring together water research capabilities on two sites:

• The Pharmacy Campus site, focused on the characterization of water resources, contaminants, and their impact on health.
• The La Valette Campus site, specialized in interdisciplinary and participatory research into integrated and adaptive water management. 

For a total of over 5,000 m² (53,000 sq. ft.) of usable surface area and enough room for over 300 people.

The La Valette site was renovated to enable the development of research in partnership with companies, public-sector partners, and non-profits. The research themes cover:

• Technologies and tools for controlling the use of irrigation;
• Adapting to risks (droughts, flooding); 
• Governance of water and land, and offering guidance to those involved in water management.

In addition to giving research teams buildings that are energy efficient and comply with environmental standards, these renovated facilities will make it possible to:

• Develop large-scale technological projects in association with companies working closely with researchers; 
• Deploy new social experiments to validate methodological developments in the social sphere; 
• Expand activities to design and assess tools for the implementation of innovative public policies; 
• Support interdisciplinary education for students on water-related subjects in France and abroad.

The Hydropolis La Valette and Hydropolis Pharmacy campus sites will also contribute to the work done in relation to the Aqua-Valley cluster, the “Key Challenges” financed by the Occitanie Regional Council (Water Occitanie and Vinid’Occ), and the MedVallée initiative, undertaken with support from the Greater Montpellier Council, the Regional Council, and the national government. 

Support and Funding 

Hydropolis also received substantial support from the Occitanie Regional Council for both projects—the Pharmacy and La Vallette Campuses—undertaken in the context of the 2015-2020 National-Regional Planning Contract (Contrat de projet État-Région, or CPER). As the primary source of funding, it contributed over €12 million (from the CPER and the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund), out of a total of over €13 million. This interest is due in large part to the fact that water is a strategic regional issue for the Region, which passed a specific plan last July that established a roadmap for the period extending to 2030, the aim of which is to act in response to the climate emergency and reinforce the Region’s commitment to sustainable water management. 

Hydropolis La Valette: 
Total Cost: €4.4 million
Region – CPER (€3.14 million)
Region – ERDF (€0.73 million)
National Gov’t: INRAE (€0.29 million) – IRD (€0.23 million)    

Hydropolis Pharmacy: 
Total Cost: €8.61 million
Region – CPER (€7.43 million)
Region – ERDF (€1.18 million)