The Covid-19 health crisis shed light on the need to manage and purify air. Several French firms are already doing very well in that sector, including Natéo Santé, a very small company in the Loire-Atlantique region. Used in both hospitals and other public spaces like offices, day-care centers and shops, the air purifiers the company sells were in great demand in China early in the pandemic.

Another company in the same field, Calistair, which was founded in Brittany but is now Franco-German, manufactures innovative solutions for decontaminating indoor air by trapping and destroying gasses, bacteria (like staphylococcus), chemical pollutants and viruses. Their recently launched C300 mobile air purifier is said to eliminate 99.4% of the coronavirus. A key argument at a time when businesses are eager to bring staff back to in-person work.

Detecting pollution and purifying indoor air

Another example of “Made in France” production, Partnering Robotics, a French deep-tech firm seen as a future unicorn by the European Commission, has developed a range of static and mobile robots designed both to detect pollution and purify indoor air.

The coronavirus alone does not explain the demand for treating and purifying the air. On average, the air in offices is said to be eight times more polluted than outdoor air. That is largely due to formaldehydes, organic compounds found in cleaning products, the phtalates contained in PVC flooring and to particles released by computers and photocopiers.