5. Financial engineering for innovation projects

The particularity of innovation is that it leads to uncertain, even unexpected results, which can significantly alter the planned financing. We know from experience that many innovation projects have led to revisions in expenditure that can considerably increase the cost originally planned. We also know that failure is common, and that it is sometimes necessary to stop the project in midstream due to a lock that cannot be lifted, resulting in a loss for the company, as the expenses incurred for the project will not be reimbursed by future revenues.

As a result, it is often necessary to proceed in stages, rather than launching an ambitious, high-risk project without first having staked out the progress of the work so as to be able to revise the financing estimate. Public financing mechanisms provide for different ways of funding projects, depending on their degree...