Two years ago, Lines Manufacturing stepped onto the stage of the Grand Prix ACF AutoTech as a finalist — and left as a winner. This spring, our CEO Niels Pernoux was invited back, not as a contestant, but as a former laureate, to share his experience with the next generation of French deeptech founders.
Participating in the Grand Prix ACF in 2023 was a defining moment for Lines Manufacturing. The competition brought us face-to-face with some of the most respected voices in the French mobility and automotive ecosystem, and winning gave our team a powerful signal of external validation. Being invited back in 2025 to be part of that journey for new candidates felt like a natural continuation.
In an exclusive video interview filmed on site at the Automobile Club de France in Paris, Niels answered questions about the competition experience — what the preparation process looks like, how to present a deeptech product to a generalist jury, and what the award has meant for Lines since 2023.
When asked what advice he would give to future applicants, Niels was candid: "Don't just show the technology — show the real-world problem it solves, and who needs it." A jury of industry experts wants to understand market impact, not just technical elegance. Being able to articulate scale, reproducibility, and industrial adoption in plain terms is what makes the difference.
He also emphasized the importance of preparation: "The Grand Prix ACF is rigorous. You will be questioned on your assumptions, your roadmap, your competitive landscape. Treat it like a due diligence process, and you'll come out stronger — win or lose."
The 2023 Grand Prix ACF award opened doors that are hard to open through cold outreach alone. It gave Lines Manufacturing immediate credibility within the automotive and mobility ecosystem — accelerating conversations with major OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers who might otherwise have needed more time to discover us. It also strengthened our media visibility and reinforced our positioning as a French deeptech leader in large-scale additive manufacturing.
Beyond business impact, Niels noted the human dimension: "Being recognized by your peers in the industry — people who understand the difficulty of what you're building — is genuinely motivating for the whole team."
▶ The full video interview with Niels is embedded below. Whether you're a founder preparing your application, an industry professional curious about the Grand Prix ACF ecosystem, or simply interested in Lines' story — we hope it gives you a useful, honest perspective on what it takes to build and validate a deeptech company in France.
We'd like to thank the Automobile Club de France for the invitation and for continuing to champion innovation in mobility and sustainable manufacturing.
