French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission

TheFrench Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission,orCEA(French:Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. The CEA maintains a cross-disciplinary culture of engineers and researchers, building on the synergies between fundamental and technological research.

French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission

Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives
Agency overview
Formed	18 October 1945(1945-10-18)byCharles de Gaulle
Preceding agency	Commissariat à l'énergie atomique
Headquarters	ParisandGif-sur-Yvette,France
Employees	21,000+ (2022)
Annual budget	€5.8 billion(2022)
Agency executives	François Jacq,General administrator Patrick Landais,High Commissioner for Atomic Energy
Website	cea.fr(en)

CEA is headed by a board headed by the general administrator (currentlyFrançois Jacqsince 20 April 2018), advised by the high-commissioner for atomic energy (currentlyPatrick Landais). Its yearly budget amounts to €5.8 billion and its permanent staff is slightly over 21,000 persons.

History

CEA was created in 1945; since then, the successive high-commissioners have beenFrédéric Joliot-Curie,Francis Perrin,Jacques Yvon,Jean Teillac,Raoul Dautry,René Pellat,Bernard Bigot,Catherine Cesarsky,Daniel Verwaerde,andFrançois Jacq.

In December 2009, French PresidentNicolas Sarkozydeclaredthat CEA should change its name fromCommissariat à l’énergie atomique(English:Commission for Atomic Energy) toCommissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives(English:Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies); this change took effect on 10 March 2010, when the decision was published in theJournal officiel de la République française.

Research

It conducts fundamental and applied research into many areas, including the design ofnuclear reactors,the manufacturing ofintegrated circuits,the use ofradionucleidesfor curing illnesses,seismologyandtsunamipropagation, the safety ofcomputerized systems,etc.

It has one of thetop 100supercomputersin the world, theTera-100.TERA 100, first system designed and built in Europe to reach the petaflops in 2010, was ranked in 5th position in the worldwide TOP 500.CEA is now building TERA-1000 which is a key step in the implementation of theirExascaleprogram for the computing needs that CEA would face by 2020.

In March 2016,Reuterspublished an article describing the "Top 25 Global Innovators – Government"and placed CEA as "number one" amongst "The World's Most Innovative Research Institutions."

Organisation

CEA is divided into fourdirectorates,or divisions:

Energies division (DES)

Thedirection des énergies(DES) comprises four institutes:

• Institut de recherche sur les systèmes nucléaires pour la production d’énergie bas carbone (IRESNE), inCadarache
• Institut des sciences et technologies pour une économie circulaire des énergies bas carbone (ISEC), in Marcoule
• Institut des sciences appliquées et de la simulation pour les énergies bas carbone (ISAS), inCEA Saclay
• Institut de technico-économie des systèmes énergétiques (ITESE or I-Tésé)

Technological research division (DRT)

Thedirection de la recherche technologique(DRT), known also as CEA Techdivision, is divided between two CEA sites, at Saclay and Grenoble. CEA Tech focuses on technological research and development in the field of energy, IT (both hardware and software) and healthcare informatics. It plays an active role in transferring knowledge and research to industry.

The CEA Tech division is further divided into three research institutes:

• TheCEA-Letilab works mainly on micro/nano technologies and specializes in microsystems, biotech, photonics and nanoelectronics. It is located mainly in Grenoble, France.
• TheCEA-Listlab works mainly on systems and software-intensive technology and specializes in embedded systems, sensors and big data, and advanced manufacturing. It is located mainly in Paris-Saclay, France.
• TheCEA-Litenlab works mainly on cutting edge technologies related to energy andnanomaterials.It specializes in building solar, carbon-free transports, biomass-hydrogen and nano materials-nanotechnologies.

The current director of DRT since january 2023 is Julie Galland.

Fundamental research division (DRF)

Thedirection de la recherche fondamentale(DRF) consists of 9 institutes:

• Institut de biologie François Jacob (JACOB) in CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses
• Institut des sciences du vivant Frédéric Joliot (JOLIOT) inCEA Saclay
• Institut Rayonnement-Matière de Saclay (IRAMIS) inCEA Saclay
• Institut de recherche sur les lois fondamentales de l'Univers(Irfu) inCEA Saclay
• Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement(LSCE) inCEA Saclay
• Institut de recherche interdisciplinaire de Grenoble (IRIG) inCEA Grenoble
• Institut de physique théorique(IPhT) inCEA Saclay
• Institut de Recherche sur la Fusion par confinement Magnétique (IRFM) inCadarache
• Institut de Biosciences et de Biotechnologies d'Aix-Marseille (BIAM) inCadarache

The current DRF director since 2 november 2019 is Elsa Cortijo.

Military applications division (DAM)

Thedirection des applications militaires(DAM) builds the nuclear weapons of theFrench militaryand designs the power plants for the nuclear submarines of theFrench Navy.

Facilities

Civilian research centres

• CEA Saclay,Essonne(48.725135°N 2.150346°E/48.725135; 2.150346,headquarters since 2006) and the associated National LaboratoryGANILatCaen-Calvados
• CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses,Fontenay-aux-Roses,Hauts-de-Seine
• CEA Grenoble,Grenoble(Polygone Scientifique),Isère
• CEA Cadarache,Cadarache,Bouches-du-Rhône
• CEA Valrhô,MarcouleandPierrelatte,Gard

Civilian emergency organizations

• Groupe INTRA

Research centres for military applications

The sites of the DAM include:

• CEA DAM Île-de-France (DIF),Bruyères-le-Châtel,Essonne
• CEA Valduc,Côte-d'Or
• INBS PN CADARACHE, inCadarache
• CEA Cesta,Gironde
• CEA Gramat
• CEA Le Ripault,Indre-et-Loire

Spin-off companies

CEA has spun off multiple companies, some being partial subsidiaries or where CEA has minority interest. Some such companies are listed below:

• Orano
• STMicroelectronics
• Soitec
• LYNRED(formerly Sofradir)
• It ownedAreva
• Kalray

CEA in Academics

University of Paris-Saclay

CEA has played an active role in research, development and innovation in the four main areas of low-carbon energies (nuclear and renewable), technologies for information and health technologies, very large research infrastructures (TGIR), and defense and global security.

Moreover, two of the ten CEA centers across France have joined with theUniversity of Paris-Saclayto develop high quality research and training. The centers which form a part of the University of Paris-Saclay include:

• CEA Saclay Center,which conducts research mainly in areas related to climate and environment, materials science, nuclear energy, life sciences and technological research
• CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses Center,which conducts research and innovation in areas related to imaging and biomedical technologies

(Since 2017, these two centers merged intoCEA Paris-Saclaycenter, and are now referred to as sites in that center.)

The CEA researchers involved in the University of Paris-Saclay represent over 20% of the university's research potential, particularly in the field of physics and engineering. CEA maintains a strong presence in training to master and engineer level by administeringINSTN,wherein various courses are taught by its researchers.

CEA has around 400 researchers who hold an accreditation to supervise research, making it a significant contributor to the research and doctoral programs of the University Paris-Saclay.

INSTN

The INSTN,Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires(National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology) is a public higher education institution administered by the CEA (French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission) under the joint authority of theMinistry of National Education,Higher Education and Research, theMinistry of the Economy,Industry and the Digital Sector and the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs.

Others

• Atos, ENS Paris-Saclay and CEA launched an academic partnership in 2016.

See also

• GANIL(laboratory shared between the CEA and the CNRS)
• Groupe INTRA
• Laser Mégajoule
• Pascal Elleaume

References

Bibliography

• Bertrand Goldschmidt,Le Complexe atomique: histoire politique de l’énergie nucléaire,Fayard, 1980
• Gabrielle Hecht,Le rayonnement de la France: Énergie nucléaire et identité nationale après la Seconde Guerre mondiale,La Découverte, 2004
• Marie-José Lovérini,L’Atome de la recherche à l’industrie: le Commissariat à l’énergie atomique,Gallimard, 1996
• Jean-François Picard, Alain Beltran et Martine Bungener,Histoire de l’EDF: comment se sont prises les décisions de 1946 à nos jours,Dunod, 1985