9 Key figures

2017
CEA’s over
centres
600
in France
15
4,914
publications
industrial partners

64
in peer-review magazines

1 Headquarter 14

1,183
1 2 framework agreements
Civil research centres 2 in force with universities and
6 graduate colleges
2 Paris-Saclay doctoral students and

160
Fontenay-aux-Roses
and Saclay sites
13 7

30
8
3 Grenoble
4 Marcoule post-doctoral
5 Cadarache
researchers competitiveness clusters
at the CEA of which 17 are administered
12 3 by the CEA
Centres for military 9
10

422
applications

51
6 DAM Île-de-France 4
7 Le Ripault 11 5 european projects
8 Valduc including 194 FP7 projects research units
and 228 H2020 projects co-supervised by the CEA
9 Cesta
and academic partners
10 Gramat (45 UMR, 5 UMS, 1 USR)

Regional 762
16,979
technology-transfer
priority patents filed

The CEA
platforms
(the CEA holds fourth place
11 Toulouse in the National Institute of employees
12 Bordeaux Industrial Property (INPI) ranking
of public and private patent
13 Nantes

at the heart 9
applicants)
14 Metz
15 Lille
over centres

6,300
of great new patent families
in force 5
regional technology

challenges
transfer platforms

204
French atomic energy and
alternative energy Commission

5 billion €
91 191 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex
Startups
www.cea.fr created since 1972 in the field of
civil and defence
Cover: From left to right and top to bottom: Grid for nuclear fuel rod spacing - Emulator for a chip with 48 cores in six interconnected clusters - Inside the Megajoule Laser experimental -
— annual report 2017 innovation and technological
development, 141 since 2000 budget
chamber - Electronic glucose sensor - Space satellite cryostat integration on prototype - Exterior view of solar panels. Crédits : C. Dupont - L. Godart – D. Morel - MS - P. Stroppa / CEA.
Conception et réalisation : EFIL – efil.fr – Imprimé par un imprimeur Imprim’Vert sur du papier provenant de forêts durablement gérées - Septembre 2018
 9 Key figures
2017
CEA’s over
centres
600
in France
15
4,914
publications
industrial partners

64
in peer-review magazines

1 Headquarter 14

1,183
1 2 framework agreements
Civil research centres 2 in force with universities and
6 graduate colleges
2 Paris-Saclay doctoral students and

160
Fontenay-aux-Roses
and Saclay sites
13 7

30
8
3 Grenoble
4 Marcoule post-doctoral
5 Cadarache
researchers competitiveness clusters
at the CEA of which 17 are administered
12 3 by the CEA
Centres for military 9
10

422
applications

51
6 DAM Île-de-France 4
7 Le Ripault 11 5 european projects
8 Valduc including 194 FP7 projects research units
and 228 H2020 projects co-supervised by the CEA
9 Cesta
and academic partners
10 Gramat (45 UMR, 5 UMS, 1 USR)

Regional 762
16,979
technology-transfer
priority patents filed

The CEA
platforms
(the CEA holds fourth place
11 Toulouse in the National Institute of employees
12 Bordeaux Industrial Property (INPI) ranking
of public and private patent
13 Nantes

at the heart 9
applicants)
14 Metz
15 Lille
over centres

6,300
of great new patent families
in force 5
regional technology

challenges
transfer platforms

204
French atomic energy and
alternative energy Commission

5 billion €
91 191 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex
Startups
www.cea.fr created since 1972 in the field of
civil and defence
Cover: From left to right and top to bottom: Grid for nuclear fuel rod spacing - Emulator for a chip with 48 cores in six interconnected clusters - Inside the Megajoule Laser experimental -
— annual report 2017 innovation and technological
development, 141 since 2000 budget
chamber - Electronic glucose sensor - Space satellite cryostat integration on prototype - Exterior view of solar panels. Crédits : C. Dupont - L. Godart – D. Morel - MS - P. Stroppa / CEA.
Conception et réalisation : EFIL – efil.fr – Imprimé par un imprimeur Imprim’Vert sur du papier provenant de forêts durablement gérées - Septembre 2018
 — Sustainable development
Corporate Governance of CEA’s headquarter
© D. Touzeau/CEA

governance
(as at 31 december 2017)
the CEA
The CEA - Commissariat à l’énergie
General Division atomique et aux énergies alternatives, cutting-edge technologies originally • A study of lighting on the Grenoble site The CEA is a committed community-aware
the French Atomic Energy and Alternative developed for microelectronics or defence, took account of accessibility and also equal opportunities employer.
Energies Commission—is a public agency and innovative therapies. It also channels included footpaths. As part of initiatives to encourage the
High devoted to scientific, technical and its advanced skills in information and employment and inclusion of people with
Chairman Deputy Commissionner for
Daniel Chairman Atomic Energy industrial research and development. communication technologies into For water, which is essentially used for disabilities, the CEA’s disability projects
VERWAERDE Christophe Yves Because of its dual responsibilities developing technologies that help people industrial purposes (process water, cooling have run competitions to raise employees’
GÉGOUT BRÉCHET stemming from its sovereignty and private at work (virtual reality, cobotics) or in and air conditioning), the CEA uses awareness of the issues:
sector missions, the CEA is in a category everyday life (for active ageing at home). recycled water and closed-loop water • Employees at Paris-Saclay produced
of its own and is supervised by the In 2017, a young patient suffering from supply systems as much as possible. comic strip stories on the arrival of a new
General and Chief of Staff and Performance Director Chief of Staff
Nuclear Ministers in charge of Energy, Research, sickle cell disease (a severe form of • At Fontenay-aux-Roses in 2017, the CEA employee with a disability.
Dominique MONVOISIN Claire KERBOUL
Inspection Industry and Defence. anaemia) was successfully treated for connected its water and electricity meters • Employees at Gramat solved riddles to
Division
Its statutes and missions are defined in the first time with a gene therapy to a building management system. work out the mystery person with a hidden
Xavier
VITART Security- Renewable International Sustainable Compliance Special National Institute Articles L. 332-1 to L. 332-7 of the creation of subsidiaries, projects for The Scientific Council is chaired by the High developed at the CEA. This makes for better infrastructure disability.
Safety Energy Cooperations Development and Internal Adviser for Nuclear Research Code, and are made law by contracts, procurement, transactions, Commissioner for Atomic Energy, whom it security and ensures more economical • Employees held meetings, such as the
Delegate Delegate Director Director Control Director Science and
Director Director Director Technology Decree No. 2016-311 of 17 March 2016 international agreements, and participation assists by shaping recommendations on The CEA mobilises its technologies to the energy and water use. one on ‘dys’ (dyspraxia, dyslexia, etc.)
Philippe concerning the organisation and in incorporated organisations. It may also the future directions to be taken by the CEA benefit of developing countries. at Cesta.
Edwige Jean Gabriele Françoise Éric Hervé CORRÉA operation of the CEA. be consulted by the Government Ministers and on its scientific activities. A regional operational representation of Environmental footprint • Their awareness actions are regular and
BONNEVIE THERME FIONI TOUBOUL CAPELLE BERNARD under whose authority the CEA operates It advises on the relevance of the CEA’s the CEA has been created in Tunis for the Most of the CEA’s sites are in rural or original, such as the Festival Regards
At the CEA’s head on any matter lying within the CEA’s domain scientific activities and investments with countries of the Southern Mediterranean, peri-urban areas. The excellence of CEA Croisés, where a film was shown on the
The Chairman, who is responsible for the of competence. It is informed of all regard to its mission. It is informed of the the Middle East and Africa. The purpose research is largely driven by dynamic emotions experienced by an employee
overall running of the entity, is largely important events affecting the CEA. execution of the CEA’s programmes and of this structure will be to strengthen international scientific collaborations, so with hearing loss at work, at Marcoule.
empowered to act in its name, and The Board of Administration’s Investment evaluates their results. The Scientific cooperation on strategic topics such transport, whether for business travel or To make the buildings at Cesta more
represents it officially. The Chairman Committee examines-including the Council’s advice, recommendations and as energy and digital transitions, the commute, is a significant item in the accessible for people with disabilities,
OPERATIONAL DIVISIONS FUNCTIONAL DIVISIONS appoints the Directors, who supervise financials-matters arising from the CEA’s reports are passed on to the Board of technological research and basic CEA’s greenhouse gas emissions. The CEA three of them have been fitted with lifts.
the operational execution of the agency’s strategic investments and commitments, Administration, the Atomic Energy research. has therefore made arrangements to The Grenoble Centre is looking at ease of
missions, prepare the meetings of the and its annual planning. This committee Committee, and the relevant Government promote shared mobility solutions (buses movement throughout its entire site:
Military Nuclear Energy Fundamental Technological Strategic Partnerships Nuclear Safety and Board of Administration, and see that the is responsible for dovetailing civil Ministers. …Implemented in a responsible or car-sharing), or non-mobility the site surroundings, the site precinct,
Applications Division Research Research and Sales Division Protection Division Board’s decisions are carried out. programmes, strategic investments and The CEA’s finances are state-controlled, way with respect to (using ICTs), and encourages the use of and areas inside the buildings. To address
Division Division Division Franck LÉNA Jean-Luc VO VAN QUI The Chairman serves the French financial resources, and ensuring the through an Inspection Mission under the Energy consumption and water use trains rather than planes. accessibility issues, 14 initiatives are
François François Vincent Stéphane government’s control of the nuclear smooth advancement of the civil official general economic and financial The CEA is located in 10 sites. Two-thirds The CEA is in a continual process of planned in 3 areas, including the
GELEZNIKOFF GAUCHÉ BERGER SIEBERT
deterrent and the management of the programmes. monitoring body. Its reports are passed of its built assets date back to the 1960s optimising its organisational control of the involvement of future users, the inclusion
nuclear assets required for defence. The Atomic Energy Committee is the body on to the Chairman and addressed to and were designed primarily to host health and environmental impacts of its of accessibility as an assessment criterion
Cesta Centre Cadarache Paris-Saclay Grenoble Strategic Analysis International
Jean-Pierre Centre Centre Centre Division Relations Division The Chairman also sits on the Nuclear with the longest history at the helm of the the relevant Government Ministers and research, much of which is nuclear. These activities and its current and former in competitions, improving awareness
GIANNINI Christian Michel Philippe Monica de VIRGILIIS Anne LAZAR-SURY Export Committee chaired by the Prime CEA and France’s civil and military nuclear the Minister in charge of the Budget. facilities have been designed and operated facilities, whether in terms of managing among technical teams, etc.
BONNET BÉDOUCHA BOURGUIGNON Minister and on the Nuclear Policy Council sector. It sets the body’s research, The annual financial report, where in a way that makes them significant dismantling and clean-up or managing
DAM chaired by the French President, and is production and work programme, and necessary with the consolidated emitters of greenhouse gases. So the CEA radioactive, biological or chemical waste
Île-de-France Marcoule
Centre Centre the government’s advisor on nuclear policy. examines all matters that concern the CEA, statements, and the CEA’s annual report, decided several years ago to refurbish its and effluent.
Communication Human Resources The High Commissioner for Atomic Energy as ordered by the Board of Administration, are submitted to the Inspection Mission. built infrastructure, destroy its energy-
Pierre Philippe Division and Social
BOUCHET GUIBERTEAU
Xavier CLÉMENT Relations Division acts as scientific and technical advisor the Chairman or the High Commissioner for inefficient buildings, and reconfigure its Interests of workers and stakeholders
Philippe SANSY to the Chairman, and can be tasked by Atomic Energy. The Investment Committee heating systems, opting for gas power, All CEA activities, in-house operations and
Gramat the latter, or by a Government Minister, reports to it, and it can be convened by the cogeneration or grid connection to relations with stakeholders are grounded 2
Centre
to take charge of various missions of relevant Government Ministers concerning district heating. in and legitimised by 6 core values: public
Jehan
VANPOPERYNGHE Programmes and Information Systems consultancy and expertise in areas any projects for legislation and regulation New Compliance function • At Cadarache and Marcoule, heat/power interest, empowerment, commitment,
Financial Division Division
of interest to the CEA, and missions that affect the CEA’s mission or A compliance function was set up with the cogeneration systems went into operation sense of requirement, complexity culture,
Le Ripault Marie-Astrid Louis ARRIVET
RAVON-BERENGUER concerning National Defence and organisation. appointment on 1st March 2017 of a Compliance in 2017. and solidarity. Guided by these values, the
Centre
Education. Both are officially named It is chaired by the Prime Minister to and Internal Control Director reporting to the CEA pursues goals that help forge national
Serge
DUFORT by government appointment through discuss civil activities, and the Minister Chairman. The Director is responsible for setting The CEA has an extensive property policy on supported employment schemes
Legal Affairs Division the Council of Ministers. of Defence for defence-related matters. up this new function, which includes drawing portfolio (buildings and land). It therefore to help young people, people with
Valduc Florence The Atomic Energy Committee delegates up policies on professional ethics and conduct, has to be especially vigilant concerning disabilities, and seniors in work, and to
Centre TOUÏTOU-DURAND Governance and control bodies authority to the Armed Forces-CEA Joint and establishing an internal control process. its consumption of electricity for lighting. defend jobs in science. Employment
François The Board of Administration oversees the Committee to examine, particularly in their There is a strong commitment to compliance • Renovation work in offices and plant quotas are met partly through recruitment
BUGAUT
general organisation of the CEA, the financial aspects, matters concerning and internal control within the General Division. rooms has optimised their LED lighting of the CEA’s own personnel and partly
contract of objectives and performance, the execution of the nuclear weapons The aim is to embed these functions in the and installed ‘presence sensor’ controls through subcontracting (increase in the
the annual activity programme, the budget, programmes for which the CEA is corporate culture of the CEA, in line with to ensure the lighting of certain rooms share of work and services contracted
the annual financial statements, the accountable. its values. reflects their occupancy time. to ‘sheltered’ employers).
 — Sustainable development
Corporate Governance of CEA’s headquarter
© D. Touzeau/CEA

governance
(as at 31 december 2017)
the CEA
The CEA - Commissariat à l’énergie
General Division atomique et aux énergies alternatives, cutting-edge technologies originally • A study of lighting on the Grenoble site The CEA is a committed community-aware
the French Atomic Energy and Alternative developed for microelectronics or defence, took account of accessibility and also equal opportunities employer.
Energies Commission—is a public agency and innovative therapies. It also channels included footpaths. As part of initiatives to encourage the
High devoted to scientific, technical and its advanced skills in information and employment and inclusion of people with
Chairman Deputy Commissionner for
Daniel Chairman Atomic Energy industrial research and development. communication technologies into For water, which is essentially used for disabilities, the CEA’s disability projects
VERWAERDE Christophe Yves Because of its dual responsibilities developing technologies that help people industrial purposes (process water, cooling have run competitions to raise employees’
GÉGOUT BRÉCHET stemming from its sovereignty and private at work (virtual reality, cobotics) or in and air conditioning), the CEA uses awareness of the issues:
sector missions, the CEA is in a category everyday life (for active ageing at home). recycled water and closed-loop water • Employees at Paris-Saclay produced
of its own and is supervised by the In 2017, a young patient suffering from supply systems as much as possible. comic strip stories on the arrival of a new
General and Chief of Staff and Performance Director Chief of Staff
Nuclear Ministers in charge of Energy, Research, sickle cell disease (a severe form of • At Fontenay-aux-Roses in 2017, the CEA employee with a disability.
Dominique MONVOISIN Claire KERBOUL
Inspection Industry and Defence. anaemia) was successfully treated for connected its water and electricity meters • Employees at Gramat solved riddles to
Division
Its statutes and missions are defined in the first time with a gene therapy to a building management system. work out the mystery person with a hidden
Xavier
VITART Security- Renewable International Sustainable Compliance Special National Institute Articles L. 332-1 to L. 332-7 of the creation of subsidiaries, projects for The Scientific Council is chaired by the High developed at the CEA. This makes for better infrastructure disability.
Safety Energy Cooperations Development and Internal Adviser for Nuclear Research Code, and are made law by contracts, procurement, transactions, Commissioner for Atomic Energy, whom it security and ensures more economical • Employees held meetings, such as the
Delegate Delegate Director Director Control Director Science and
Director Director Director Technology Decree No. 2016-311 of 17 March 2016 international agreements, and participation assists by shaping recommendations on The CEA mobilises its technologies to the energy and water use. one on ‘dys’ (dyspraxia, dyslexia, etc.)
Philippe concerning the organisation and in incorporated organisations. It may also the future directions to be taken by the CEA benefit of developing countries. at Cesta.
Edwige Jean Gabriele Françoise Éric Hervé CORRÉA operation of the CEA. be consulted by the Government Ministers and on its scientific activities. A regional operational representation of Environmental footprint • Their awareness actions are regular and
BONNEVIE THERME FIONI TOUBOUL CAPELLE BERNARD under whose authority the CEA operates It advises on the relevance of the CEA’s the CEA has been created in Tunis for the Most of the CEA’s sites are in rural or original, such as the Festival Regards
At the CEA’s head on any matter lying within the CEA’s domain scientific activities and investments with countries of the Southern Mediterranean, peri-urban areas. The excellence of CEA Croisés, where a film was shown on the
The Chairman, who is responsible for the of competence. It is informed of all regard to its mission. It is informed of the the Middle East and Africa. The purpose research is largely driven by dynamic emotions experienced by an employee
overall running of the entity, is largely important events affecting the CEA. execution of the CEA’s programmes and of this structure will be to strengthen international scientific collaborations, so with hearing loss at work, at Marcoule.
empowered to act in its name, and The Board of Administration’s Investment evaluates their results. The Scientific cooperation on strategic topics such transport, whether for business travel or To make the buildings at Cesta more
represents it officially. The Chairman Committee examines-including the Council’s advice, recommendations and as energy and digital transitions, the commute, is a significant item in the accessible for people with disabilities,
OPERATIONAL DIVISIONS FUNCTIONAL DIVISIONS appoints the Directors, who supervise financials-matters arising from the CEA’s reports are passed on to the Board of technological research and basic CEA’s greenhouse gas emissions. The CEA three of them have been fitted with lifts.
the operational execution of the agency’s strategic investments and commitments, Administration, the Atomic Energy research. has therefore made arrangements to The Grenoble Centre is looking at ease of
missions, prepare the meetings of the and its annual planning. This committee Committee, and the relevant Government promote shared mobility solutions (buses movement throughout its entire site:
Military Nuclear Energy Fundamental Technological Strategic Partnerships Nuclear Safety and Board of Administration, and see that the is responsible for dovetailing civil Ministers. …Implemented in a responsible or car-sharing), or non-mobility the site surroundings, the site precinct,
Applications Division Research Research and Sales Division Protection Division Board’s decisions are carried out. programmes, strategic investments and The CEA’s finances are state-controlled, way with respect to (using ICTs), and encourages the use of and areas inside the buildings. To address
Division Division Division Franck LÉNA Jean-Luc VO VAN QUI The Chairman serves the French financial resources, and ensuring the through an Inspection Mission under the Energy consumption and water use trains rather than planes. accessibility issues, 14 initiatives are
François François Vincent Stéphane government’s control of the nuclear smooth advancement of the civil official general economic and financial The CEA is located in 10 sites. Two-thirds The CEA is in a continual process of planned in 3 areas, including the
GELEZNIKOFF GAUCHÉ BERGER SIEBERT
deterrent and the management of the programmes. monitoring body. Its reports are passed of its built assets date back to the 1960s optimising its organisational control of the involvement of future users, the inclusion
nuclear assets required for defence. The Atomic Energy Committee is the body on to the Chairman and addressed to and were designed primarily to host health and environmental impacts of its of accessibility as an assessment criterion
Cesta Centre Cadarache Paris-Saclay Grenoble Strategic Analysis International
Jean-Pierre Centre Centre Centre Division Relations Division The Chairman also sits on the Nuclear with the longest history at the helm of the the relevant Government Ministers and research, much of which is nuclear. These activities and its current and former in competitions, improving awareness
GIANNINI Christian Michel Philippe Monica de VIRGILIIS Anne LAZAR-SURY Export Committee chaired by the Prime CEA and France’s civil and military nuclear the Minister in charge of the Budget. facilities have been designed and operated facilities, whether in terms of managing among technical teams, etc.
BONNET BÉDOUCHA BOURGUIGNON Minister and on the Nuclear Policy Council sector. It sets the body’s research, The annual financial report, where in a way that makes them significant dismantling and clean-up or managing
DAM chaired by the French President, and is production and work programme, and necessary with the consolidated emitters of greenhouse gases. So the CEA radioactive, biological or chemical waste
Île-de-France Marcoule
Centre Centre the government’s advisor on nuclear policy. examines all matters that concern the CEA, statements, and the CEA’s annual report, decided several years ago to refurbish its and effluent.
Communication Human Resources The High Commissioner for Atomic Energy as ordered by the Board of Administration, are submitted to the Inspection Mission. built infrastructure, destroy its energy-
Pierre Philippe Division and Social
BOUCHET GUIBERTEAU
Xavier CLÉMENT Relations Division acts as scientific and technical advisor the Chairman or the High Commissioner for inefficient buildings, and reconfigure its Interests of workers and stakeholders
Philippe SANSY to the Chairman, and can be tasked by Atomic Energy. The Investment Committee heating systems, opting for gas power, All CEA activities, in-house operations and
Gramat the latter, or by a Government Minister, reports to it, and it can be convened by the cogeneration or grid connection to relations with stakeholders are grounded 2
Centre
to take charge of various missions of relevant Government Ministers concerning district heating. in and legitimised by 6 core values: public
Jehan
VANPOPERYNGHE Programmes and Information Systems consultancy and expertise in areas any projects for legislation and regulation New Compliance function • At Cadarache and Marcoule, heat/power interest, empowerment, commitment,
Financial Division Division
of interest to the CEA, and missions that affect the CEA’s mission or A compliance function was set up with the cogeneration systems went into operation sense of requirement, complexity culture,
Le Ripault Marie-Astrid Louis ARRIVET
RAVON-BERENGUER concerning National Defence and organisation. appointment on 1st March 2017 of a Compliance in 2017. and solidarity. Guided by these values, the
Centre
Education. Both are officially named It is chaired by the Prime Minister to and Internal Control Director reporting to the CEA pursues goals that help forge national
Serge
DUFORT by government appointment through discuss civil activities, and the Minister Chairman. The Director is responsible for setting The CEA has an extensive property policy on supported employment schemes
Legal Affairs Division the Council of Ministers. of Defence for defence-related matters. up this new function, which includes drawing portfolio (buildings and land). It therefore to help young people, people with
Valduc Florence The Atomic Energy Committee delegates up policies on professional ethics and conduct, has to be especially vigilant concerning disabilities, and seniors in work, and to
Centre TOUÏTOU-DURAND Governance and control bodies authority to the Armed Forces-CEA Joint and establishing an internal control process. its consumption of electricity for lighting. defend jobs in science. Employment
François The Board of Administration oversees the Committee to examine, particularly in their There is a strong commitment to compliance • Renovation work in offices and plant quotas are met partly through recruitment
BUGAUT
general organisation of the CEA, the financial aspects, matters concerning and internal control within the General Division. rooms has optimised their LED lighting of the CEA’s own personnel and partly
contract of objectives and performance, the execution of the nuclear weapons The aim is to embed these functions in the and installed ‘presence sensor’ controls through subcontracting (increase in the
the annual activity programme, the budget, programmes for which the CEA is corporate culture of the CEA, in line with to ensure the lighting of certain rooms share of work and services contracted
the annual financial statements, the accountable. its values. reflects their occupancy time. to ‘sheltered’ employers).

The CEA’s
missions
The CEA is a key player in research,
development and innovation in four
main areas: defence and security,
nuclear and renewable energy, applied
technology research for industry,
and fundamental research (physical
sciences and life sciences).
Defence
The CEA leads action frameworked under
the French nuclear deterrent programme.
The nuclear defence mission is governed
by a 15-year programme within a 30-year
national defence strategy, set by the
President of France, and made law by the
Military Planning Act. The CEA also
provides France with technology to
strengthen security in the face of new
hazards such as terrorism and cyberattack,
and to upgrade response to earthquakes
and tsunamis.
Low-carbon energies
A gold-standard agency for energy
research, the CEA mobilises its expertise
and multidisciplinary competencies to
propose innovative technological solutions
to address major societal
challenges, such as energy transition,
nuclear and renewable low-carbon
energies, and understanding the
mechanisms underpinning climate change.
The CEA offers public authorities and
industrial operators expertise and
innovative ideas for the production of
nuclear power that is sustainable, safe and
economically competitive, and contributes
to national and international nuclear safety
policies. It also follows a research strategy
encompassing the whole energy system,
focusing simultaneously on means of
electrical power production,
both nuclear and renewable (solar), more
efficient energy storage, and dynamic
adjustment of supply and demand
response through energy storage
(batteries), the use of hydrogen as an
energy vector, and smart power grids.
New-generation
tracking photovoltaic
solar concentrator
© P. Avavian/CEA
Technological research
for industry
The CEA serves France’s competitiveness
by impelling the development of
technology, particularly IT, to meet the
needs of research, industry and society,
transferring knowledge, skills and
technology, and mobilising research
findings. It forges close ties with academic
research and industry, bridging the gap
between the worlds of science and the
economy.
Doted with unique expertise built on a
culture of innovation, the CEA supports big
industry and small businesses bringing
innovative technologies to market.
In close collaboration with local players,
CEA–Tech runs technology transfer
platforms (PRTTs) in many French regions:
Occitanie (Toulouse), Nouvelle Aquitaine
(Bordeaux), Pays de la Loire (Nantes),
Grand Est (Metz), and Hauts-de-France
(Lille), and is adding to its activities in the
Provence–Alpes–Côte d’Azur region.
Fundamental research
In the health sector, the CEA is part of the
considerable progress made in biology and
genomics, and the advances in imaging
technology and medical devices. It is
— The CEA’s missions
Alliances
The CEA’s research missions make it
a stakeholder in a series of national
alliances set up to coordinate French
research in energy (Ancre), life
sciences and health (Aviesan), digital
science and technology (Allistene),
environmental sciences (Allenvi) and
human and social sciences (Athena).
readying for the opportunities offered by
the statistical processing of big data.
The meshing of biotechnologies,
nanotechnologies and IT is forming
tomorrow’s healthcare - more
individualised, more home-based, and
less invasive. The CEA leads cutting-edge
fundamental research in astrophysics,
materials science, cryogenics,
nanosciences, and more. It also helps
develop and operate a number of
internationally renowned research
instruments, like the Herschel space
observatory or the LHC. It pursues dynamic
fundamental research, both in-house
and through its many partnerships with
other research bodies, local authorities
and universities.
With expert status in its domains of
competence, the CEA plays a full part
in the European Research Area, and is
increasingly active internationally. 1—
—2

Defence
Tera 1000-1,
commissioned
to service in

and security
2016, can perform
2.6 petaflops (million
billion operations
per second), and
Tera 1000-2,
commissioned
to service in 2017,
The missions of the CEA include defence has achieved

25
and security of the nation in various fields:
nuclear warheads that equip France’s
sea- and airborne deterrence forces, nuclear
reactors (including reactor cores) for naval
propulsion of the French navy submarines Petaflops
and aircraft carrier, and combating nuclear
proliferation and terrorism. 2

The Military Applications Division (DAM) in-service follow-up and through-life

is responsible for:
• the design, manufacture, through-life
support and dismantling of the nuclear
warheads that equip France’s sea- and
airborne deterrence forces;
• the design and manufacture of the
nuclear reactors and reactor cores on the
French Navy submarines and aircraft
carrier, in support of the French Navy with
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
support for these reactors;
• procuring strategic nuclear materials
required for the nation’s deterrence;
• providing technical support to national
and international authorities relative to
the prevention of nuclear proliferation
and terrorism;
• and providing its expertise in
conventional weaponry in support of

the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Nuclear components
of deterrence
Two types of nuclear warhead are in
service:
• the airborne nuclear warhead (TNA),
which has been equipping France’s
strategic air force missiles since 2009;
• the seaborne nuclear warheads: the
TN75, which equips the M51 missiles
and, since 2016, the TNO, which equips
the second-generation M51 missiles.
The safety and reliability of the TNA and
the TNO have been guaranteed by
Simulation, without further nuclear tests.
Nuclear propulsion
The French Navy’s fleet of 11 nuclear-
powered vessels has 12 steam supply
1 systems equipped with nuclear reactor
cores in service. This includes
4 Triomphant-class new-generation
nuclear-powered ballistic missile
submarines, 6 Rubis-class nuclear attack
submarines (SNAs) and the Charles de
Gaulle aircraft carrier. The DAM delivers
the French Navy on average one fresh
nuclear core for these on-board steam
supply systems per year.
The Barracuda programme
France’s current fleet of SNAs will
ultimately be replaced by a new generation.

1. Tera 1000-2 supercomputer © Cadam/CEA
2. Inside the Megajoule Laser
experimental chamber © CEA MS
3. Triomphant-class nuclear-powered ballistic
missile submarine © CEA/DAM
This is the Barracuda programme
where the DAM is leading the design
and manufacture of the nuclear steam
supply systems and the associated cores,
together with the logistical resources
required for their maintenance.
The RES programme
Maintaining availability targets and
ensuring high standards in terms of
safety is dependent not only on rigorous
equipment maintenance, but also on
having skilled teams and land-based
resources at the Cadarache Centre.
One such resource is the recently-
completed RES test reactor for which
core implementation has been
authorised and divergence is awaiting
authorisation, expected in 2018, from
the Defence Nuclear Safety and
Radiation Protection Delegate (DSND).
The RES is representative of the
reactors on board the French Navy’s
vessels, and their nuclear cores, and
offers a matchless simulation tool
for their design and through-life
support.
The Simulation programme
The reliability and safety of French
nuclear warheads are now guaranteed
without conducting any further
nuclear tests, through the Simulation
— Defence and security
3
programme, launched in 1996. It involves
modelling the physical phenomena
underlying the functioning of nuclear
weapons, equation-solving using
supercomputers, and experimental
validation in the large facilities Epure
and the Megajoule Laser (LMJ).
Supercomputers
The supercomputers are sized to
meet the design and guarantee
specifications of nuclear weapons.
The Tera 1000-1 supercomputer, which
was commissioned to service in 2016,
can perform 2.6 petaflops (million
billion operations per second), and its
successor, Tera 1000-2, commissioned
to service in 2017, has achieved
25 petaflops with a very high energy
efficiency. >>> 3—
—4

4. Glove box for processing recycled

plutonium © CEA/DAM
5. T
 sunami Early Warning Centre
© CEA/DAM

Combating nuclear
proliferation and terrorism
4 The DAM provides its expertise, based on
its knowledge in nuclear science and
technology and its skills in detection and
identification technologies, in combating
nuclear proliferation and terrorism.
To inform the French authorities in the
event of a nuclear test, the DAM
participates in the implementation of
the means for verifying compliance with
the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty (CNTBT). The observance of this
treaty is verified by the analysis and
characterisation of data collected by
321 stations in the International
Monitoring System and 16 radionuclide
analysis laboratories, in which the DAM
is heavily involved.
The DAM’s structure enables it to respond
very quickly (as was the case recently
following nuclear tests by North Korea) to
questions from the national authorities:
the personal Chief of Staff to the French
President, the General Secretariat for
Defence and National Security (SGDSN),
and the Ministry of the Armed Forces.
The Epure facility
The Epure facility, which is gathering
momentum at the Valduc Centre, falls
5
within the context of the Teutates Treaty
between France and the United Kingdom,
signed in 2010, relating to sharing
radiographic facilities for the purposes of
their respective deterrence programmes.
Ultimately including three high-power
radiographic axes, its commissioning
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
It also compiles background information to
monitor countries engaged in proliferation
and ensures the continued existence of
its network of experts. Finally, it uses its
technical expertise to advise the Minister
for Europe and Foreign Affairs on major
international negotiations, e.g. Iran’s
nuclear programme which led to the
long-term JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action) in January 2016.
As part of the CEA’s national security
research, the DAM is entrusted by the
French authorities and Defence with
managing the interministerial R&D
programme on CBRN-E (chemical,
biological, radiological, nuclear and
explosive terrorism) and the R&D
programme on cybersecurity.
Conventional defence
The DAM, mainly at the Gramat Centre,
provides project management assistance
to the French Defence Procurement Agency
(DGA) for conventional defence activities,
making use of its expertise in the effects of
weapons and weapon system vulnerability.

with a first radiographic axis, since end

2014, makes it possible to characterise,
to the highest level of precision, the
state and hydrodynamic behaviour of
materials, under the conditions
encountered in the pre-nuclear phase
of weapon operation.

The Megajoule Laser

The Megajoule Laser at the Cesta
Centre is an indispensable tool for
simulating the physical phenomena
involved in the nuclear phase of
weapon functioning, and for
certifying the expertise of physicists
in charge of weapons design.
Since its commissioning by the
Prime Minister of France at the
end of 2014, the first experimental
campaigns of weapon physics have
been successfully conducted.

Nuclear and
renewable energy
Nuclear fission
energy
The CEA provides the French
Government and the industry with its
technical expertise and innovation to
develop sustainable energy that is both
safe and economically competitive.
Its R&D programmes cover two
different time scales: today which
involves supporting the current fleet of
industrial-scale nuclear facilities, and
tomorrow which entails a long-term
vision to prepare the future generations
of nuclear systems. Large experimental
devices and extensive simulation
tools are necessary to carry out such
activities. The CEA also manages
and upgrades its own fleet of nuclear
facilities through construction,
refurbishment, clean-up and
dismantling programmes.
Optimising the current fleet
of industrial-scale nuclear
facilities
The CEA provides support to its industrial
partners, whether for their current fleet of
facilities or for new build. Its programmes
cover a broad range of R&D topics in the
fields of reactors and the fuel cycle, with
considerable effort being devoted to
developing the simulation tools needed for
such research. With respect to reactors,
objectives of competitiveness, service life,
performance level, availability and nuclear
safety must be met. Research is also
carried out to support Orano in the fuel
cycle field. This involves optimising or
adapting the processes both for spent fuel
reprocessing at La Hague plant, and for
MOX fuel fabrication at the Melox plant,
as well as keeping the Orano plants in good
working condition. Actions also focus on
improving the performance of processes
used for the selective extraction of
1
uranium, followed by its purification and
then its conversion. The CEA supports
Andra by providing scientific and technical
data for the deep geological repository
called Cigéo for which Andra is the project
owner. It is helping to elaborate the
technical and material specifications
for high-level (HLW) and long-lived
intermediate-level (LL-ILW) waste
packages, as well as to define the safety
measures applicable to waste disposal
in the Cigéo facility.
Designing nuclear systems
for the future
The CEA is working on a long-term outlook
for the future generations of nuclear
reactors and their fuel cycles. It is helping
EDF to optimise its pressurized water
reactors like the EPR, while contributing
to discussions on small modular reactors
(SMR). The French State has also given the
CEA the task of carrying out research on
— Nuclear and renewable energy
1. Remote handling
of irradiated fuels
© G. Le Sénéchal/CEA
The Jules Horowitz
reactor (JHR)
will provide a unique tool
for studying materials
and fuels under irradiation
to support current and
future nuclear reactors.
innovative nuclear reactor systems called
4th generation. Within this scope, the CEA
is the owner of a project to build a
sodium-cooled fast reactor demonstrator
called ASTRID, which stands for Advanced
Sodium Technological Reactor for
Industrial Demonstration. It also maintains
a multi-sector technology watch and R&D
on the range of systems and technologies
relevant to this 4th generation. In line with
these studies, the CEA is also preparing the
future fuel cycle by developing advanced
processes for the multiple recycling of
spent fuels. Keeping this in mind, the CEA
has studied different industrial scenarios
for deploying fast reactors in collaboration
with its partners EDF and Orano. With
respect to the fuel cycle, the objective >>> 5—
—6

to model the different nuclear systems. In
this context, the CEA is developing
software platforms and computational
codes in the key fields of nuclear energy
(neutronics, thermal-hydraulics,
mechanical and thermal behaviour, fuels,
fuel cycle chemistry, and materials) to
model the complex phenomena occurring
during normal or accident conditions
in a nuclear reactor or facility.
This is mostly done in partnership with
the main players in the French nuclear
sector (EDF, Orano, Framatome, IRSN, etc.).
Experimental tools are needed to
confirm the validity of the models and
2
computational calculations.
These tools can be: experimental
is to transition smoothly from the current platforms, hot laboratories (to study
fleet with once-through recycling to a irradiated objects), research reactors,
fast reactor fleet that opens the way to and critical mock-ups (very low power
multiple recycling. reactors to conduct experimental
neutronic studies). Some of these facilities
Implementing large are reaching the end of their service life
experimental devices and after more than 40 years of operation.
simulation tools to support Renewing or refurbishing these facilities
nuclear development remains a key issue for the CEA.
The type of research carried out by This is why the Jules Horowitz reactor
the CEA requires extensive predictive tools (JHR) is currently under construction on
zoom on...
Impact on health and the environment
The Fundamental Research Division conducts research on the impact of
radionuclides and ionising radiation on populations or the environment.
In 2017, scientists obtained an important result concerning the impact of
low-dose ionising radiation delivered during medical x-rays examinations.
They showed that low-dose irradiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs),
from which all blood cells originate, leads in the long term to a reduction
in the number and functionality of HSCs. This is not a solely detrimental
property. It could be used to avoid the extensive destruction of a patient’s
bone marrow before a transplant. Otherwise the camera coupled to a
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
the CEA Cadarache site. Once completed,
it will provide a unique tool for studying
materials and fuels under irradiation to
support current and future nuclear
reactors. It will also be used to produce
a sizeable fraction of the radioisotopes
needed for medical purposes.
Managing nuclear clean-up
and dismantling
As a nuclear operator, the CEA is
responsible for dismantling its nuclear
facilities and managing the waste
generated by such activities. A specificity
of the CEA is that it has a broad range of
facilities to dismantle: research reactors,
chemistry laboratories, and effluent and
waste treatment plants. The dismantling
of each facility gives rises to a specific
case each time, thus feedback cannot
generally be used for the next case
(no standardised operations).
Over the years, the CEA has gained
significant experience, both in project
ownership and in the methodologies and
expertise required for the implementation
of such dismantling projects. Whenever
possible, these operations rely on standard
techniques that have been adapted to a
nuclear environment, yet it is often also
necessary to develop specific tools and
technologies. In this context, the CEA
is running several pioneering R&D
programmes in this field with the objective
of reducing the overall costs and waste
volumes, while improving the working
conditions on dismantling sites.

scintillation counter, which emits light when it receives ionising radiation,

has proved particularly quick and effective at assessing the distribution
of biological tissue contamination by actinides.

Magnetic confinement fusion

The CEA, as part of the Euratom community, contributes to the European
programme for research on magnetic confinement fusion, which aims to
show the feasibility of producing cheap, safe and sustainable energy from
fusion plasmas. ITER, the thermonuclear fusion reactor being built at the
Cadarache site, is of strategic importance for the CEA and its partners.
The test platform West (Tungsten Environment in Steady-State Tokamak)
is now operational at the CEA’s Cadarache site to test critical components
for ITER. The configuration of the West tokamak is similar to that of ITER
(divertor) and it has sophisticated diagnostics for fine-grained
characterisation of the fusion plasma (spatial and temporal temperature
profiles). Also for ITER, the Inac1 has developed, made and supplied
1,600 temperature measurement lines and 280 flow meters. The CEA 3
has completed its contribution to ITER’s extended Approach programme
for the future Japanese tokamak JT-60SA, including taking delivery of
the last toroidal coils and their electrical powerfeeds. 2. Neutron modelling of the EPR core © CEA
3. Dismantling operation using the Maestro remotely
1
Inac : CEA Institute for Nanosciences and Cryogenics. operated robot © CEA

Renewable energy
Work hosted at the Liten2 covers solar energy
as a priority (thermal and photovoltaic) and
its integration in stationary applications and
transport, the production of vector hydrogen,
and waste-to-energy solutions. It develops the
tools needed to grid-connect renewable energies
in the presence of storage systems. The Liten is
developing a systemic approach that should lead
to optimised solutions at the crossroads between
energy transition and digitalisation.
Solar energy
Its research in the field of solar
photovoltaics aims to address two big
challenges: cutting the power costs and
increasing the energy efficiency of the
solar cells and the complete photovoltaic
system. The Liten is working in particular
on very high-conversion-yield, bifacial,
communicating, self-diagnosing
premium-quality modules. In parallel,
it is developing integrated, functionalised
modules for specific applications:
drone wings, mall roofs, and more.
Finally, it begins new studies on the
modules’ recycling.
It is developing cutting-edge technologies
to control and manage thermal solar
energy: capture (collectors), storage for
later use–in industry for instance–, or
2
Liten: Laboratory of Innovation for Sustainable Energy Technologies and Nanomaterials.
4. S
 etting up monitoring at the Megasol platform
© L. Godart/CEA
5. S
 elf-generated electricity consumption by
buildings and vehicles © P. Avavian/CEA
distribution via heat networks.
It supports industrial operators seeking
to install thermodynamic concentrated
solar powerplant systems by developing
technologies, software and tools for sizing
these installations, which are capable of
powering seawater desalination plants,
for example.
Electricity storage
In the field of electrochemical storage,
work is directed not only to on-board
applications (electric vehicles and mobile
devices) but also to stationary storage,
which is vital for the development of
intermittent renewable energy sources.
Efforts are being focused in particular on
improving the performance and lifespan
of Li-ion batteries, and on developing
— Nuclear and renewable energy
Integrated,
functionalised
photovoltaic
solar modules
for drones, mall roofs,
and more are being
studied.
a battery management system to improve
their reliability and safety.
In parallel, the Liten is driving the
development of disruptive technologies
for new applications: sodium-ion batteries
and easily-recyclable biomass-derived
organic batteries, both of which are cheap
yet promising solutions for stationary
applications, or lithium-sulphur batteries,
which are particularly geared to
applications in aeronautics.
Diagnostic techniques for electric vehicle
batteries are being developed to establish
the benefit of a second life as stationary
batteries, as opposed to recycling. Further
upstream, research teams from the
Fundamental Research Division are
seeking to understand the degradation
mechanisms and improve the performance
of lithium-ion batteries and
supercapacitors. One of the teams has
shown that the graphite in battery
electrodes could be replaced by a better
material made from nitrogen-doped tin
oxide nanoparticles. Other research teams
have made and characterised heavily
nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets and
tested them as supercapacitor electrodes.
This promising technology for on-chip
applications still has to be optimised. >>>
7—
—8 7

6. E  xperimental biomass preparation and

gasification facility © D. Guillaudin/CEA
7.  1 ,000-litre photobioreactor for the culture
of microalgae © L. Godart/CEA 
8. Physicochemical
 analysis of batteries and
fuel cells © D. Guillaudin/CEA
6
Bioresources
The Liten’s Genepi platform is helping to
develop innovative, high-performance
production of syngas from solid
bioresources, such as residues from
agriculture and household waste. The
bioresources are converted into synthetic
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
support the renewable energy commodity
chain, primarily to develop rare-metal-free
catalysts to produce hydrogen, or to
develop processes to produce lipids for
biodiesel fuel. In particular, the biologists
have shown that an ancient signalling
pathway that was inherited from bacteria
affects growth and development in plants.
Understanding how this mechanism works
has the potential to lead to the
development of new strategies for
protecting crops from climate change
and for enhancing photosynthesis to
create biofuels and other valuable
products.
Researchers have also injected years of
effort into mimicking natural enzymes in
order to produce hydrogen. In 2016, they
proposed a system mimicking nickel-iron
hydrogenases, getting closer
to reality. These hydrogenases naturally
catalyse the production of dihydrogen.
Hydrogen and fuel cells
Hydrogen as an energy vector will play a
major role in many sectors, in particular for
extending the range of electric vehicles by
means of fuel cells. The CEA’s work in this
field focuses especially on reducing the
quantity of platinum needed, lengthening
the lifespan of the proton exchange
membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system,
and new bipolar plate coatings, so as to
propose economically viable alternatives
to current solutions. Work is being done
on totally innovative fuel cells using 3D
printing techniques.
For oxygen reduction, fuel cells could
gain benefit from a new stable, efficient
catalyst, based on a nanostructured
graphene, free of rare or toxic metals
such as the platinum used today.
In parallel, the Liten has developed a
reversible hydrogen production system
by high-temperature electrolysis of water
vapour (HTE or steam electrolysis), opening
up new prospects at ecodistrict scale, in
addition to its usefulness for providing
flexibility to manage renewable energy
variations. This same system can also
work in co-electrolysis mode (CO2, H2O)
to generate a syngas. These systems
should soon start to gain momentum.
3
Iramis: CEA-Saclay Institute for Radiation and Matter.

gas by high-temperature treatment.

The resulting biogas can, for example, be 8
converted into synthetic natural gas. In
parallel, the Liten is developing alternative
processes for the treatment of wet waste,
such as sewage plant slurries, by
hydrothermal liquefaction. Chemical
scientists at Iramis3 are seeking to extend
recycling to actual chemical molecules
by ‘taking apart’ polymers sourced from
forestry waste or plastics using
depolymerisation processes working at
ambient temperatures and pressures,
using metal-free catalysts. The molecules
thereby obtained could be re-used to make
plastics, food additives, or cosmetics.

Production of high-energy
value substances
Certain micro-organisms can make fuel–
scientists are hoping to use them to

Technology
research for
industry
For industry the CEA serves
France’s competitiveness by driving
technological development and
knowledge, skills and technology
transfer to industry, in particular at
regional level, and by mobilizing its
own research findings.
Microelectronics
In the domain of microelectronics and
microtechnologies, the Leti4 is conducting
research in close cooperation with
industrial operators and the scientific
community as a whole.
Its priorities are:
• Ultimate miniaturisation of
microelectronics, or “More than Moore”
To this end, the Leti is developing new
substrates with Soitec and advanced
FD-SOI components with
STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries
(Dresden). It is also leading research into
tomorrow’s non-volatile memories, which
are essential for microcontrollers, which
work at low voltage and are revolutionising
the architecture of integrated circuits.
In tandem with the CEA’s Fundamental
Research Division, it is also studying
original transistor structures such as
the single electron transistor (SET),
components for silicon quantum
computers and nanowire transistors.
• Diversification of components,
or “More Than Moore”.
The Leti is studying the chip-scale
integration of mechanical, chemical,
biochemical and photonic functions.
Through the use of innovative SoC (System-
on-Chip) assembly techniques using 3D
integration (including the monolithic 3D
technology called CoolCube™ that stacks
two layers of transistor circuitry), the chips
can integrate not only computing
capabilities (CMOS components and
memories), but also micro- and nano-
sensors and actuators, local energy
sources, and radiofrequency (RF) or optical
communication modes. Innovative devices
derived from this research benefit from
nanoscale miniaturisation, the introduction
of new materials, and novel associated
properties. These components can help
meet the needs of new communicating
systems and services for many sectors
of activity, such as telecommunications,
healthcare, and more generally what
we  call the Internet of Things (IoT).
These developments are being conducted
in partnership with numerous French,
European and international industrial
operators.
Nanotechnologies and
nanosciences
The nanosciences and nanotechnologies
took shape in the 1980s with the
development of new atom-scale
manufacturing, measurement and
characterization tools. These tools, such
as tunnel-effect microscopes and
tomography, allow not only observations
at atomic or even subatomic scale, but also
three-dimensional reconstitution of the
localisation and displacement of atoms.
The nanosciences connect the nanometric-
— Technology research for industry
1. Silicon carbide
semiconductor module
© P. Avavian/CEA
1
Digital
technologies
offer future factories
the opportunity to
become more agile,
flexible, responsive
and efficient.
scale structure of objects to their electrical,
optical, and mechanical properties–and
their chemical reactivity. Nanosciences
are opening fast-expanding perspectives
for applications across the board,
including nanoelectronics, energy sources
(photovoltaics, fuel cells, hydrogen, and
more) and the life sciences.
Chemistry is becoming an increasingly
important vector for conferring form
and function to nano-objects. However,
it is equally important to optimise their
implementation and conceptualise new
architectures to host them. These strategic
research efforts need to follow into more
technology-driven developments in order
to obtain an original device system with
firmly-controlled properties. >>>
4
Leti: Electronics and Information Technology
Laboratory. 9—
— 10
2. Driverless vehicle interior, HUD (Head Up Display)
and digital speedometer
© chombosan - Fotolia.com
3. Photonics platform © PV. Guilly/CEA
4. I nstallation of the 11.7 tesla magnet at NeuroSpin
© P. Dumas/CEA
5. P
 ipetting robot used for DNA sequencing
© F. Rhodes/CEA
zoom on...
Quantum engineering
applications at the CEA
Specialists from all divisions within the CEA have discussed the most
promising applications of quantum engineering, based on singular
properties such as the superposition of states and quantum entanglement.
Four fields have been explored: quantum sensors and metrology, quantum
simulators, quantum communications and lastly quantum computing.
Quantum computing would be much more effective than current
technology for some calculations.
To make use of the quantum properties of
conducting molecules, a team has shown
the benefit of graphene in a graphene/
molecule/metal junction: its current
attenuation is half that of a metal/
molecule/metal junction. In quantum
computing, a semiconductor quantum bit
(qubit) has been produced for the first time
using MOS technology on silicon. By using
a radiofrequency reflectometry readout
method, this process could be scaled up to
many-qubit architectures. Another type of
quantum bit, the ‘magnetic skyrmion’, is
emerging as a promising nanoscale bit in
spintronics, especially for dense
information storage or energy-efficient
logic operations. Microscale skyrmions
have been created and erased at will
using an electric field.
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
In spintronics, researchers have managed
to accumulate high spin densities in
germanium over long distances. This result
opens up prospects for the production of
a multi-terminal spintronic device where
different spin voltages can be used as
inputs for magneto-logic gates on
germanium. Lastly, in photonics, GaN/
InAIN quantum well nanotubes with good
UV emission properties have been
produced. They can simply be embedded
in a polymer to make flexible UV LEDs.
A new approach to UV and infrared
detection, using electron transitions within
the conduction band of a semiconducting
heterostructure, has been trialled with
individual GaN nanowires.
Advanced manufacturing
The CEA, as a founding member of the
Future Industry Alliance, helps companies
make their digital transformation.
Digital technologies offer tomorrow’s
production plants the opportunity to
gain agility, flexibility, responsiveness
and performance.
The solutions developed at List5 frame
and facilitate the work of operators
throughout the value chain. Thus
tailor-made robotics and cobotics
solutions improve their productivity and
make tasks less arduous. Virtual reality
and augmented reality offer high-
performance tools for workstation design,
maintenance and training. Innovative
sensors and algorithms enhance
instrumentation systems. Likewise,
non-destructive testing can determine,
with unequalled precision, the mechanical
integrity of a part, its areas of fragility,
its remaining lifespan, or its reliability.
Embedded systems
Embedded systems are widely used in
many applications by both professionals
and the general public. Their levels of
safety, security, reliability and performance
are crucial. At the European scale, the List
is particularly engaged in the KIC EIT6
Digital initiative, which brings together the
major players in the research community
(Inria, Fraunhofer, VTT, etc.). In this domain,
the List also develops research activities
in partnership with major industrial groups
such as Renault, STMicroelectronics,
Thales, Airbus, Areva and EDF, plus SMEs
such as Esterel Technologies, Sherpa
Engineering, and All4Tec.
By drawing on several technological
levers–design, modelling, computing
architectures, and hardware software
3
convergence–, the List has risen to the
challenge in sectors from energy and
transport to telecommunications, the
Internet of Things, and home automation–
and of course cybersecurity, a domain in
which the CEA enjoys international
acclaim.
Ambient intelligence
How do we extract and transmit useful
information from the huge flows of data
generated by computer systems and the
Internet of Things? How can we secure
data using innovative encryption solutions?
Researchers at the List are developing new
technologies for better management
of our environment through vision,
geolocalisation, augmented reality, smart
processing of big data, and human–
machine interfaces. The List is conducting
research on ambient intelligence in
partnership with industrial operators in
transport (Renault), cybersecurity
(Thales), energy (Schneider Electric),
electronic document management
(Bureau Veritas), etc.
Technologies for health
The Fundamental Research Division
proposes innovative approaches in the
domains of diagnostics, therapy and
prophylaxis. These approaches are helping
to develop individualized healthcare,
by enabling physicians to prescribe early
care for health disorders, avoid treatments
that may be ineffective for certain patients,
and have access to therapies that are
better tolerated.
5
List: CEA Laboratory of Systems Technology Integration.
6
KIC EIT: Knowledge and Innovation Communities of
the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

Medical imaging and radiotherapy
In May 2017, a giant magnet weighing more
than 130 metric tons arrived at Saclay. It
travelled by sea and inland waterway from
Belfort, and was installed in one of the
arches of NeuroSpin. This vast structure,
designed to produce 11.7 tesla magnetic
fields, is the cornerstone of the Iseult MRI
project. It will be used to produce images
of the brain 100 times more precise than
those produced by current hospital MRI
scanners. In the meantime, imaging
research has advanced, particularly with
diffusion MRI, which links the level of
neuronal activity in regions involved in
the states of waking and sleep with the
amount of neurone swelling in these
regions.
Ginesislab, a new laboratory dedicated
to imaging co-run by the CEA, has been
opened in Bordeaux. It is tasked with
exploring methods to classify the
organisation of a person’s brain by
comparing their brain imaging data with
those of several hundreds or thousands
of other individuals.
The List works with everybody involved in
this field: industry, clinical centres,
researchers and regulatory bodies,
particularly at the Doseo platform, which
is dedicated to metrology, training, and
R&D in radiotherapy and imaging.
Using dose calibration and metrology
tools, instrumentation and simulation,
radiotherapy and X-ray imaging are paving
the way for new personalised medical
treatments, and innovative therapies that
are more effective and safer for patients
and healthcare workers.
5
4 by the Fundamental Research Division has
Diagnostics
The CEA and its partners have developed
a quick new test for identifying certain
forms of antibiotic resistance in hospitals.
These test strips, which are quicker,
cheaper and easier to user, can detect
the presence of multi-resistant bacteria
that pose a health risk if they spread.
In cancer detection, researchers from
the Fundamental Research Division have
made a number of advances. They have
identified distinct proteins that can be
used to diagnose an incident bladder
cancer and a recurrence. Other
researchers have shown that the count
of certain immune cells in the blood is
a predictor of tumour recurrence
and growth. In the case of breast cancer,
a team has identified a potential
biomarker of metastasis and hormone
resistance, which could be used to
predict the development of the disease.
In addition, Unicancer, the CEA and
Fondation Jean Dausset have entered
into a partnership as part of Labex
GenMed to identify the markers that
predict cancer treatment toxicity in
a cohort of more than 10,000 patients.
Therapy and prophylaxis
In 2017, biologists from the Fundamental
Research Division achieved a world first in
gene therapy. A patient with severe sickle
cell disease was treated with an allogeneic
hematopoietic stem cell transplant
containing a therapeutic globin gene.
Two years on, the clinical signs in the
patient who underwent the transplant
are in complete remission. The research
continues, in particular with improvement
of the therapeutic vector containing the
functional version of the defective gene.
In the case of HIV/AIDS, scientists have
deciphered the mechanisms by which
— Technology research for industry
the virus is controlled in people known
as ‘controllers’, those rare individuals
whose viral load is controlled by their
immune system.
Other biologists have designed a
microbicidal gel to protect against
infection, which has proved effective on
83% of the non-human primates tested.
The preclinical efficacy of three candidate
vaccines against Chikungunya developed
been demonstrated on a primate model.
The medical devices platform
and trials platform
The Leti is one of France’s major actors in
the development of healthcare technology,
and in particular medical devices.
Mobilising a supporting cast of active
collaborations with nearly 80 clinical
teams across the world, it addresses the
domains of in vitro diagnostics, health
monitoring and connected healthcare,
medical imaging, drug delivery systems,
active medical devices and innovative
therapies. For the last two years it has
been working on how to deal with the
regulatory constraints that apply to the
conception, prototyping and clinical
trial design for innovative devices.
The “Medical Devices platform” enables
developers to shorten the bench-to-
bedside cycle of tech development to
preclinical and clinical trials, and helps
industrial partners with conformity for
prompt CE marking. With Clinatec, in
collaboration with Grenoble university
teaching hospital, the Leti places its
competencies and technological
resources at the disposal of a world-class
state-of-the-art preclinical and clinical
trials platform. Besides its own research
programmes, Clinatec also acts as a
project facility, hosting its clinical partners
in a high-tech environment for the
duration of their project.
11 —
— 12
Fundamental
research
The CEA conducts research in physics,
chemistry, materials science, biology
and health. It develops and implements
technologies and instrumentation at the
top level worldwide.
Life sciences
The CEA cultivates a base of fundamental
research in life sciences to irrigate all its
other missions, in particular in the
domains of low-carbon energy and new
technologies for industry applied to
healthcare. This solid foundation covers,
among other areas, the molecular basis
zoom on...
Tara: more than
100 million genes
discovered
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
Through the Tara Oceans expedition,
scientists at the Fundamental
Research Division have established
the largest gene catalogue ever
assembled from a planetary-wide
ecosystem. With around 117 million
different sequences, the catalogue
has been established by isolating
the genes gathered from more
than 400 samples collected during
the expedition. This mass DNA
sequencing without the isolation of
complex organisms, from microalgae
to small plankton animals, is known
as metatranscriptomics. The Tara
schooner has unfurled its sails again
to set off on a new adventure to
look at corals in the Pacific. As with
previous expeditions, the CEA will be
responsible for genome analysis.
of immunity, host-pathogen relations
and the major cell functions.
Antibiotic resistance:
anticipating the future
The UN believes that resistance to
antibiotics is ‘a fundamental, long-term
threat to human health, sustainable food
production and development’.
In France, the number of deaths directly
linked to antibiotic resistance is estimated
at more than 12,000 per year, which is more
than three times the number of deaths on
the roads…
Several years ago the Fundamental
Research Division embraced the challenge
of this public health problem, in particular
using its expertise in structural biology to
gain an understanding of bacterial attack
mechanisms and propose potential
alternatives to current treatments.
For example, researchers have shown how
some antibiotics become insensitive to the
principal bacterial resistance mechanisms
via a radical-based chemical reaction.
Other researchers have understood the
molecular mechanisms that enable
bacteria to survive our immune defences.
Scientists at the Fundamental Research
Division have also developed inhibitors
of a protein involved in the virulence of
Gram-negative bacteria and have
deciphered their mode of operation. This
detailed knowledge could be used to find
ways to prevent resistance, but action also
needs to be taken on other fronts to find
1
2
alternatives to antibiotics. Bacteriophages
are just such an alternative. They are
specific, self-replicating, and the natural
enemy of bacteria. Researchers have
shown how their tail, which recognises its
target, and their capsid, which contains
what it needs to destroy the bacterium,
communicate.
The importance of the model
It is crucial that the models used in
research are reliable. From cells in culture
to animal models via tissue samples, these
models are improved to make them as
close as possible to human pathological
situations. In 2017, an international study,
in which the CEA took part, demonstrated
that cows can be a pertinent model for the
study of human genetic abnormalities.
Moreover, the Fundamental Research
Division has developed a mouse model
expressing the two biological
characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease,
unlike models used up to now. It will open
up new possibilities for testing drugs and
making diagnosis easier. Non-human
 — Fundamental research
1. “Surface plasmons” optical arrangement used
in bacteriology © D. Morel/CEA
2. MRI brain scan of a small animal for cancer
research © P. Stroppa/CEA
3. Fibre-optic cable bundle with different functional
zones for in vivo diagnostics © D. Morel/CEA

zoom on...
Collagen, a very stable
protein under irradiation
To better understand the effects of
therapeutic irradiation on cartilage, the
structure of its main constituent, collagen,
has been studied by a collaboration involving
Iramis. Its analysis suggests that the stability
of collagen owes nothing to its aqueous
environment, but everything to its remarkable
triple helix structure that can exist in the
absence of any solvent.

In France, the number of deaths

directly linked to antibiotic
resistance is estimated at
more than
12,000
per year, which is more
than three times the number
of road deaths.

primate models are being used to make
major advances in health. For example,
scientists have shown that multiple
variants of prions can coexist and manifest
themselves in different clinical forms
depending on the conditions of
transmission (exposure pathway, dose,
nature of the contaminating product,
aggregated or dispersed state of the
prions).
Nanotoxicology
Nanoparticles are promising materials in
medicine, for example to guide drugs to
diseased organs and deliver them, to
improve contrast in medical imaging, or
to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy.
Studies are necessary to understand
how they interact with the biological
environment, to ensure they are both
safe and effective. For example,
nanoparticles are surrounded by a
protein corona, which traps further
proteins and interacts with them over
time, producing a real functional network.
This concept of the ‘protein interactome’
can be used to design stealth
nanomedicines with a predetermined
protein corona to make them less visible
to the immune system so they reach their
3
tumour target more effectively. Other
researchers, using a method combining
mass spectrometry and statistics, believe
that ultimately they will be able to predict
the identity of the proteins that adsorb
each other as well as the functional and
toxicological effects of the nanoparticles.
Furthermore, in view of the diversity of
nanoparticles, researchers are developing
high-throughput techniques to group
them according to how dangerous they
are and to determine why some are more
toxic than others. Scientists at the
Fundamental Research Division have
also analysed the effects of oral exposure
to titanium dioxide, a commonly used
food additive (E171), especially in sweets.
They provide the first evidence in animals
that E171 penetrates the intestinal wall,
thus entering the organism, and can
create immune system disorders and
induce pre-cancerous lesions in the colon.
zoom on...
Impetus from
the DRF
To foster more agile cross-disciplinary
science, the Fundamental Research
Division (DRF) has set up the
DRF-Impulsion programme, which
encourages interdisciplinary
research and a focus on the issues of
today. This encouragement should
lead to the breakthrough discoveries
on which tomorrow’s innovations
will be based. Every year since the
Fundamental Research Division was
set up in 2016, projects have been
selected for support by means of
an internal call for proposals.
13 —
— 14

Physical
sciences
Fundamental research at the CEA covers
the exploration of the subatomic world
(physics of particles and the nucleus),
quantum systems (atoms, materials,
radiation-matter interactions) and, at
larger scales, the study of the Earth and
the Universe. These disciplines mobilise
cutting-edge technologies in accelerators,
superconducting magnets, detectors,
cryogenics and more.

Laws of the universe

To drive its research in physics 4

subdisciplines (astrophysics, nuclear

physics and particle physics), the CEA
designs and custom-builds instruments–
detectors, accelerators, magnets–
supported by strong competencies in
computing, electronics, magnetics,
cryogenics and systems engineering.
Developed and tested at Ganil7 in 2017,
the Actar-TPC detector can now
‘photograph’ nuclear reactions in high
definition. Also at Ganil, observation
ofthe abrupt shape transition of a
strontium-98 nucleus should advance
scientists’ understanding of the
organisation of nucleons.
In nuclear physics, the CEA has contributed
to the CLAS12 experiment at the Jefferson
Lab (USA), which began in 2017. In
particular it has supplied some
Micromegas detection systems.
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
A surprising system of
7 planets, located forty
fits the reconstructions based on light years away, has been
observations of quasar spectra. The future discovered around the
Euclid space mission and the Mid-Scale
star Trappist-1, and
Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
(DESI) in Arizona will be used to study dark three of them could
energy and dark matter. Irfu delivered the potentially have
flight model for a camera for the Euclid
mission and has been involved in
liquid water on
developing several instruments for the their surface.
DESI project.
Lastly, gravitational waves have opened
a new window on the Universe. The wave
detected on 17th August 2017 came from
the merger of two neutron stars, and was
accompanied by a gamma ray burst and
the emission of visible light detected by

In astrophysics, the speed of movement the Integral satellite and the VLT

of our galaxy (630 km/s) has been
identified using high-performance
computing. In addition, a surprising system
of planets only forty light years away
has been discovered around the star
Trappist-1: three of the seven planets
could offer the conditions for the presence
of liquid water on their surface.
telescopes in Chile.
Climate and environment
The Laboratory of Environmental and
Climate Science (LSCE) is a joint research
team (CEA, CNRS and University of
Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines)
coordinated by the Pierre-Simon Laplace 5

For the international James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST) project, Irfu8 took part in
the cryogenic testing of instruments in the
telescope. Several decades after its
discovery, dark matter remains an enigma.
According to simulations of the formation
of large structures in the Universe, the
standard ‘cold’ dark matter scenario best
7
Ganil: The national large-scale heavy ion accelerator.
8
Irfu: Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws
of the Universe.
Institute (IPSL). It is an active contributor
to IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change) assessment and report
work. One key focus of research progress
is the collection and analysis of natural
archives of climate records (ice, sediments,
tree rings, etc.) and the integrated
modelling of the climate system, taking into
account the major biogeochemical cycles
(cycles of carbon, water, sulphur, nitrogen,
as so on). The LSCE also analyses transfers
and tracers of matter in the environment.
Greenhouse gas measurements (see Icos,
p. 17) are essential to predict climate
change and mitigate its impact. According
to the World Meteorological Organization,
their atmospheric content is rising more
quickly than expected. Although a fertilising
effect has been observed in plants,
including crops, cereal yields will ultimately
suffer from the temperature increases,

4. Construction of Micromegas detectors in a clean room
© L. Godart/CEA
5. VLT telescopes in Chile © DR
6. Installation of a coring barge in a lake
in Slovenia © DR
7. Attolab laser installation © P. Stroppa/CEA
according to international studies involving
the LSCE.
A thorough budget of methane sources and
sinks has been drawn up. After a period of
stabilisation in the early 2000s, a further
rise in methane concentrations has been
observed since 2007, accelerating strongly
since 2014. This change, which is not yet
properly understood, could be due to
wetlands and to leaks during the extraction
and transmission of natural gas.
A statistical physics approach based on
atmospheric data collected since 1948 has
advanced scientists’ knowledge of extreme
climate events and points to the possibility
that they may eventually become easier
to predict. Finally, the first migration of
Homo sapiens from Africa has been pushed
back by at least 60,000 years, according to
an international study that includes the
LSCE. Thermoluminescence dating of the
oldest modern human fossil found outside
Africa (in Israel) puts it at between 177,000
and 194,000 years ago.
6 It is contributing to R&D on the new-
Fundamental phenomena
in physics
The laws of physics are now well-
established, yet a few big questions
remain unanswered, particularly in the
field of complex systems where the
behaviour of a set of individuals escapes
any attempt  to fit it by defining the
population’s inter-individual interactions.
This complexity is at the heart of
thermodynamic processes like self-
organisation in the nanosciences.
The ‘animate matter’ paradigm starts
to probe the frontier between living
and dead matter.
The origin of the Earth’s magnetic field
remains unsolved by the Von Karman
Sodium (VKS) experiment, which uses
a turbulent flow of sodium.
Further high resolution numerical
simulations of VKS are providing a better
understanding of how the dynamo
effect is triggered and are being used
to adapt the experimental configuration.
— Fundamental research
Laser-matter interaction
Ultrashort (femtosecond, i.e. 10-15 s
and attosecond, i.e. 10-18 s) pulse lasers
can be used to probe matter and study
its properties in high strength fields,
and its atomic and molecular bonds.
The Attolab facility of excellence has
started up its first line (SE10). Users can
study the dynamics of electrons and
atomic nuclei in matter in its gaseous
and condensed phases.
Light-driven electron
acceleration
For the first time, a team at Iramis has
produced high intensity infrared laser
pulses with orbital angular momentum
(optical vortices), and has transferred
this momentum to the XUV harmonics
generated on a ‘plasma mirror’.
These new effects could be applied
especially to the acceleration of ultrashort
beams of high energy particles.
Accelerators and
cryotechnologies
The CEA has unique competencies for
carrying through large-scale projects,
like the new superconducting magnet for
the 11.7 tesla MRI facility, delivered to
NeuroSpin (Saclay) in May 2017.
generation particle accelerators that will
replace the LHC at Cern: a dipole magnet
has produced a 4.5 tesla magnetic field,
which is one tesla higher than previous
prototypes. Once inserted in a niobium-
tin dipole magnet, the whole system will
produce an 18 tesla field.
7 15 —
— 16

The research
infrastructures
(RIs)
Fundamental and applied research both require very
large scientific facilities, constructed and run through
international collaboration. The CEA represents France,
often alongside the CNRS, in the bodies that coordinate
these very large research infrastructures (RIs). 2
It delivers expertise in key areas (nuclear and high-
energy physics, materials science, etc.), a broad range of
basic skills (accelerators, metrology, vacuum engineering
and cryotechnology), and a project-based organisation
bringing users and designers together.

Neutronics analysis Structure) spectroscopic analysis, of exotic nuclei is an economic-interest

(Orphée-Laboratoire Léon Brillouin,
Institut Laue-Langevin, European
Spallation Source-ESS)
For the ESS neutron source project in
Lund,  Sweden, the CEA-Irfu has delivered
contributions in kind. The spallation
source, which should be commissioned in
2019, will be nearly a hundred times more
powerful than current sources.
Synchrotron analyses
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
crystallography and imaging are the main
techniques employed, particularly for
nanoscience research.
The CEA and the CNRS played a leading
role in France in designing and building the
European XFEL superconducting electron
accelerator, which opened in September
2017 in Hamburg. The ultra-bright flashes
of this free electron laser can be used to
map the atomic details of viruses, decipher
the molecular composition of cells, take
consortium split 50/50 between its
co-founders the CEA and the CNRS. The
beamlines of Spiral2 (linear radioactive
ion accelerator system), which are unique
in the world, open up vast new horizons
for fundamental nuclear physics and
interdisciplinary research. Designed to
accelerate the lightest particles (protons,
deutons, helium), the Spiral2 linear
accelerator has now been cooled.
For the first time ever, the structure of

(Soleil, ESRF and E-XFEL, X-ray
free electron laser)
Several CEA research teams regularly work
on the French and European synchrotron
beamlines. X-ray scattering and diffraction,
full-spectrum photoemission spectroscopy,
EXAFS (Extended X-Ray Absorption Fine
three-dimensional images of the
nanoworld and film chemical reactions.
Nuclear physics
(Ganil, Spiral2, Cern, Fair)
The Ganil (National Large Heavy Ion
Accelerator) facility pioneering the study
1
different actinium isotopes has been
studied using a new laser technique
developed by a collaboration involving
Ganil. Resonance ionisation spectroscopy
in a gas can be used to study the very heavy
radioactive nuclei that will be produced in
small quantities by Spiral2 (one nucleus
every 10 seconds).
The GBAR experiment at Cern, designed
for studying the gravity of antimatter, is
currently being installed: the intense
positrons source has gone into service and
production of the first antiprotons is
expected in 2018. Lastly, the commissioning
of the GSI Large Acceptance Dipole (GLAD),
a superconducting spectrometer developed
by Irfu, has taken place for the R3B
(Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive
Beams) experiment at Fair (Facility for
Antiproton and Ion Research) in Darmstadt
(Germany).
 — The research infrastructures
1. Agata gamma rays detector, installed at Ganil
© P. Stroppa/CEA
2. I nstallation of the cryogenic helium distribution
system on the XFEL electron accelerator
© P. Dumas/CEA
3. Tunnel
 at the LHC © P. Stroppa/CEA
4.Measuring atmospheric composition for
the Icos-Ramces project F. Rhodes/CEA
5. C
 urie supercomputer © Cadam/CEA

4 monitoring stations. After five years spent

building the network and doing preparatory
work, the first seven stations now meet
the exacting criteria for Icos certification.
Irfu is responsible for making several They include four atmospheric monitoring
instruments for missions expected to stations which have been certified by the
start in 2020. To prepare the next Atmospheric Thematic Centre coordinated
generation, an R&D programme has been by the LSCE. All the stations should be
launched covering the entire spectrum certified by the end of 2019.
from gamma rays to submillimetre
wavelengths. Supercomputing (Genci, Prace)
The Leti, the Inac and the Irfu are working The CEA received an award at the
together on new generation bolometers. SuperComputing’17 conference for work
3 that revealed for the first time the length
Environment (Icos) of stars’ magnetic cycles. The collaboration
Icos (Integrated Carbon Observation explained why the Sun’s magnetic field
System) is an European research reverses every 11 years, using numerical
High-energy physics (LHC) infrastructure to monitor greenhouse simulations on European, Canadian and
The CEA is a stakeholder in the research gases, consisting of a network of 140 French computing resources.
conducted at the LHC (Large Hadron
Collider), which is exploring infinitely tiny
matter (elementary particles, antimatter,
dark matter, etc.) and the universe
milliseconds after the Big Bang. It involved
in plans to upgrade the LHC, which will
boost the accelerator’s ‘luminosity’,
i.e. give a higher frequency of particle
collisions. In 2017 work was done on
the first phase of upgrades to the Atlas
and CMS experiments.
For the first time, the light-by-light
scattering reaction predicted in 1936 was
observed by the Atlas experiment at the
LHC, thanks to ‘ultra-peripheral’ collisions
of lead ions. It is of particular interest to
physicists because it is the result of
interactions between a vacuum and
intense electromagnetic fields.

Astrophysics (telescopes)
The CEA is developing a camera for the
Cherenkov CTA (Cherenkov Telescope
Array) project, which has just begun. 5 17 —
— 18
Programme
support
All CEA research programmes articulate
a core set of functional competences
vital to all-round performance: control
of activity class-related risks, human
resources management, budget scheduling
for strategic and research activities,
international relations, knowledge
mobilisation, communication, and more
– all competencies that let the CEA stride
confidently into the future.
Risk control
The CEA operates nuclear facilities hosted
in many of its laboratories and research
sites, and as such it is responsible for
operating them and conducting R&D
projects while controlling all the risks
inherent to its activities. These risks are
identified, assessed and then ranked to
provide an annually-updated risk map.
This map serves as a reference for
implementing the CEA’s risk control policy
and for setting the programme of audits
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
and inspections, a central part of the CEA’s
continuous improvement strategy in this
domain. Most importantly, it serves to
educate and mobilise all CEA personnel
around the overriding need to exercise
good governance in the protection and
monitoring of the environment, nuclear
safety, transport security, health, staff
security and radioprotection, protection
of sites, facilities and assets, crisis
management and the control of legal risks.
Human resources
The CEA is committed to managing the
ongoing development of its permanent
and temporary personnel’s scientific,
technological and other competencies,
by means of several levers for forward
workforce and skills planning
(identification and preparation of skills to
meet the needs of future programmes),
1
recruiting and training. The CEA is also
committed to favouring constructive
dialogue with mandated representatives
of its personnel, and to ensuring
professional equality and good working
conditions.
Training
The INSTN–National Institute of Nuclear
Science and Technology–is a state-funded
higher education establishment and
national training organisation
administered by the CEA and placed under
the joint authority of the government
ministries for Industry, Higher Education,
and–through its ties to the CEA–Energy,
Defence and Health. The INSTN has a
60-year history of delivery highly
specialised teaching and training to all
levels of qualification–from operative
agent to engineer and up to research
scientist–on the sciences and technologies
implemented in industrial and medical
applications of nuclear energy. The INSTN
supports the CEA’s action to develop
low-carbon energies, and also offers
training in the area of responsible energy
as part of efforts to combat climate
change. Working with French industry
within an international development
strategy, in 2016 the INSTN secured
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
‘Collaborating Centre’ status for education
and training in nuclear technologies and
their industrial and radiopharmaceutical
applications. The INSTN is the first centre
in Europe to be granted the status in these
areas by the IAEA. This recognition also
reflects the excellence of the CEA and its
activities in the field as a whole.
Planning and strategy
The CEA signed its goals and performance
contract for 2016–2020 with its governing
ministers. Drafted by the Strategic analysis
division and tracked by the Financial
control and programmes division, the –
purpose of this document is to align the
CEA’s civilian-sector activities, from
research to industry, with the strategic
orientations taken by France. It aligns with
the multi-year rolling 2015– 2025 science
programmes schedule as revised and
realigned by the Financial control and
programmes division working with the
operational divisions, and articulates with
the CEA’s missions and strategic
orientations. To ensure its programmes are
clearly defined and consistently
implemented across all the relevant
operational divisions, the CEA has
segmented its civil research programmes
into major mission areas (nuclear energy–
fission and fusion– technological research
for industry, fundamental research
grounding). Twenty-six separate segments

have thus been earmarked, of which the
scientific, planning and budgetary contents
reflect the CEA’s strategic vision for the
next ten years. All the heads of the
scientific segments, under the
coordination of the Financial control and
programmes division, are responsible for
annually re-updating this strategic
scientific vision. The Strategic analysis
division leads all the analyses necessary
to devise, deploy and direct the
organisation’s strategy. These analyses
focally revolve around energy and power
systems, digital transformation, and the
industrial and business models behind the
CEA’s major partnership arrangements.
The CEA in the international
arena
The CEA’s International Relations Division
advises the government on issues of
external nuclear policy, represents France
in international organisations in the
nuclear sector, such as the IAEA and
3
the NEA9, and negotiates some
intergovernmental agreements. It leads
and develops cooperation in different
domains of activity with counterpart
bodies in other countries.
The CEA’s European and international
policy hinges on several major objectives:
• deliver backing to support strategic
partnerships forged by government,
develop its international scientific
reputation;
• support France’s policy of exporting
nuclear energy expertise, in particular
through its collaboration with international
partners developing civil nuclear power
programmes;
• support the development and
promotion of the CEA’s renewable energy
technologies, and participate in the
construction of the European Research
Area.
The International Relations Division
appoints and runs the network of nuclear
advisers at French embassies abroad.
Commercialising scientific
research
When appropriate, the results of research
conducted at the CEA form the basis of
patent applications. In 2017, 762 priority
patents were filed, adding to a portfolio
of nearly 6,300 patent families in force.
The CEA thus remains the leading research
organisation for patent submissions to the
French National Institute of Industrial
Property (INPI). The CEA has also achieved
prominence in the Clarivate rankings: for
7 years in a row, the CEA has appeared in
the “Top 100 Global Innovators” list
identifying ‘the 100 world’s most effective
innovators’.
The CEA’s large worldwide patent portfolio
is mainly exploited via technology transfer
activities with industry, leading to more
— Programme support
1. Stowing a radioactive materials
transport package © CEA
2. Working meeting in a proteomics
laboratory
© P. Avavian/CEA
3. Lithium-ion battery management
and supervision system for LED
2 lighting © P. Avavian/CEA
than 600 industrial partnerships in 2017.
Our patents also play a driving role in the
creation of innovative businesses.
Another 9 new startups were created in
2017, consolidating a longstanding trend
that has seen 103 companies created in
the last decade. To support the growth of
these fledgling companies, the CEA has
also engaged in seed funding, an activity
that is coordinated by two subsidiaries:
CEA Investissement and Supernova
created in 2017.
Also of note is that CEA tech-transfer
activities are supported by a strategic
marketing group, including a bibliometric/
patent research service, whose tried-and-
tested expertise helps the labs optimise
their commercialisation of scientific
research.
Communication
The CEA’s Communication Division is
responsible for keeping the public
informed about the organisation’s research
options and results, and the favourable
impact of these on economic wealth
creation and employment. Another of the
CEA’s missions is to propagate the
scientific and technical culture
underpinning its research and skills.
9
NEA: Nuclear Energy Agency of OECD. 19 —
— 20
Sustainable
development
Responsible research and
innovation for a sustainable
energy mix
Sustainable development, with the triple
goals of environmental protection,
economic growth and social equity, is
integral to the CEA’s mission as a public
research agency.
The CEA aligns its research actions with
the dynamic strongly supported by the
French government: France signed the
Paris climate agreement and adopted the
UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and its 17 Sustainable
Development Goals. The CEA’s mission is
entwined with the history of nuclear energy
in France, and we have long been vigilantly
monitoring the environment, managing
waste, economizing material and
consulting local-community populations.
The CEA has thus developed activities,
processes and a ‘socially-responsible’
corporate culture that we enforce and
apply across everything we do.
The CEA is tackling the great
sustainable development
challenges through R&D
programmes…
The CEA committed to delivering
excellence in research on low-carbon
energies
The CEA at the heart of great new challenges — www.cea.fr
The CEA’s research on climate modelling
enables it to track signals of greenhouse
global warming trends, and forward-think
the compelling necessity to carbon-
neutralize energy production. The CEA is
central to the IPCC’s science activities.
The LSCE’s researchers produced global
models predicting rice yields in 2100
and estimated a reduction of 8.3%/°C,
recommending proactive adaptation
strategies (genetic selection, etc.).
As Europe’s leading centre for research
into clean energies, the CEA is developing
the bricks of tomorrow’s energy mix, which
will blend nuclear with renewable energies
in innovative electricity grids and meet
optimised power demand.
The CEA developed the energy
architecture for Energy Observer, the
first ever self-sufficient energy
catamaran, christened in Paris in July
2017 by Nicolas Hulot, Minister for
Ecological and Inclusive Transition.
The CEA is developing the technologies
to shrink the environmental footprint of
energy and power systems, both in the
nuclear sector (clean-up and dismantling,
waste treatment processes) and in
renewable energies (saving rare-earth
metals, recyclability).
A new haptic robotic arm for use in the
nuclear industry (for work in
1
1. Energy Observer catamaran in Saint-Malo © Romain Frogé
2. Design workshop to improve building accessibility
for people with disabilities © H. Birraux/CEA
contaminated environments, safely
sorting and separating radioactive waste)
was proposed by the CEA in 2017 in the
context of the European RoMaNS project.
The CEA actively contributing to the
economic development of France
The CEA’s technological research activity
fuels the industrial fabric of France and
streams into innovative areas. Indeed, the
CEA is Europe’s number one most innovative
research institution, and world number two
(in the Clarivate 2017 rankings10). It also files
more patents than any other public
research organisation in France and
generates half of all alliance-based
research in France. The CEA’s core R&D in
nuclear energy is focused largely on the
support of the French nuclear industry
and helps to boost this key sector,
representing 220,000 jobs in France (in
2,600 businesses, from multinationals to
small and medium-sized enterprises).
• Creation with Amundi of a jointly-run
company, Supernova, for innovation,
to develop and mobilise breakthrough
technologies from research labs.
• Creation of its 200th startup, Trimideo,
for inspection and robotic guidance in
the ‘factory of the future’.
CEA research programmes focus
on societal issues
The CEA plays a lead role in maintaining
civil peace and security.
In 2017, the CEA delivered the MIMOSA
software to the IAEA to increase its
nuclear proliferation monitoring capability
through commercial imaging from space.
In the healthcare area, the CEA has
partnered the Inserm and the CNRS to
further the development of non-energy
applications of neutron science,
10
In ranking “Top25 Global Innovations - Government”.
 — Sustainable development
Corporate Governance of CEA’s headquarter
© D. Touzeau/CEA

governance
(as at 31 december 2017)
the CEA
The CEA - Commissariat à l’énergie
General Division atomique et aux énergies alternatives, cutting-edge technologies originally • A study of lighting on the Grenoble site The CEA is a committed community-aware
the French Atomic Energy and Alternative developed for microelectronics or defence, took account of accessibility and also equal opportunities employer.
Energies Commission—is a public agency and innovative therapies. It also channels included footpaths. As part of initiatives to encourage the
High devoted to scientific, technical and its advanced skills in information and employment and inclusion of people with
Chairman Deputy Commissionner for
Daniel Chairman Atomic Energy industrial research and development. communication technologies into For water, which is essentially used for disabilities, the CEA’s disability projects
VERWAERDE Christophe Yves Because of its dual responsibilities developing technologies that help people industrial purposes (process water, cooling have run competitions to raise employees’
GÉGOUT BRÉCHET stemming from its sovereignty and private at work (virtual reality, cobotics) or in and air conditioning), the CEA uses awareness of the issues:
sector missions, the CEA is in a category everyday life (for active ageing at home). recycled water and closed-loop water • Employees at Paris-Saclay produced
of its own and is supervised by the In 2017, a young patient suffering from supply systems as much as possible. comic strip stories on the arrival of a new
General and Chief of Staff and Performance Director Chief of Staff
Nuclear Ministers in charge of Energy, Research, sickle cell disease (a severe form of • At Fontenay-aux-Roses in 2017, the CEA employee with a disability.
Dominique MONVOISIN Claire KERBOUL
Inspection Industry and Defence. anaemia) was successfully treated for connected its water and electricity meters • Employees at Gramat solved riddles to
Division
Its statutes and missions are defined in the first time with a gene therapy to a building management system. work out the mystery person with a hidden
Xavier
VITART Security- Renewable International Sustainable Compliance Special National Institute Articles L. 332-1 to L. 332-7 of the creation of subsidiaries, projects for The Scientific Council is chaired by the High developed at the CEA. This makes for better infrastructure disability.
Safety Energy Cooperations Development and Internal Adviser for Nuclear Research Code, and are made law by contracts, procurement, transactions, Commissioner for Atomic Energy, whom it security and ensures more economical • Employees held meetings, such as the
Delegate Delegate Director Director Control Director Science and
Director Director Director Technology Decree No. 2016-311 of 17 March 2016 international agreements, and participation assists by shaping recommendations on The CEA mobilises its technologies to the energy and water use. one on ‘dys’ (dyspraxia, dyslexia, etc.)
Philippe concerning the organisation and in incorporated organisations. It may also the future directions to be taken by the CEA benefit of developing countries. at Cesta.
Edwige Jean Gabriele Françoise Éric Hervé CORRÉA operation of the CEA. be consulted by the Government Ministers and on its scientific activities. A regional operational representation of Environmental footprint • Their awareness actions are regular and
BONNEVIE THERME FIONI TOUBOUL CAPELLE BERNARD under whose authority the CEA operates It advises on the relevance of the CEA’s the CEA has been created in Tunis for the Most of the CEA’s sites are in rural or original, such as the Festival Regards
At the CEA’s head on any matter lying within the CEA’s domain scientific activities and investments with countries of the Southern Mediterranean, peri-urban areas. The excellence of CEA Croisés, where a film was shown on the
The Chairman, who is responsible for the of competence. It is informed of all regard to its mission. It is informed of the the Middle East and Africa. The purpose research is largely driven by dynamic emotions experienced by an employee
overall running of the entity, is largely important events affecting the CEA. execution of the CEA’s programmes and of this structure will be to strengthen international scientific collaborations, so with hearing loss at work, at Marcoule.
empowered to act in its name, and The Board of Administration’s Investment evaluates their results. The Scientific cooperation on strategic topics such transport, whether for business travel or To make the buildings at Cesta more
represents it officially. The Chairman Committee examines-including the Council’s advice, recommendations and as energy and digital transitions, the commute, is a significant item in the accessible for people with disabilities,
OPERATIONAL DIVISIONS FUNCTIONAL DIVISIONS appoints the Directors, who supervise financials-matters arising from the CEA’s reports are passed on to the Board of technological research and basic CEA’s greenhouse gas emissions. The CEA three of them have been fitted with lifts.
the operational execution of the agency’s strategic investments and commitments, Administration, the Atomic Energy research. has therefore made arrangements to The Grenoble Centre is looking at ease of
missions, prepare the meetings of the and its annual planning. This committee Committee, and the relevant Government promote shared mobility solutions (buses movement throughout its entire site:
Military Nuclear Energy Fundamental Technological Strategic Partnerships Nuclear Safety and Board of Administration, and see that the is responsible for dovetailing civil Ministers. …Implemented in a responsible or car-sharing), or non-mobility the site surroundings, the site precinct,
Applications Division Research Research and Sales Division Protection Division Board’s decisions are carried out. programmes, strategic investments and The CEA’s finances are state-controlled, way with respect to (using ICTs), and encourages the use of and areas inside the buildings. To address
Division Division Division Franck LÉNA Jean-Luc VO VAN QUI The Chairman serves the French financial resources, and ensuring the through an Inspection Mission under the Energy consumption and water use trains rather than planes. accessibility issues, 14 initiatives are
François François Vincent Stéphane government’s control of the nuclear smooth advancement of the civil official general economic and financial The CEA is located in 10 sites. Two-thirds The CEA is in a continual process of planned in 3 areas, including the
GELEZNIKOFF GAUCHÉ BERGER SIEBERT
deterrent and the management of the programmes. monitoring body. Its reports are passed of its built assets date back to the 1960s optimising its organisational control of the involvement of future users, the inclusion
nuclear assets required for defence. The Atomic Energy Committee is the body on to the Chairman and addressed to and were designed primarily to host health and environmental impacts of its of accessibility as an assessment criterion
Cesta Centre Cadarache Paris-Saclay Grenoble Strategic Analysis International
Jean-Pierre Centre Centre Centre Division Relations Division The Chairman also sits on the Nuclear with the longest history at the helm of the the relevant Government Ministers and research, much of which is nuclear. These activities and its current and former in competitions, improving awareness
GIANNINI Christian Michel Philippe Monica de VIRGILIIS Anne LAZAR-SURY Export Committee chaired by the Prime CEA and France’s civil and military nuclear the Minister in charge of the Budget. facilities have been designed and operated facilities, whether in terms of managing among technical teams, etc.
BONNET BÉDOUCHA BOURGUIGNON Minister and on the Nuclear Policy Council sector. It sets the body’s research, The annual financial report, where in a way that makes them significant dismantling and clean-up or managing
DAM chaired by the French President, and is production and work programme, and necessary with the consolidated emitters of greenhouse gases. So the CEA radioactive, biological or chemical waste
Île-de-France Marcoule
Centre Centre the government’s advisor on nuclear policy. examines all matters that concern the CEA, statements, and the CEA’s annual report, decided several years ago to refurbish its and effluent.
Communication Human Resources The High Commissioner for Atomic Energy as ordered by the Board of Administration, are submitted to the Inspection Mission. built infrastructure, destroy its energy-
Pierre Philippe Division and Social
BOUCHET GUIBERTEAU
Xavier CLÉMENT Relations Division acts as scientific and technical advisor the Chairman or the High Commissioner for inefficient buildings, and reconfigure its Interests of workers and stakeholders
Philippe SANSY to the Chairman, and can be tasked by Atomic Energy. The Investment Committee heating systems, opting for gas power, All CEA activities, in-house operations and
Gramat the latter, or by a Government Minister, reports to it, and it can be convened by the cogeneration or grid connection to relations with stakeholders are grounded 2
Centre
to take charge of various missions of relevant Government Ministers concerning district heating. in and legitimised by 6 core values: public
Jehan
VANPOPERYNGHE Programmes and Information Systems consultancy and expertise in areas any projects for legislation and regulation New Compliance function • At Cadarache and Marcoule, heat/power interest, empowerment, commitment,
Financial Division Division
of interest to the CEA, and missions that affect the CEA’s mission or A compliance function was set up with the cogeneration systems went into operation sense of requirement, complexity culture,
Le Ripault Marie-Astrid Louis ARRIVET
RAVON-BERENGUER concerning National Defence and organisation. appointment on 1st March 2017 of a Compliance in 2017. and solidarity. Guided by these values, the
Centre
Education. Both are officially named It is chaired by the Prime Minister to and Internal Control Director reporting to the CEA pursues goals that help forge national
Serge
DUFORT by government appointment through discuss civil activities, and the Minister Chairman. The Director is responsible for setting The CEA has an extensive property policy on supported employment schemes
Legal Affairs Division the Council of Ministers. of Defence for defence-related matters. up this new function, which includes drawing portfolio (buildings and land). It therefore to help young people, people with
Valduc Florence The Atomic Energy Committee delegates up policies on professional ethics and conduct, has to be especially vigilant concerning disabilities, and seniors in work, and to
Centre TOUÏTOU-DURAND Governance and control bodies authority to the Armed Forces-CEA Joint and establishing an internal control process. its consumption of electricity for lighting. defend jobs in science. Employment
François The Board of Administration oversees the Committee to examine, particularly in their There is a strong commitment to compliance • Renovation work in offices and plant quotas are met partly through recruitment
BUGAUT
general organisation of the CEA, the financial aspects, matters concerning and internal control within the General Division. rooms has optimised their LED lighting of the CEA’s own personnel and partly
contract of objectives and performance, the execution of the nuclear weapons The aim is to embed these functions in the and installed ‘presence sensor’ controls through subcontracting (increase in the
the annual activity programme, the budget, programmes for which the CEA is corporate culture of the CEA, in line with to ensure the lighting of certain rooms share of work and services contracted
the annual financial statements, the accountable. its values. reflects their occupancy time. to ‘sheltered’ employers).
 9 Key figures
2017
CEA’s over
centres
600
in France
15
4,914
publications
industrial partners

64
in peer-review magazines

1 Headquarter 14

1,183
1 2 framework agreements
Civil research centres 2 in force with universities and
6 graduate colleges
2 Paris-Saclay doctoral students and

160
Fontenay-aux-Roses
and Saclay sites
13 7

30
8
3 Grenoble
4 Marcoule post-doctoral
5 Cadarache
researchers competitiveness clusters
at the CEA of which 17 are administered
12 3 by the CEA
Centres for military 9
10

422
applications

51
6 DAM Île-de-France 4
7 Le Ripault 11 5 european projects
8 Valduc including 194 FP7 projects research units
and 228 H2020 projects co-supervised by the CEA
9 Cesta
and academic partners
10 Gramat (45 UMR, 5 UMS, 1 USR)

Regional 762
16,979
technology-transfer
priority patents filed

The CEA
platforms
(the CEA holds fourth place
11 Toulouse in the National Institute of employees
12 Bordeaux Industrial Property (INPI) ranking
of public and private patent
13 Nantes

at the heart 9
applicants)
14 Metz
15 Lille
over centres

6,300
of great new patent families
in force 5
regional technology

challenges
transfer platforms

204
French atomic energy and
alternative energy Commission

5 billion €
91 191 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex
Startups
www.cea.fr created since 1972 in the field of
civil and defence
Cover: From left to right and top to bottom: Grid for nuclear fuel rod spacing - Emulator for a chip with 48 cores in six interconnected clusters - Inside the Megajoule Laser experimental -
— annual report 2017 innovation and technological
development, 141 since 2000 budget
chamber - Electronic glucose sensor - Space satellite cryostat integration on prototype - Exterior view of solar panels. Crédits : C. Dupont - L. Godart – D. Morel - MS - P. Stroppa / CEA.
Conception et réalisation : EFIL – efil.fr – Imprimé par un imprimeur Imprim’Vert sur du papier provenant de forêts durablement gérées - Septembre 2018