The trend towards more intelligent electricity systems, also known as smart grids, is one of the pivotal points in transitioning towards a low-carbon energy economy in Europe. It raises not only technical, economic and regulatory issues, but over and above the integration of renewable energies and new uses, issues relating to the management of information for the various users of the grid and the need to control costs.

R&D’s work can be divided into three main categories:

• the first category of work aims to anticipate the impacts of energy transitions and the emergence of decentralised energy systems on the development and management of electricity systems;
• the second category of work aims to improve the performance of electricity grids;
• the third category of work aims to manage the transition of the electricity system to smart grids through the integration of intermittent renewable energies and new distributed resources such as energy storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

1.6.1.2 Climate transition

In the field of nuclear, hydro and fossil-fired power generation, EDF R&D is developing tools and methods to improve the safety of production resources, optimise their operational lifespan, and increase their performance in terms of output and environmental impact. There are three key priority goals: ensuring the Group maintains its advantage in terms of nuclear power over the long term, developing renewable energies while reducing their cost and increasing the extent to which they are used in electricity systems, while improving the environmental acceptability of our generation facilities.

1) To secure the Group’s advantage in nuclear power generation in the long term

a. EDF

R&D is working to protect EDF’s assets through actions in line with its policy to improve the safety of facilities, particularly with regard to enhanced performance and extended operating lifespan.

More broadly, the EDF group (EDF and Framatome) works on R&D with the CEA as part of the Institut Tripartite (which also includes AREVA). In 2017 the three partners launched the Nuclear Plan of Tomorrow Initiative comprising technological building blocks for existing plants and nuclear new build. The aim of several of these technological building blocks is to gain actionable knowledge of the ageing mechanisms of components having an impact on the operating lifespan of the EDF group’s nuclear units.

To support these programmes, R&D is developing digital simulation tools and experimental test resources, as well as tools that are capable of handling the fresh challenges raised by the increase in large sets of digital data, IT security, and new information and communication technologies. In 2017, EDF launched ConnexLab in Saclay to test new concepts of operation and maintenance. ConnexLab is part of the nuclear sector’s digital transition initiative bringing together EDF and its subsidiary Framatome, the CEA, equipment manufacturers, maintenance companies and digital model suppliers.

Furthermore, R&D contributes to the preliminary design of the Small Modular Reactor(SMR) reactor called Nuward.

b. Framatome

In connection with its nuclear steam supply systems business, in 2019, Framatome’s R&D activities focused, in particular, on:

• upgrading reactor justification software and methods used to prepare safety reports, in line with developments in the international state of the art and the most recent requests from safety authorities. Examples include neutron calculations of core power and analyses of thermal-hydraulic behaviour in the event of accidents (e.g. loss of coolant). Highlights of 2019 included progress on the validation by Framatome’s teams of the new CATHARE 3 accident thermal-hydraulics software, as well as new milestones achieved by the advanced neutron simulation chain project (“ODYSSEE”) carried out in partnership with EDF (delivery of the core thermal-hydraulics code, first version of the multi-physics coupling code). This chain, which is more precise and productive, will be operational in 2022 to carry out studies in support of the EPR2 safety file and, thereafter, the 10-yearly safety reassessments of French nuclear power plants. Significant progress was also made in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) thermal-hydraulic calculation methods, particularly in the field of two-phase studies (modelling of quenching phenomena, critical flows, etc.) and aeraulics (thermal environment, fire, etc.), using calculation acceleration solutions (use of metamodels);
• the development and continuous improvement of reactor components: vessel, internal structures, steam generators, primary pumps. This R&D made advances in the areas of compliance with new regulatory requirements and the ability to justify the behaviour of equipment beyond its nominal lifetime (up to 60 years). For example, advanced methods of fracture mechanics justification have been developed. The assistance provided to plants for the design of the new technology forgings required for EPR2 production has also begun to yield concrete results;
• productivity gains in engineering studies, by optimising study processes, or in certain services or equipment, and the use of advanced digital techniques (deployment of virtual reality, use of metamodels or learning methods, etc.);
• a contribution to advanced model development activities;
• optimisation of power plant maintenance.

2) Support the development of renewable energies

The second priority is support for the development of renewable energies in France and abroad. These are playing an increasingly important role in the European and global energy landscape, as confirmed, in particular, by Dalkia’s main R&D programmes, which focus on developing the share of renewable and recovered energies in the energy mix, particularly in heating networks. Suitability studies are underway on the development of absorption machines, solar thermal energy, and offers using renewable gas. The work begun in 2018 on high-temperature heat pumps with EDF’s R&D Department is continuing, as is the work on heat recovery in decentralised data centres located at our customers’ sites.

For renewable energies, storage and hydrogen, the goal of R&D is to identify technological breakthroughs that offer a significant competitive advantage, and to help the most promising technologies emerge industrially, working in partnership with academia, industry and startups. EDF is investigating a wide range of renewable energies and storage solutions: hydropower, photovoltaics, onshore and offshore wind power, solar thermodynamic power, biomass, marine energies, geothermal power, electrochemical batteries, flywheels, flow cells, supercapacitors, electrolysers, fuel cells (hydrogen) and thermal energy storage (heat and ice).

For example, in the photovoltaic solar power field, EDF Renewables has launched innovative power plants that are currently undergoing experimental prototyping, such as agri‑photovoltaic, floating photovoltaic or bifacial photovoltaic power plants. Tools for dimensioning and calculating specific photovoltaic production are generally developed in parallel. In addition, laboratory experiments allow us to understand the failure and degradation modes of photovoltaic modules, whose technologies evolve regularly.

R&D is also working to develop tools and methods to enhance operational performance and optimise the cost of the EDF group’s electricity generation system projects that are based on renewable energies and storage: