Energy transition towards a low-carbon economy in Europe hinges on strong integration of variable and decentralised renewable energies, in particular on the distribution network. This integration requires more intelligent electricity systems, or smart grids, to be developed, in order to have the capacity to manage a more decentralised electricity systems, with a much higher number of stakeholders. The major issues are technical, economic and regulatory, and this will involve taking on new challenges such as:
These challenges require work on the transmission and distribution grid materials, generation and storage means, their communication functionalities and protocols, on control materials and methods, and also on the economy of consumption, electricity services and the related markets.
Digital transition impacts the entire electric power system and is a key driver of the electric and climate transitions described above. The information technology research programme focuses on:
The following could be mentioned as examples of major events involving disruptive technologies in 2021:
To conduct its research and development programmes, EDF R&D nurtures a large number of partnerships both in France and internationally, the purpose of which is to maintain its expertise at the highest global level in the disciplines that are central to EDF’s concerns, and to supplement its in-house reservoirs of skills.
R&D’s partnership policy is embodied in a variety of ways, both nationally and internationally.
In France, R&D has entered into framework agreements with major public research organisations. The main academic partner in France is the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), with which EDF renewed its partnership framework agreement for five years, in 2019. Over the past few years, R&D has also set up about twenty laboratories and teams on a joint basis with academic partners and technical or industrial centres. With them, it is participating in collaborative research projects funded by several national or European agencies. In 2021, the framework partnership agreement with the BRGM, the French Geological Survey, was renewed and three new framework agreements were implemented with CentraleSupélec, the IFPEN and Gustave Eiffel University in Marne-la-Vallée. The sponsorship with the Fondation mathématique Jacques Hadamard on the Paris- Saclay University campus has also been renewed and is focusing on the Gaspard Monge programme for research optimisation. In addition, a new joint team has been set up with the Paris Inria Saclay Centre and École Polytechnique, namely the IDEFIX team for “Solution d’équations différentielles pour l’imagerie et la physique” (“Differential Equations Solution for Imaging and Physics”).
R&D also supports a few specially targeted teaching and research chairs.
R&D is also active within several Energy Transition Institutes (ITE), which have been set up as part of the Future Investments Programme, such as the Ile-de-France Photovoltaic Institute (IPVF), France Énergies Marines, which focuses on marine energies and offshore wind power, Efficacity, which works on energy efficiency, Supergrid Institute, which specialises in electricity networks of the future and Vedecom, which works on electric mobility, as well as in the IRT SystemX, which is located in the heart of the Paris-Saclay research hub.
The EDF group is the driving force behind ConnexITy, an R&D programme aimed at connecting, through digital technology, players in the nuclear sector in order to simplify power plant operation, site preparation and design.
EDF is also a founding member of several European associations recognised at the EU level, such as Nugenia and the SNETP for nuclear power and EASE for storage.
Other developments include several partnerships within the Paris-Saclay campus ecosystem, including the SEISM Scientific Interest group on earthquakes, which brings together CentraleSupélec, ENS Paris-Saclay, the CNRS, BRGM, EDF, and the Institute of Mechanical Science and Industrial Applications (Institut des sciences de la mécanique et applications industrielles, IMSIA) Joint Research Unit, which brings together ENSTA, the CNRS, CEA, and EDF.
EDF R&D has also set up the Materials Ageing Institute (MAI), an international research centre on materials ageing that brings together, alongside EDF, most of the world’s major nuclear operators.
Internationally, since the early 2000s, EDF has had a research centre in Germany, EIFER, in collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). EIFER is the centre of reference for the hydrogen industry. In this respect it supports the EDF group’s subsidiary Hynamics, which is dedicated to the commercial development of hydrogen solutions for industrial markets and heavy-duty mobility. EIFER teams are also fully engaged with topics relating to local decentralised energy systems, sustainable cities and territories, geothermal energy, and biofuels.
EDF R&D UK consolidates the Group’s positions in the British research ecosystem, particularly through Strathclyde University in the field of renewables, as well as with Manchester University, Imperial College, the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and the University of Bristol in the field of nuclear energy. The centre provides direct support to the activities of EDF business units, whether in the existing nuclear field (extension of AGR reactor lifespans, and decommissioning following EDF UK’s announcement of the planned shutdown of several reactors), or for new projects, including setting up a unit in Bristol to support the HPC project, in particular for solving the site’s environmental problems. The centre is also fully committed to digital solutions for clients and offshore wind farm projects, for which it is the reference centre for all the Group’s projects in France and abroad.
