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CEA-Liten's R&D practices integrate eco-design and eco-innovation from the very first stages of R&D programs. Around forty researchers use Life Cycle Analysis tools and technical-economic studies.
Thermal storage makes it possible to recover the heat lost in industry. The use of Phase Change Materials (PCM) is a relevant technological solution. CEA-Lite studied the commercial material HITEC and received an award for this work.
Grenoble, France startup WATTALPS, a CEA spinoff, is helping electrify the construction, farming, mining, transportation, shipping, logistics, warehousing, and sports vehicle markets with its immersion-cooled batteries for heavy equipment. The company recently announced that it raised €11 million in capital.
The heat generated by industrial processes can be captured and reused, reducing overall process-related energy consumption—a concept that is particularly promising for the food manufacturing industry. CEA-Liten brings years of thermal engineering expertise to innovative new waste heat recovery, storage, and reuse technologies, including a patented solution that can cut the primary energy consumption of batch sterilization processes by more than a third.
29.8% ! This great result record is the fruit of close collaboration between our teams and those of our partner 3SUN. It is our last certified efficiency record for a perovskite-on-silicon new-generation tandem photovoltaic cell measuring 9 cm² after shading correction.
A promising alternative for analyzing the famous current-voltage curve
CEA institutes ISEC, Irig, ISAS, and Liten collaborated on an integrated solar-powered methane production system for the EIC (European Innovation Council) artificial photosynthesis competition. The goal was to demonstrate autonomous operation of the system at the European Commission’s Joint Research Center in Ispra in summer 2022. The CEA was among the three finalists.
Although solar photovoltaic energy production is considered a pillar of the energy transition, the technology is not without its own environmental drawbacks. The manufacturing of solar panels generates significant impacts and, as the current design do not anticipate the dismantling step, the panels are notoriously difficult to recycle at the end of their service life.
The largest international conference on research, technologies and applications in the biomass and bio-economy. This 32nd EUBCE will bring together 1,500 participants, 60 partners, 20 exhibitors and 20 European Horizon Europe projects to discuss the latest developments and innovations in the field, promote meetings and establish partnerships.
Evaluation carried out in the Atacama Desert reveals that the heterojunction technology panels developed by 3SUN and CEA outperform some of the best PERC technologies. After 18 months of measurement in a real-life environment, they show better efficiency and temperature resistance.
Startup SolReed is developing an all-in-one monitoring, maintenance, and repair unit for solar power plants that will extend solar panel lifespans. The CEA, active in solar energy, is assisting SolReed through its startup incubator. ENGIE Green, France’s leading solar energy company, has also supported SolReed since the startup was founded.
Renault Group and the CEA have developed a new architectured material. The innovation, which leverages breakthrough digital design capabilities and 3D printing, could open the door to new, customizable parts that offer exceptional properties like adaptive behavior. The potential uses for the new technology in the automotive industry, always on the lookout for solutions to improve the in-cabin experience, are promising.
Wattway is a French innovation, the fruit of several years of joint R&D by Colas, a world leader in transport infrastructure, and the CEA-Liten laboratories in the frame of l’ITE INES.2S.. As the world's first circulatory photovoltaic pavement, it can be installed on existing roadways to generate renewable electricity. The latest version of the Wattway pavement has just been certified to current IEC standards in the photovoltaic sector, like any standard solar panel - an exciting result and a world first for a circulable module.
The CALHIPSO project aims to promote the development of the metallurgical industry in France by installing two Hot Isostatic Compression (HIC) chambers: the first on our site, inaugurated on 8 February, and the second in Le Creusot, Bourgogne. The project benefits from the know-how of each partner, including CNRS, FRAMATOME, CEMEF and the University of Bourgogne. This alliance promises to lead to significant advances in the field of metallurgy.
By 2022, 15% of the world's silver supply will be devoted to the photovoltaic industry: significantly reducing its use is crucial to the industry's future financial and environmental viability. Our teams at INES have therefore set themselves the ambitious challenge of reducing its current consumption from 35mg/Wp to just 5mg/Wp by 2030.
In our laboratories, researchers use and generate a great deal of data. Studying, analyzing and understanding what this information tells us is at the heart of our work, and yet this activity is hardly visible to the outside world. Here is an opportunity to highlight how mathematics is essential to research in most scientific fields, and particularly to data processing and analysis.
As part of the European Unlohcked project, we are working with our international partners to study innovative liquid organic carriers (LOHCs) as a promising technology for transporting and storing hydrogen in liquid form...
The CEA at INES, ENEL Green Power and its Sicilian affiliate 3SUN, are in the race to develop the two-terminal perovskite-silicon tandem technology to achieve as fast as possible the highest efficiencies compatible with industrial process integration. They have set a new record for a PIN architecture cell with a conversion efficiency of 28.4% on 9 cm² with shading correction.
Every year, the IEA World Energy Outlook provides in-depth analysis and strategic perspectives on the global energy system. At a time of geopolitical tensions and fragile energy markets, the 2023 edition explores how structural changes in energy economies and uses are influencing the world and how to meet growing energy demand, against a backdrop of environmental urgency. Thibaud Fleury, Head of Market and Development, Solar PV and Smart Grids, explains the key messages.
we have successfully produced alternative, ultra-thin TOPCon solar devices for space using industry-standard equipment. Developed as part of the CARLAH project supported by the European Space Agency, these devices reach a thickness of just 60 µm and are adapted to the specific constraints of space missions.
A whopping 390.7 million tons of plastic were produced worldwide in in 2021––a figure that could skyrocket to 1.2 trillion tons per year by 2060 if something doesn't change. Among the environmental impacts of plastics are greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing, a problem that bio-based polymers could help solve.
The European Union has set the target of an economically and socially sustainable carbon-neutral economy by 2050. And hydrogen could play a key role in Europe's net-zero future, providing solutions for transportation, heating, industrial processes, and energy storage.
A significant challenge for the electric motor industry is reducing reliance on rare earth elements in permanent magnets without sacrificing product performance. Recycling the magnets to recover and reuse these critical materials offers a solution. But the magnets are notoriously tough to separate from the motors...
We have developed EcoSPV, an original impact analysis tool dedicated to photovoltaic solar power plants. With EcoPV for panels, and EcoSS for battery storage, this tool increases the eco-design potential of the French and European solar industry.
CARBON, an innovative player in a photovoltaics sector experiencing a full rebirth, continues to unfold its technological roadmap.
The European Union's Joint Research Centre has just published the latest version of its draft regulations for a sustainable battery industry. The aim of these regulations is to make it possible to declare the total carbon footprint of each battery, so that batteries that do not meet the criteria can be excluded from the European market.
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CEA is a French government-funded technological research organisation in four main areas: low-carbon energies, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. A prominent player in the European Research Area, it is involved in setting up collaborative projects with many partners around the world.