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CEA has about 15024 employees in 9 research centres with a budget of 2.7 billion Euros. It is connected to the industry with 1300 signed contracts. CEA intervenes in three main fields: energy, information and health technologies and Defence.
Through the diversity of its programmes, it pursues two major objectives: to become the leading European technological research body, and to guarantee the continuation of the nuclear deterrent. To achieve this there is a crossed engineers/researchers culture, favouring synergies between fundamental research and technological innovation; and exceptional installations including supercomputers, research reactors, large physics instruments, power lasers, etc. Finally, there is a real involvement in the industrial and economic fabric.
Energies
Supporting industrialists, the CEA seeks to optimise the current nuclear reactor installations and develop technical solutions for the management of radioactive waste. It participates in international research programmes on the nuclear reactors and fuels of the future which will provide production and which is simultaneously more economic, safer and generates less waste. Finally, it carries out programmes on the health and environmental impacts of nuclear power. Additionally it also supports the upsurge in new technologies for energy: hydrogen, photo-voltaic, biomass, etc.
Thermonuclear fusion, control of which could in the future provide a virtually infinite source of energy, is also at the heart of its research. The CEA is thus heavily involved in the international project on the experimental ITER reactor.
Health and Information Technologies
CEA has high-level technological research in the field of micro- and nano-technologies. The industrial applications of this research involve in particular telecommunications and communication items. Its skills are execised in the field of software technologies, on-board and interactive systems, sensors and signal processing. It is developing programmes with regard to biotechnologies and nuclear technologies for health (biomolecular marking, medical imaging, etc.), it is also a player in medical research. These applied programmes are based on basic research in nano-physics and molecular engineering, material sciences and cryo-technologies.
In the Service of French National Defence
In the context of the military programming law (LPM), the CEA develops the necessary programmes to guarantee the continuation of the French nuclear deterrent. Following the cessation of nuclear testing, it is implementing the Simulation programme, which relies on extensive experimental and computing resources such as the radiographic facility Airix, Laser Mégajoule, and the Tera supercomputer.
As nuclear propulsion (submarines, aircraft carriers) is concerned, the CEA is in particular responsible for the design and maintenance of reactors.
Finally, it intervenes in national and international bodies, where it contributes to monitoring the compliance with international treaties such as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). It participates in combating the proliferation of nuclear weapons. |
