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Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternativesFrench Alternative energies and atomic energy commission91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedexwww.cea.fr

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1 CEA Cadarache13108 Saint-Paul-lez-DurancePhone: +33 (0)4 42 25 70 00

2 CEA Cesta15, avenue des Sablières – BP 233114 Le BarpPhone: +33 (0)5 57 04 40 00

3 CEA DAM Île-de-FranceBP 12 – 91680 Bruyères-le-ChâtelPhone: +33 (0)1 69 26 40 00

4 CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses18, route du Panorama – BP 692265 Fontenay-aux-Roses CedexPhone: +33 (0)1 46 54 70 80

5 CEA Grenoble17, rue des Martyrs38054 Grenoble Cedex 9Phone: +33 (0)4 38 78 44 00

6 CEA Le RipaultBP 16 – 37260 MontsPhone: +33 (0)2 47 34 40 00

7 CEA GramatBP 8020046500 Gramat

8 CEA Saclay91191 Gif-sur-Yvette CedexPhone: +33 (0)1 69 08 60 00

9 CEA Valduc21120 Is-sur-TillePhone: +33 (0)3 80 23 40 00

10 CEA MarcouleBP 171 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze CedexPhone: +33 (0)4 66 79 60 00

11 INSTN91191 Gif-sur-Yvette CedexPhone: +33 (0)1 69 08 60 00

12 Headquarters CEA SiègeLe Ponant D – 25, rue Leblanc75015 Paris Phone: +33 (0)1 64 50 20 59

13 Administrative headquarters CEA Bâtiment siège91191 Gif-sur-Yvette CedexPhone: +33 (0)1 64 50 10 00

09A N N U A L R E P O R T

AWashington

– Prof. Helmuth Möhwald, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany.– Prof. Krishnaswamy Ravi-Chandar, University of Texas, Austin, USA.– Prof. Marshall Stoneham, University College London, UK.– Prof. Sune Svanberg, Lund University, Sweden.

CEA General Economic and Financial Control Service

This committee monitors CEA financial and accounting management.

Members:- Mr. Bruno Rossi, Head of the Inquiry Committee.– Mr. Frédéric Bioche, Comptroller General of the Armed Forces.– Mr. Tony Cavatorta, Civil administrator hors classe.– Mr. Daniel Métayer, and then M. Bernard Abate, State Comptroller.– Mr. Jean-Marie Rossinot, State Comp-troller.

Atomic Energy Committee

The primary role of the Atomic Energy Committee, which can be likened to an interministerial committee, is to define French nuclear policy. The CEA acts as Secretariat for the committee. Its decisions may have a direct impact on the activities of the CEA and its nuclear subsidiaries, as well as on EDF and ANDRA.

>> Chairman

The Prime Minister or delegated Minister or, failing this, the Chairman of the CEA.

>> Ex officio members

– Mr. Bernard Bigot, Chairman of the CEA,– General Jean-Louis Georgelin, Armed Forces Chief of Staff.– Mr. Gérard Errera, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.– Mr. Laurent Collet-Billon, Delegate General for Armament.– Mr. Christian Piotre, Secretary General for Administration, Ministry of Defense.– Mr. Pierre-Franck Chevet, Director General for Energy and the Climate.– Mr. Luc Rousseau, Director General of Businesses.– Mr. Philippe Josse, Budget Director.– Mr. Marcel Jurien de la Gravière, Del-egate for Nuclear Safety and Radiological Protection for Defense-related Activities and Facilities.– Mr. Gilles Bloch, Director General of Research and Innovation.– Ms. Catherine Brechignac, President of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).

>> Appointed by the Prime Minister

– Ms. Jacqueline Lecourtier, Director General of the National Research Agency.

>> Appointed by the Minister of the Environment

– Mr. Jean-François Lacronique, Adviser to the Chairman of IRSN (Institute for Radio-logical Protection and Nuclear Safety).

>> Persons qualified in the scientific and industrial field

– Mr. Bernard Bigot, High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, and then Ms. Catherine Cesarsky.– Mr. Pierre Turq, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Paris VI.– Mr. Pierre Gadonneix, Chairman of the Board, EDF.– Ms. Anne Lauvergeon, Chief Executive of AREVA.

Attending Committee meetings in an advisory capacity

– Mr. Bruno Rossi, Head of the General Economic and Financial Control Service.

Attending Committee meetings

– Mr. Hervé Bernard, Vice Chairman of the CEA.

>> Committee Secretary

– Mr. Jean-Claude Petit, Director of Programs, CEA.

Scientific Council

The Scientific Council assists the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy in the assessment of the CEA’s research activities and proposes directions for scientific research.

Chairman

– Catherine Cesarsky, High Commissioner for Atomic Energy.

Outside the CEA

– Hélène Bouchiat, CNRS/LPS, Orsay.– Marie-Françoise Debreuille, AREVA NC, Paris.– Roland Douce, University of Grenoble.– Bernard Dubuisson, DGA, Paris.– Olivier Joubert, CNRS, LTM, Grenoble.– Jean-Pierre Sauvage, University of Stras-bourg.– Christine Petit, Pasteur Institute.

CEA members

– Élisabeth Bouchaud, DSM/Iramis.– Bernard Boullis, DEN/DISN.– Hélène Burlet, DRT/LITEN.– Franck Carré, DEN/DS.– Denis Juraszek, DAM/DIF.– Vanina Ruhlmann-Kleider, DSM/IRFU.

Personnel representatives

– Jean-Pierre Bruhat, CFE-CGC – DAM/Dir.– Jean-Paul Crocombette, CGT – DEN/DMN.– Jean-Louis Gerstenmayer, CFTC – DRT.– Nicolas Parisot, SPAEN – DEN/DRSN.– Jean-Eric Ducret, CFDT – DSM/IRFU.– Mohamed Eid, CGT-FO – DEN/DM2S.

Visiting Committee

Alongside the Scientific Council, a Visiting Committee was created nine years ago, made up of internationally renowned experts. Its purpose is to give an opinion on the strategies and directions of CEA research.

– Prof. David Andelman, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.– Prof. Giovanni Ciccotti, University of Rome, Italy.– Prof. Antoine Georges, Collège de France, Paris, France.– Prof. Serge Haroche, Collège de France, Paris, France.– Prof. Jacques Livage, Collège de France, Paris, France.

ACEA CENTERS

• CEA Cadarache, Nuclear Sector: Serge Durand, Director.

• CEA Cesta, Defense Sector: Jean-Pierre Giannini, Director.

• CEA DAM-Île-de-France, Defense Sector: Pierre Bouchet, Director.

• CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses, Life Sciences Fundamental Research Sector: Ms. Malgorzata Tkatchenko, Director.

• CEA Gramat, Defense Sector: Didier Besnard, Director.

• CEA Grenoble, Technological Research Sector: Jean Therme, Director.

• CEA Le Ripault, Defense Sector: Serge Dufort, Director.

• CEA Saclay, Physical Sciences Fundamental Research Sector: Yves Caristan, Director.

• CEA Valduc, Defense Sector: Régis Baudrillart, Director.

• CEA Marcoule, Nuclear Sector: Christian Bonnet, Director.

• INSTN, National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology: Laurent Turpin, Director.

CEA • 2009 ANNUAL REPORT 61

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Network of CEA Advisers at the Embassy

The CEA A key player in research and technological innovation in Europe

Interview with the Chairman

Interview with the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy

1 – PROGRAMS

DEFENSE AND GLOBAL SECURITY • Basic research Nuclear weapons, nuclear propulsion, and prevention of proliferation and terrorism

• Applied research Nuclear deterrence and national and international security

LOW-CARBON ENERGY SOURCES • Fundamental researchPhysical sciences Life sciences

• Applied research Fission energy Fusion energy New energy technologies

INFORMATION AND HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES • Fundamental researchPhysical sciencesLife sciences

• Applied research Micro- and nanotechnologiesSoftware and systems technologies

Research and large-scale research facilities

Cross-functional programs at the CEA

High-performance computing

2 – REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

3 – SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS

4 – STRUCTURES

Contents

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TokyoSeoul

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BerlinBrussels–EU

Paris CEA–DRI


The CEA – a prominent player in research, development and innovation – is active in three main areas: energy, health and information technologies, and defense and global security. Excellence in fundamental research underpins its activities. Its new name, Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), reflects the CEA’s long-standing commitment to research on a wide range of low-carbon energy sources: nuclear energy, particularly with fourth-generation reactors, and new technologies for energy using solar energy, electric batteries, and biomass recycling.

With its 15,000 researchers and collaborators and internationally acknowledged expertise, the CEA is regarded by policymakers as a vital source of new ideas and expertise. Its teams explore and push back the boundaries of scientific knowledge using cutting-edge tools (supercomputers, research reactors, large-scale physics facilities, power lasers, etc.). The CEA is a driving force for industrial innovation, developing partnerships with French and European industry groups.

With ten centers throughout France, the CEA is well integrated regionally and enjoys solid partnerships with other research organizations. A recognized expert in its specialist fields, the CEA is highly active in the European Research Area and is constantly raising its international profile.

The CEA represents France in the major nuclear agencies of the world, and coordinates a network of 13 nuclear advisers in our embassies abroad.

15,718employees

10CEA centers

51joint research units (UMR) link the CEA and its research partners

120start-ups since 1984 in the field of innovative technology

1,360doctoral students and 289 post-docs at the CEA

55framework agreements currently set up with universities and similar research establishments

400experts assess CEA activities

25correspondent research laboratories (LRC) associated with CEA

3.9billion euro budget

585priority patent applications filed

350European projects in progress, with CEA participation

16competitiveness clusters, including five global clusters

4,079peer-reviewed journal publications in 2008

2 CEA • 2009 ANNUAL REPORT

Foreword by Bernard BigotChairman

“ … the CEA achieved more

than 90% of the 63 bold

scientific and technical goals

programmed over the contract

period. ”

The year 2009 held many rewarding moments for the CEA, in a prevailing context of uncertainty, and in some respects can be seen as a turning point. A time for reflection, as our contract with the Government, stating our objectives for the period 2006-2009, came up for review; a time to look ahead, as we prepared our performance target agreement for the next four years; and a time for change, as the French President announced our new name on December 14, 2009 in his presentation of the French National Bond Issue for investment in the future.

dated October 18, 1945. The new extension to our name refers to energy sources which, alongside nuclear power, represent alterna-tives to the massive use of fossil fuels, in a perspective irrefutably focused on sustain-able development and limiting our energy dependency. This new title recognizes work conducted on renewable energy sources by the CEA over the last ten years, and confirms its role as a leader in scientific and technologi-cal research in this field.

The decision to keep the three-letter CEA label confirms the institute’s continuity, sup-

In June 2009 at the French National Insti-tute of Solar Energy (INES) in Chambéry, President Sarkozy expressed his desire to change the CEA’s name to clearly indicate the full scope of its activity and assert the Government’s commitment to invest equal amounts in nuclear programs for the future and renewable energy sources.

The CEA thus became the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), under the Act of March 10, 2010, modifying the founding Ordinance

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“ … the CEA is fully mobilized behind the national strategy for research and innovation, providing skills and knowledge to support this effort. ”

role as a driving force for innovation, and an active partner in dynamic collaborative projects conducted in France, Europe and around the world, with a consistent record of high standards in safety and transpar-ency, remains fully mobilized in 2010, as in the past, to serve its customers and partners, while supporting the Govern-ment’s strategy to promote innovation and scientific excellence.

I leave it to the chapters of this 2009 annual report to present the results obtained by CEA teams in our various fields of endeavor, but I would simply like to emphasize how much the CEA contributes to the profound changes taking place in the broad spectrum of French research.

As a founding member of the four pro-gram alliances created in the areas of life and health sciences (AVIESAN), energy (ANCRE), digital science and technology (ALLISTENE), and the alliance created in early 2010 to cover food, water, climate and environmental issues (ALLENVI), the CEA is fully mobilized behind the national strategy for research and innovation, providing skills and knowledge to support this effort.

Internationally, the CEA contributes actively to reinforcing the vast and innovative range of products and services offered by France on the civil nuclear energy market. Open-ing this sector to new international demand must be conducted in full observance of

safety and security rules. These topics were discussed at the international energy conference organized in March 2010 at the request of the President. Our successes on the international scene and the challenges they represent deserve substantial recog-nition: in the calls for proposals issued by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the CEA participated directly in two of the three Knowledge and Innovation Communities selected, namely, the Climate Change Mitigation and Adapta-tion KIC and the Sustainable Energy KIC. It also contributed indirectly to the Information and Communication Technologies KIC via the Digiteo and System@TIC labs in Saclay.

Today’s CEA, with its new name, clear and extended missions, skilled teams bolstered by talented new recruits, a recognized

euros allocated to other low-carbon energy sources. Funding from the National Bond Issue will be made available not only to distinguished laboratories and facilities, but also to the Campus programs under devel-opment in Saclay, Grenoble and Montpellier, strongly supported by the CEA.

In 2009 preparations were finalized to accommodate the Gramat Research Center and its personnel, formerly operating under the DGA (the French armament procure-ment agency) in the Lot area in southwest-ern France. The Center became part of the Military Applications Division on January 1, 2010, making it the CEA’s tenth research center. The transition with the DGA went remarkably well, and I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this undertaking.

porting the pursuit of its activities in defense and global security, information technology, and healthcare technology. Our attachment to these historic initials also demonstrates the essential bond, persistently upheld by the CEA, between basic research and advances in technology.

While the focus on energy spurred the move to CEA’s new designation, it is important to point out that we also owe our achievements to other fields of investiga-tion, to the mutual enrichment cultivated between the various operational divisions of the CEA, and to our core of excellence in fundamental research. The President’s visit to NeuroSpin on January 11, 2010, where medical imaging was in the spotlight, clearly demonstrated the benefits of collaboration between the Physical Sciences Fundamen-tal Research Division and the Life Sciences Division. The first is a renown specialist in the field of superconducting magnets designed to generate powerful magnetic fields, the second is working to conceive the diagnostic techniques of the future for patients affected by cancer, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s disease, based on world-class biological expertise, recognized nationwide and internationally.

In technology research, the CEA is atten-tive to public concerns relative to the par-ticularly innovative field of nanomaterials and nanotechnology, bearing in mind the tremendous gains these new technologies could potentially achieve in efforts to save natural resources and develop new practi-cal applications.

With regards to the 2006-2009 perform-ance target agreement, this annual report presents a preliminary review of our accom-plishments. Without going into detail here, it is significant to note that the CEA achieved more than 90% of the 63 bold scientific and technical goals programmed over the contract period.

Another meaningful turn involving the CEA in 2009 was the importance given to research as the government set priorities within the French National Bond Issue, worth 35 billion euros, raised to fund public investment in targeted projects with high growth poten-tial. Several of the five national priorities defined by the President concern the CEA directly. As a result, one billion euros will be appropriated directly to nuclear applications of the future, with an additional 2.5 billion

A4 CEA • 2009 ANNUAL REPORT

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Foreword by Catherine CesarskyHigh Commissioner for Atomic Energy

In my capacity as High Commissioner, it means a great deal to me that the activities conducted by the CEA in 2009 in fulfillment of the tasks assigned to it by the Government help to highlight its position as one of the flagship research bodies in France, and even in Europe, tasked with preparing our country’s energy future and guaranteeing our collective security.

Turning to the nuclear fission sector and fourth-generation reactors, I would like to mention the progress made, in partnership with EDF and AREVA on Astrid, completing three years of R&D devoted to the innova-tions that will make this sodium-cooled, fast neutron reactor prototype the benchmark in its field in 2010. I am also proud of the CEA’s involvement in support of the European GCR program, with the Allegro project, which may become one of the bases for a more long-term alternative. In the area of fuel, significant progress was made in advanced partitioning, particularly in the Ganex proc-ess for the simultaneous extraction of all actinides (uranium, plutonium and minor actinides). The inauguration of the Marcoule Institute for Separative Chemistry (ICSM) is a perfect illustration of the CEA’s desire to disseminate the excellence of its skills in this area within the academic world.

The nuclear fusion activity was very much dominated by the difficulties encountered by the ITER project. The strong support that CEA teams lent to the project in 2009 (teams from the Physical Sciences Division, the Cadarache center, and the ITER-France agency), provid-ing assistance with installing the site, finalizing machine design, and projects related to the broader scope of activities, is undoubtedly an advantage that ITER will need to carry out its

research program, which is decisive for the future of this technology.

The CEA’s long-standing and ever-increasing involvement in the field of sustainable energy led to its being re-named at the start of this year. The success stories in this area include the remarkable achievements in photovoltaic technology at the INES, especially with the Photosil process and heterojunction cells. Batteries are another of the CEA’s priorities in this field, which benefits from close ties between fundamental research and techno-logical research. In this respect, I wish to high-light the contribution of fundamental research through the results obtained at the Research and Technology Computing Center (CCRT) in simulating high-temperature water vapor electrolysis. I fully support the initiative of the Physical Sciences Division and the Life Sci-ences Division, which seeks to identify some important fundamental avenues of R&D to be promoted in this area, as did our colleagues at the US Department of Energy.

Finally, it should be noted that the remark-able results obtained by the Technological Research Division (with the support of the Physical Sciences Division) in the field of micro- and nanotechnologies are making a major contribution to new technologies for energy (lighting, photovoltaic, thermoelec-tricity, etc.).

Of particular note in micro-nanoelectronics are the considerable advances made on 22-nanometer technology that will be at the heart of tomorrow’s information and com-munication systems.

Activities in the defense sector were chiefly marked by the confirmation of the certifica-tion of the airborne nuclear warhead (TNA). This makes it the world’s first nuclear weap-on to be guaranteed by simulation.

In the field of lasers, the development phase of the technological building blocks of the petawatt laser, developed in a project for which the Aquitaine region was the con-tracting authority, culminated in the techni-cal approval of the amplifier module.

With regard to Life Sciences, in addition to its strategic role in this field by creating added value within the AVIESAN alliance, the CEA is developing research based on the diversity of its skills, resulting in remark-able advances in toxicology, in vivo imaging, and biomolecular, genomic and bioenergy engineering. I take a special interest in work concerning in vivo imaging of nanoparticles by isotope labeling, the results of new approaches to increase the polarization efficiency, and therefore the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance, the charac-terization or therapeutic use of genes in the field of major public health concerns such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases and, by combining nanosciences with bioinspired chemistry, the development of catalysts to produce hydrogen without consuming platinum.

In Physical Sciences, after highlighting the outstanding achievements of Herschel and Planck and the energy records broken by the LHC, I would like to take this oppor-tunity to express my total confidence in the scientific skills and know-how of CEA researchers working in climatology. We all know that scientific research is a long-term process, but in the end, the rigors of sci-ence are sure to win out over any contro-versy in the media.

I would like to conclude by expressing my satisfaction in the scientific excellence demonstrated by the CEA’s teams, both in terms of research, as shown for example by the ERC grants awarded to our scien-tists, and in the area of training, with the number of doctoral students trained by the CEA in its laboratories (1,360), as well as the revival of nuclear education. This is reflected by the intake of 118 students (twice as many as in 2006) for the Nuclear Engineer ing program at the French National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology ( INSTN) and the creation of the International Master of Nuclear Energy (MIEN) degree course, which welcomed 95 students in 2009, with the CEA provid-ing a quarter of the instruction.

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ADEFENSE AND GLOBAL SECURITY Basic research

Nuclear weapons, nuclear propulsion Prevention of nuclear proliferation and terrorism

Nuclear physics Innovative processes and materials Laser technology High-performance computing

Applied research Nuclear deterrence, national and international security

Nuclear warheads The Simulation program Opening up to the scientific community Nuclear propulsion Cleanup operations at Rhône valley facilities Prevention of nuclear proliferation and terrorism

LOW-CARBON ENERGY SOURCES Fundamental research

Physical sciences An integrated approach to mitigation European Institute of Technology Icos: greenhouse gas flows Global model for IPCC Climatic recordings Femtosecond X-ray imaging A promising laser material Hydrogen production without platinum

Life sciences Radiobiology Toxicology

Applied research Fission energy

Fourth-generation nuclear systems of the future Sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor Gas-cooled fast neutron reactor Technical and economic evaluation of scenarios

Support for the nuclear industry Reactors, fuel and safety Spent fuel processing

Sustainable management of radioactive materials and waste A coherent set of R&D tools

Experimental reactors and hot labs Simulation

Clean-up and dismantling Fusion energy

An interdisciplinary need Experimental work and modeling for plasmas Developing technologies for ITER

New technologies for energy CEA and the Environment Round Table

Solar energy and energy efficiency Innovative electrical transport Second-generation biofuels Nanomaterials for energy applications Bioenergies

INFORMATION AND HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES Fundamental research

Physical sciences Nanoscience Nanowires for electronics Low-consumption memories Studying the toxicity of nanotubes Chemistry: the Pegastech start-up Nuclear magnetic resonance

Life sciences In vivo imaging Biotechnologies, biomolecular labeling, engineering and structure of biomolecules Genomics Immunotherapy

Applied research Micro- and nanotechnologies

IBM-STMicroelectronics partnership Nanosimulation program Nano-Innov Stronger upstream partnerships Growth of the More than Moore programs Imaging of a material to information processing Health technology Communicating objects and telecommunications Technology transfer to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) Energy technologies

Software and systems technologies

RESEARCH AND LARGE-SCALE RESEARCH FACILITIES (TGIR)

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS AT THE CEA

HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING

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The CEA is an important player in the field of nuclear deterrence, and national and international security. Its mission is to design, manufacture, provide through-life support for, and dismantle the nuclear warheads that equip the navy and air force. Another notable event of 2009 was the successful operational commissioning of the TNA (airborne nuclear warhead) in Istres on October 1. This is the first nuclear warhead guaranteed by simulation since nuclear testing was definitively abandoned in 1996. The new ambition of the simulation program is to guarantee the new TNO (seaborne nuclear warhead) using confirmed computing standards.

The CEA is responsible for the design and maintenance of the nuclear reactors that power French naval vessels (submarines and aircraft carriers). The construction of the ground test reactor RES, which supports all of the nuclear propulsion programs, is making headway. The CEA is also responsible for procuring nuclear materials for defense purposes in accordance with the French Government’s decision to halt the production of weapons-grade fissile materials and to dismantle the production plants. Célestin reactors were decommissioned at the end of 2009.

In an ever-changing world, the CEA allows France to maintain a lasting and credible deterrent after the halting of nuclear testing. More generally, it contributes to global security through the technical support it provides to national, European, and international authorities on matters of disarmament and the prevention of nuclear proliferation and terrorism.

Inspection of a glass mirror on the Megajoule laser.

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Defense and global security

Basic research

The Gramat Center.

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Nuclear weapons, nuclear propulsion, prevention of proliferation and terrorism are all the focus of highly active research

The CEA’s Defense Sector is responsible for fundamental research with a bearing on its main activities, particularly in areas relating specifically to nuclear weapons (e.g. explosive science, behavior of materials under extreme dynamic stress, neutronics, plasma physics, radiative hydrodynamics and laser-material interaction, high-power lasers, etc.), nuclear propulsion (neutronics, aging of materials under irradiation), monitoring treaties (seismic monitoring, infrasound, radionuclides transport), and the prevention of proliferation and terrorism (sensors).

Nuclear physics

One significant achievement in 2009 was the improvement brought to the parameter setting of the effective interaction of the Gogny force, which the CEA has used for more than 30 years to calculate the structural properties of atomic nuclei. A test was carried out at the GSI laboratory in Darmstadt using heavy ion beams. High-speed scintillation detectors were used to take very accurate measurements of the kinetic energy of the fragments for the very first time. This test is an important step towards the future nuclear fission experiments at the GSI facilities (SOPHIA and FElise projects). These basic elements for fission studies help to improve the models used in the Simulation program.

FIRST EXPERIMENTS ON MARS

A first experiment was carried out on plutonium on the Mars beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron in Saclay. This demonstration resulted in very high-quality diffraction images and a first absorption measurement for plutonium. It shows that the beamline has the potential to characterize radioactive material exposed to extreme pressure and temperature conditions.

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Particle accelerators are used for research in nuclear physics.

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30 s exposureFWHM < 0.07°

Diffraction image and Rietveld adjustment of LaB6

Innovative processes and materials

The work carried out in the context of the CBRN/E* interministerial R&D program demonstrated the benefits of developing a multi-sensor device to detect traces of explosive materials. This new concept provides a dual advantage: a warning time of around ten seconds and characterization of the threat within the next minute.

* CBRN/E: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives.

Laser technology

The central element of the targets designed to achieve fusion on the Megajoule laser (LMJ) is a millimetric microcapsule with controlled geometry and surface finish. An optical characterization method was chosen to measure, count, and map surface microdefects. This technique uses a digital holographic microscope connected to motorized rotation axles. An operating system was developed for this equipment. Defects and their characteristics are counted over more than 99.8% of the total surface of the microcapsule.An experimental campaign dedicated to implosion by the indirect drive method was carried out on the Omega laser at the University of Rochester (USA), in collaboration with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It demonstrated the significant energy advantage provided by the technology using the optimized cavity shape, known as “rugby”, proposed for the LMJ. The goal is to reach neutron yields never obtained before in indirect drive for the fusion of non-cryogenic deuterium and to obtain the first neutron image in this configuration.

AINNOVATIVE PROCESSES AND NEW MATERIALS

The principle of heterodyne velocimetry was tested during an experiment carried out at the Polygone d’expérimentations de Moronvilliers. In the field of explosive studies, this principle is used to measure the speed at the surface of a material subjected to an intense shock. This concept performs better than other systems and has made it possible to miniaturize measuring instruments and increase the number of channels used for an experiment. This type of measurement has made a technological breakthrough in high-speed experimentation, which is essential for simulation.

Basic research

Typical spectrogram obtained by heterodyne velocimetry.

Yag laser used to measure the speed inside matter.

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lation of a beam of energetic protons produced by interaction between a laser beam and a target. This type of simulation is essential for the development of medical applications using these proton beams.


The remarkable results achieved in 2009 include the kinetic simulation of laser-plasma interaction. This calculation, performed at the Research and Technol-ogy Computing Center (CCRT), shows the 3D simu-

PLATE STEAM GENERATOR

The development of a plate steam generator for future use in steam supply systems for naval propulsion has begun. This equipment is being defined in partnership with AREVA TA. The elements to be used in the first tests aimed at validating the heating functions of this system have been manufactured. The test schedule should allow the Ministry of Defense to reach a decision in 2013 concerning its installation on the RES test reactor for a full-scale qualification phase. The development of this component should increase the power and extend the working life of the cores of built-in naval propulsion steam supply systems, while making them more compact.

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Ionic kinetic energy density (logarithmic scale) during interaction on a target of an intense laser beam arriving from the left.

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A major role in nuclear deterrenceand national and international security

on ASMPA missiles since October 2009. A successful flight test was carried out as part of the ASMPA/TNA program in March 2009. This milestone was dedicated to validating the overall performance of an inert instru-mented experimental warhead, representa-tive of the real payload, in an operational environment.

Nuclear warheads

A highlight of the year for the Defense Sec-tor: the first operational TNAs (airborne nuclear warheads) were delivered to the Armed forces in 2009. The TNA, which will replace the TN81, is the first nuclear weapon guaranteed by simulation. It has been used

Maintenance of the nuclear warheads cur-rently in service, TN81 for the airborne com-ponent and TN75 for the seaborne compo-nent, is progressing according to schedule. Alongside the operational commissioning of the TNA, the first TN81 warheads have been withdrawn from service and their dismantling has begun.

DEFENSE AND GLOBAL SECURITY

Development and manufacture of composites, polymers, ceramics, etc.—all essential components of the nuclear warhead casing.

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CREATION OF A TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER

The French Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning and the French Ministry of the Interior, Overseas France and the Territorial Communities have entrusted the CEA with the task of developing and operating a tsunami warning center for the northeastern Atlantic and the western Mediterranean. The creation of the center, to be based in Bruyères-le-Châtel, will require the development of dedicated geophysical data processing tools and the setting up of an around-the-clock watch system. The center will be operational by the end of 2011. The Secretary of State Ecology visited the site on October 9, 2009.

the Champagne-Ardenne region in eastern France, is used to validate models of the non-nuclear phase when the weapon is first used.The LMJ laser facility, a vital tool for simulating a weapon’s nuclear operating phase, is under construction at the CEA’s Cesta center, near Bordeaux. Assembly work on the infrastructures of the SAHA (amplification section excluding amplifiers) is continuing in the four laser bays. Work in Bay 1 is now completed (five SAHA lines, i.e. 40 beams), and installation work has begun in Bay 2. The midplane of the experimental chamber has been installed.Experimental campaigns are continuing on the LIL to study both weapons physics and Megajoule laser ignition. New-generation cavity bottom deformable mirrors have been designed and installed. Thanks to a high-quality sol-gel treatment, their pre-

nologies required for the operation of a petaflop computer. The second phase of the contract will involve the acquisition and implementation of this supercomputer, which will be the first petaflops computer ever designed and built in Europe.The 2010 computing standard was defined in 2009 and will be delivered in 2010. When run on the Tera 100 machine, it will be a key element in the process of guarantee-ing the operation and performance of the seaborne nuclear warhead.Guaranteeing the operation and safety weapons calls for the validation of simula-tions based on the results of past nuclear tests and using experimental resources such as Airix, the Megajoule laser and its prototype, and the laser integration line (LIL).The Airix X-ray facility, at the Polygone d’expérimentation de Moronvilliers (PEM) in

The seaborne nuclear TN75 is due to be replaced by the TNO, which will equip M51 strategic missiles as of 2015. The TNO project launch application was sent to the Ministry of Defense late in 2009, and approved early in 2010. The operational and performance guarantee of this new robust payload will benefit from the latest break-throughs in simulation.

The Simulation program

The nuclear warheads that are being phased in to replace existing weapons when they come to the end of their lifetime must be guaranteed without further nuclear testing. The Simulation program launched in 1996 to achieve this aim is in three parts focusing on the following aspects:– the concept of robust warheads based on performance that is not sensitive to technological changes and tested during the last test campaign in 1995-1996,– validation of deviations due to the “mili-tarization” of the nuclear warhead or liable to arise during the weapon’s operational lifetime,– certification of new teams responsible for guaranteeing the effectiveness and safety of weapons.The Simulation program relies on certain large-scale facilities: supercomputers, the Megajoule laser, and major characteriza-tion resources.One vital part of this program is a software package that uses computing methods to reproduce the different operating phases of a nuclear weapon. Its implementation calls for the development of detailed physi-cal models and the deployment of powerful computing resources.The Bull Tera 10 supercomputer is one of the most powerful machines in Europe today, with a peak speed of 60 teraflops (1 teraflops = one trillion operations per second). The Tera 100 demonstrator was delivered in June 2009 in accordance with the contract signed with Bull in July 2008. It is used to validate the new tech-

Applied research

High-resolution video wall of the Tera 10 facility.

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From left to right: Tera 10 storage unit, Airix control station, sol-gel process for Megajoule laser optics, testing a glass optic on a test bench after several laser shots.

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Nuclear propulsion

The CEA, which is in charge of the French Navy’s nuclear steam supply systems, continued to fulfill its fleet support services all through the year.In 2009, the fleet consisted of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, six nuclear attack submarines (SNA), and three new-generation nuclear-powered ballistic mis-sile submarines (SNLE NG).A noteworthy event of 2009 was the major refit carried out on the nuclear attack submarine Perle. On behalf of the Navy, the CEA supervised all the work on the steam supply system. This represented an increase in its responsibilities compared to previous major refits. For this submarine, the refit was accompanied by the replacement of the core with a new one manufactured in Cadarache, which had been delivered and fitted out in Toulon in the spring of 2009. This replacement will supply the vessel energy for at least another ten years.The Barracuda program for the renewal of the Rubis class of nuclear attack subma-rines, launched at the end of 2006, is con-tinuing. In June, welding work began on the first two hull sections of the Suffren. The conditional phase of the contract to build the second submarine, the Duguay-Trouin, was signed by the constructors the same month. The steam supply system detail design end-of-phase review was success-fully completed in November.Construction work on new ground test facilities is continuing in Cadarache. The RES test reactor program includes two modules: a fuel storage and examination pool, commissioned in 2005, and a reactor equipped with highly advanced instrumen-tation.This work continued in 2009, with assem-bly work in particular (electrical installa-tions, piping, ventilation, etc.). The steam generator was transported to Cadarache, and will be installed in the vessel in mid-2010. All the main components and tanks of the primary and secondary systems have been installed.A feasibility study for the adaptation and specification of a second nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was begun. Its purpose is to provide the necessary technical, financial and scheduling information for a decision concerning this project to be reached in 2011-2012.

Cleanup operations at Rhône valley facilities

Begun in 1995, the dismantling and cleanup program concerning enriched uranium and plutonium production facilities continued in 2009.Work on decommissioning the Marcoule UP1 reprocessing plant has continued.

ments were carried out for ILP in February 2009, following an initial campaign in 2007 that led to the validation of the effectiveness of a low-density foam in smoothing laser beams during the first instants of the pulse. In this second series of shots, a number of parameters were varied on foam density and the level of longitudinal smoothing of the laser and its energy.

Computational Resources and Teratec

The Research and Technology Computing Center (CCRT), opened in 2003, in conjunc-tion with the Tera 10 supercomputer, forms the CEA’s scientific computing complex. Set up at the CEA’s center in Bruyères-le-Châtel, it is now one of Europe’s leading computing centers. It was set up to meet the requirements of its many partners (e.g. CEA, EDF, SNECMA) for large-scale numerical simulation (see also pages 38 and 39).In the summer of 2009, sixteen major scientific challenges were met on the new Bull Titane computer at the CCRT. Three of them used the GPU (Graphics Process-ing Unit) partition of this hybrid computer, proving that this innovative technology is now operational for the purposes of high-performance computing.The Teratec campus will accommodate the Bull/CEA Extreme Computing laboratory and the Intel/CEA/GENCI/UVSQ Exatec laboratory.

power shot optomechanical performance characteristics meet specifications and the simultaneous control of four mirrors has been validated on the facility laser line.

Simulation program resources available to the scientific community

Megajoule Laser (LMJ) and Laser Route

The supercomputers, the LMJ and its prototype the LIL, are key components of the Simulation program, and outstanding achievements in terms of their technical features and performance levels. In keep-ing with the policy to open up resources to outside users, as approved by the Ministry of Defense in 2002, these facilities have now been made available to the European scientific community.The Laser and Plasma Institute (ILP) build-ing was inaugurated in January 2009. The purpose of the institute is to stimulate, lead, and coordinate research in the field of power lasers and plasmas. One of its chief goals is to make the CEA’s large-scale laser facilities available to the scientific community as a whole.The Laser Route, which is developing around the LIL and LMJ, is one of 39 com-petitiveness clusters that have met national policy objectives.Experimental campaigns in plasma physics are continuing on the LIL. Interaction experi-

DEFENSE AND GLOBAL SECURITY

From left to right: Research and Technology Computing Center (CCRT), new-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Le Triomphant, at the heart of the containment of the RES test reactor, currently under building.

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systems designed to prevent transmis-sion loss. The first industrial version of the SMAD modular data acquisition system was successfully deployed in Tahiti. Action in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) con-tinued throughout the year. This included the installation of the FRX29 xenon meas-urement station on Reunion Island.Another important event of the year was the decision to create a tsunami warning center in Bruyère-le-Châtel (see “high-lights”).CEA contributes to french and international effort against nuclear proliferation. Signifi-cant progress was made concerning the methods for detecting and characterizing evidence of nuclear proliferation. Finally, the CEA keeps on providing support to the IAEA Department of Safeguards, through the French safeguards support program.In the context of its activities for the Ministry of Defense, the CEA participated in various nuclear emergency response drills, includ-ing in particular a national nuclear security drill on the Mont-de-Marsan air base in April 2009. All of these drills confirmed the quality of the CEA’s mechanism and its thorough integration into the national defense emergency response organization (ONCD).Significant progress was made regarding the interministerial R&D program entrusted to the CEA in the field of prevention of CBRN/E terrorism (1). For example, a license agreement with Saphymo was signed for the Dirad detector developed by the CEA. With this automated gamma radiation detection system, radioactive anomalies can be identified in real time and interpreted according to the level of risk.

(1) CRBN/E: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives.

and see that this was truly an irreversible dismantling process. Two other inspection tours were organized in 2009 for interna-tional experts and journalists.After 42 years of operation, the Célestin reactors at Marcoule were permanently shut down on December 23, 2009. They will be cleaned up, then dismantled to IAEA Level 3 (excluding civil works).

Prevention of nuclear proliferation and terrorism, nuclear emergency response

With unrivaled capabilities in both the civil and defense-related nuclear fields, the CEA has, for many years, provided national authorities with technical support in mat-ters relating to deterrence, disarmament and the prevention of nuclear proliferation.In this capacity, it is directly involved in monitoring compliance with major treaties including the Non-proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.The explosion detected in North Korea on May 25 was one of the significant events of 2009. Thanks to French national monitoring resources, it was possible to announce the characteristics of this explosion very quickly.Monitoring systems underwent major tech-nical upgrades during the year. Deployment began on back-up telecommunication

The demolition of the control buildings of the old plutonium-producing reactors G2 and G3 was completed on schedule in November 2009. These buildings had been idle since 2006, when the monitoring system was transferred to a new control station built near the reactor buildings. The final phase of dismantling will focus on the reactor units still in place, and will start in 2022 when Andra has opened its graphite waste disposal site.The ARDEMU program for the shutdown and dismantling of the Pierrelatte plants was launched when production of highly-enriched uranium for defense requirements definitively ceased in 1996. This program is for the dismantling of the four units mak-ing up the “weapons-grade”, gaseous-diffusion enrichment plant, which contains 4192 diffusers and 9 million gaseous diffu-sion barriers. A specific facility called the “diffuser building” has been built to deal with diffusers and barriers. Following the completion of the diffuser removal and processing phase at the end of 2006, the dismantling of all auxiliary equipment con-tinued in 2009, and it has been confirmed that the program will be completed by the end of 2010.The dismantling of these facilities is a key aspect of France’s action to promote nuclear disarmament. The French President underlined this point during his speech in Cherbourg on March 21, 2008, when he invited the international community to come

From left to right: dismantling of a room at the UP1 plant; the Dirad detector is an automated gamma detection system developed by the CEA for its CBRN research.

AA NEW CENTER FOR THE CEA

The Gramat research center, part of the French defense procurement agency (DGA), joined the CEA on January 1, 2010. The Chairman of the CEA and the Chief Executive of the DGA signed the center’s transfer agreement on January 6, 2010. The 250 employees at Gramat develop the physics, experimental methods, and numerical computing techniques required to evaluate the effectiveness of weapons and the protection of weapons systems against nuclear and conventional attack. By integrating this expertise, the CEA will be able to set up a center of excellence for explosive science and electromagnetism on this site.

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The CEA can be seen as one of the key public organizations best able to meet the twin challenges relating to energy and the environment: security of energy supply and the prevention of climate change. The response to these challenges is based on an energy mix involving three key sectors: nuclear fission, controlled nuclear fusion, and new technologies for energy.

• Nuclear fission: the CEA has signed collaboration agreements to support the R&D requirements of industry concerning second- and third-generation nuclear technology (reactors with longer lifetimes and improved performance under the best possible safety conditions, front end and back end of the fuel cycle). It is studying the feasibility of fourth-generation industrial systems, with significant effort devoted to sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors.

• Controlled nuclear fusion. The international ITER project will be based at Cadarache. Alongside other partners, the CEA contributes the scientific and technical skills of its teams to the development, construction and operation of this international project.

• New technologies for energy: the CEA is developing the technological bases to set up in the short term ambitious industrial new-energy systems, offering improved energy efficiency. These are in line with the commitments made at the French Environment Round Table, the Lisbon Strategy, and the construction of the European Research Area. The CEA’s programs target the most energy-intensive sectors (construction and transport) as a priority, in the fields of photovoltaic energy and the storage of electrical energy, and take a systemic approach aimed at innovative breakthroughs and the construction of demonstrator models.

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Glovebox used for actinide compound studies.


Low-carbon energy sources

Fundamental research

Cyanobacteria cultures and manipulations.

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Fundamental research for energy

The CEA is conducting the upstream research required to develop new energy sources, not only in the field of fusion by magnetic confinement, but also in the fields of chemistry and interactions between radiation and matter, by supporting new energy tech-nologies and defining innovative concepts for low-carbon technologies. This research is supplemented by the CEA’s internationally recognized expertise in climatic and environmental sciences.

Following the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009 and developments in recent months, climate protec-tion and remediation (also known as mitigation) have moved higher up the political agenda. This concerns several sectors: energy and transportation first and foremost, but also construction, agriculture, etc. This generalized effort in favor of low-carbon management of resources comes with a need to prepare for a dif-ferent climate and its consequences, extreme events in particular. This means adaptation.

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

From left to right: processing meteorological data for the CarboOcean project; room used for analyzing radiation-matter interaction in metal samples.

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Climate and societyThe very high international profile of the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE), a joint CEA/CNRS/UVSQ unit (1), was underlined in 2009 by the AERES (2) evaluation. Its scientists participate in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-mate Change (IPCC), and the drafting of the IPCC’s next report is one of its priorities. Its main scientific objectives include incorporating the contribution of aerosols into the global model, measuring and under-standing biogeochemical cycles, particularly that of carbon (ICOS project), and obtaining high-resolution climate records from key periods in the past. With the LSCE and the Climate-Environment-Energy center, fundamental energy research at the CEA is particu-larly well-equipped to meet the commitments of the Environment Round Table.

An integrated approach to mitigation

The Climate-Environment-Energy center is based in Saclay. It is built on the quality of its fundamental and goal-oriented research teams, and benefits from productive interaction between higher education, research institutions and innovation drivers. It is the standard bearer of the Saclay partners” European and global ambitions in these areas. In 2009, the center started to structure its action by organizing its first interdisciplinary seminars on topics such as intelligent electrical networks, the physics and chem-istry of carbon regeneration, and environmental and economic evaluation of the bioenergy sectors.

(1) UVSQ: University of Versailles at Saint-Quentin.

(2) AERES: French National Agency for Evaluation of Research & Higher Education.


Connection of the latest lines (air and calibration standard) on the continuous CO2 measuring instrument.

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A PHYSICAL SCIENCESCLIMATE AND SOCIETY

European Institute of Technology

On December 16, 2009, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) chose two Knowl-edge and Innovation Communities (KICs), in which the CEA is involved: Climate-KIC on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and InnoEnergy on sus-tainable energy. The aim of these structures is to increase Europe’s potential for innovation through a coherent vision of a sustainable economy, incor-porating research, ecological innovation, training in entrepreneurship, and the creation of innovative technology companies.

ICOS: greenhouse gas fluxes

The European ICOS project (European infrastructure project dedicated to high-precision monitoring of greenhouse gas fluxes) has continued its preparatory phase, with the definition in 2009 of the specification for the future network of monitoring stations. The Car-boscope is published on the Internet, and gives the CO2 and CH4 surface fluxes obtained by three teams in Europe, calculated using atmospheric measure-ments. It provides a spatio-temporal representation of these fluxes. http://www.icos-infrastructure.eu/

Global model for the IPCC

In 2009, the international Margo project, led by the LSCE, performed a reconstruction of ocean tempera-tures during the Last Glacial Maximum, approximately 20,000 years ago, with unprecedented reliability and accuracy. With this unique set of data, Margo will allow climate models to be refined and provide better predictions of the changes to come.

Deep drilling for reliable climate records

The 2009 drilling season on the Neem site in the northwestern area of the Greenland ice cap set a new world record for glaciological drilling speed, reaching a depth of more than 1,750 meters in just 110 effective days. The Neem project involves labo-ratories from 14 countries, including the LSCE. In the coming years, drilling teams should reach the rocky substrate 2,545 meters beneath the glacier, thus providing a reliable record of climatic conditions dur-ing the last interglacial period (between 120,000 and 130,000 years ago). Among other things, scientists will be able to refine their models concerning future changes in ocean levels during warm climatic periods. http://neem.nbi.ku.dk/

Neem Base in northwestern Greenland.

Weather station set up for the Megapoli campaign.

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From left to right: PLFA laser harmonic radiation generating chamber, fuel cell test bench.

Chemistry and radiation-matter interactionsPreparing new materials is one of the keys to future energy technologies. For this purpose, it is essential to explore how matter behaves, particularly under extreme conditions. That is why it is important to carry out research aimed at using radiation to probe matter on different scales, and to develop new sources, particularly with ultra-short (femtosecond) pulse lasers.

Femtosecond X-ray imaging on a nanometric scale

Scientists at the CEA have obtained, for the first time, X-ray images on a nanometric scale with a single femtosecond shot (10-15 s) from a com-pact laboratory laser device. This unprecedented achievement with this type of instrument opens the way to dynamic studies, such as magnetization dynamics and chemical reactivity on a nanometric and femtosecond scale.

A promising laser material

During work aimed at improving power laser per-formance, a team from the CEA-CNRS-EnsiCaen-University of Caen joint laboratory showed that Yb3+-doped calcium fluoride (CaF2) crystals could be cooled to cryogenic temperatures to reach performance levels never attained before: light emitting efficiency greater than 80% and record flux durability, while allowing excellent wavelength tun-ability. The results obtained are of interest to several companies and research bodies, particularly with a view to the European HIPER (European High Power Laser Energy Research Facility) and ELI (Extreme Light European Infrastructure) projects.

Platinum-free hydrogen production

CEA teams have obtained significant experimental and modeling results for the development of plati-num-free catalytic molecules. Their objective is to develop a platinum-free catalyst material that is as efficient for producing hydrogen as for use in fuel cells. Finding a replacement for rare and precious metals such as platinum paves the way for a more competitive hydrogen economy.A new nickel compound was synthesized using a technique combining nanosciences with bioinspired chemistry. The material proved stable and capable of functioning in a highly acidic medium, making it compatible with the proton-exchange membranes used almost exclusively in low-temperature fuel cells.Modeling work opened up avenues for modifying the molecule to optimize its catalytic activity in all its geometric forms. This work has been patented and published in the journal Science.

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RadiobiologyInvestigating the effects of radiation on living organisms

Special attention is paid to assessing the effects of low doses of radiation, an area in which many questions remain unanswered, particularly concerning the impact of individual susceptibility on the development of a radia-tion-induced illness. In this context, the CEA participated in the creation of a European high-level expert group (HLEG) to draw up a common roadmap for research on low doses. Following on from this work, an initial Europe-an workshop was organized in Stuttgart in October 2009 and a transnational coordination structure for research on low doses, called Melodi (Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative) was set up.

Radiobiological research sets out to learn the effects of ionizing radiation on living organisms at their dif-ferent levels of organization. The results obtained by the CEA’s research teams in this field help to assess short- and long-term risks related to nuclear activities and are therefore used as a basis for international nuclear regulations, particularly in the field of radiation protection. In order to develop methods of compari-son suited to the radiation doses received, the CEA’s laboratories adopt different approaches, such as functional genomics, structural genomics, proteom-ics, and high-speed analysis.

LIFE SCIENCES

The CEA has an irradiation facility in Fontenay-aux-Roses optimized for very low doses and offering a wide spectrum of dose rates.

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Toxicology Determining the impact of CEA technology on human health and the environment


Thin-film chromatography analysis for the nuclear toxicology program.

AIDENTIFYING GENETIC ANOMALIES IN RADIATION-INDUCED OSTEOSARCOMAS

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer in children. It seems to be caused by a malfunction of the osteoblasts, which are the cells that form bone tissue. Studies have shown that it often occurs after exposure to ionizing radiation. For a better understanding of the molecular bases behind the development of this type of radiation-induced cancer, research scientists at the Institute of Cellular Radiobiology compared the genetic expression of tumors and osteoblasts in rats. The results reveal a significant variation in the expression of 72 genes. Some are involved in the cellular adhesion and differentiation processes, while others are genes that suppress tumors. Another genetic alteration concerns the ß catenin regulation process. ß catenin is a protein known to contribute to the proliferation of tumors and to stimulate the transcription of the genes involved in carcinogenesis. This work opens up prospects for identifying new molecular markers to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of these cancers in humans.

Toxicology is an important science for the CEA as it has a direct bearing on the organization’s respon-sibilities as a producer or user of new technological processes that may have an impact on the environ-ment or human health. Toxicologists investigate this issue.Nuclear toxicology, in particular, is aimed at learning more about the toxic effects and mode of action of

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Aelements such as radionuclides and heavy metals used in nuclear research and industry. Between 2004 and 2007, the CEA carried out two programs in this field called ToxNuc 1 and 2. Conducted internally and in partnership with other research organizations, the programs demonstrated the organization’s expertise in the area. This expertise has spread to other fields of research, like nanomaterials. In 2009, the CEA took another step forward, when it set up a cross-disci-plinary program entirely dedicated to toxicology. The Life Sciences Division was put in charge of managing the program (see page 36).In the field of life sciences, toxicology studies focus mainly on ionizing radiation, radionuclides (chemical and radiological effects) and nanomaterials to acquire fundamental knowledge.

AIN VIVO LOCATION OF LABELED CARBON NANOTUBES

Although industry is looking to carbon nanotubes with great hope, these nanometric objects still raise questions as to their potential toxicity. CEA scientists (iBiTec-S, Iramis: Saclay Institute of Biology and Technologies and Saclay Radiation-Matter Institute) have developed a process for the marking of carbon nanotubes using radioactive carbon atoms (14C), without altering their structure or properties. Using imagers designed to detect and quantify this radioelement, these nano-objects can now be located in vivo and their persistence in the organism can be determined. This persistence can lead to the development of pathologies in the long term. This method was applied to rats. The analysis of their biodistribution showed that these nano-objects accumulate mainly in the liver and lungs and that they are gradually eliminated from the organism.

Journal of the American Chemical Society, Sept. 2009.

LIFE SCIENCESTOXICOLOGY

Cyanobacteria cultures and genetic manipulations.

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Study of materials for fourth-generation reactors.

Fuel rods.

Fourth-generation nuclear systems of the future

Gas-cooled fast neutron reactor (FNR-G)

The gas-cooled fast neutron reactor (FNR-G) is the alternative technology in the long term. The aim is to demonstrate its fea-sibility in the context of a European col-laboration. The research concentrates on

Sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor (FNR-Na)

The sodium-cooled fast reactor (FNR-Na) is the reference technology for the fourth-generation reactor program. The Astrid prototype (Advanced Sodium Technologi-cal Reactor for Industrial Demonstration) is designed to demonstrate progress on an industrial scale by qualifying major inno-vations. Its nuclear waste transmutation capabilities will make it possible to dem-onstrate the feasibility of this technique for reducing the volume and toxicity of final waste on an industrial scale. Lastly, it should allow experimental irradiation in the fast neutron spectrum.Ten tripartite summary reports on the FNR-Na were issued in 2009, completing three years of R&D devoted to innovation. They propose design and R&D guidelines with a view to choosing the Astrid refer-ence image in 2010 and options to remain open. The ten summary reports concern steam supply system options (loop reac-tor, integrated reactor, other concepts, modularity), certain systems (handling, inspection and repair), core design, core materials, and structures.

FISSION ENERGY©

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and the related safety analyses. Moreover, detailed design work on an experimental reactor of a few tens of MWth (Allegro) is continuing as part of a European program aimed at building a reactor in a Member State as of 2025. The main topics examined in 2009 con-cerned materials, technology related to the use of helium as a coolant, design, and safety. Reactor core studies indicate that a power of 75 MWth with a MOx-loaded core would achieve sufficient performance to evaluate the concept and qualify the innovative fuels planned.

Technical and economic evaluation of scenarios

Further to the June 2006 Act on the sus-tainable management of radioactive mate-rials and waste, possible nuclear power scenarios are being assessed not only as part of the technical analysis, but also for a multi-criteria analysis of the various trans-mutation options. The studies carried out in 2009 consider the deployment of sodium-cooled FNRs as of 2040, according to various plutonium recycling scenarios (alone or with minor actinides). An economic analysis of these scenarios was also conducted for the purposes of comparison. A series of sum-mary reports on the technical analyses of scenarios was issued in 2009.

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Applied Research

Support for the nuclear industry

the Osiris experimental reactor in Saclay, provides the first data on the mechanical behavior of reactor vessel steel under flu-ence conditions representing 60 years of operation. The mechanical results obtained on the various microstructures show that the design and construction rules for mechanical components (RCC-M) are con-servative for fluence values far higher than their qualification range.At a time when nuclear power plants must be increasingly competitive, the main concerns regarding the fuel assembly are to improve performance, robustness, and safety, under normal and accident condi-tions. A fuel irradiation experiment called “Merci” was conducted in 2009 in the Osiris reactor in Saclay to confirm the residual power val-ues used for fuel management by EDF. The scientific outcome of this original experi-

Reactors, fuel and safety

Research programs in support of the nuclear industry, whether for the operation of existing reactors or for the third genera-tion, primarily cater to the requirements of the industrial partners (EDF, AREVA, GDF Suez) and research organizations (Andra, IRSN). The CEA is developing a first-rate R&D program to help demonstrate the serviceability of major components (ves-sels, internal components, containments) beyond 40 years’ operation, and enhance the performance and safety of nuclear reactors. A summary of all results obtained from the Diva experiment (a joint project by CEA, AREVA and EDF) was prepared in 2009. This experiment, which was carried out in

ment was highly satisfactory: it confirmed basic principles, instruments performed well, and the calorimetric measurements obtained were accurate.Another highlight of 2009 was the result of the comparative calculations obtained using the Cathare 2 simulation tool for the OECD’s ROSA-2 program. A loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) transient was calculated and then reproduced under experimental conditions on the JAEA’s large-scale test facility in Japan. There were six participants using four different codes, but only the CEA, using Cathare, revealed a rise in primary pressure and was able to predict the overheating of the core. The CEA calculations were found to be in very good agreement with experimental results. Additional development work was carried out to improve the code’s port-ability onto the computers and simulators used by industrial operators. The modifica-tions were delivered to industrial users in November 2009.

Spent fuel processing

Thanks to a 30-year partnership with the CEA, providing a background of joint industrial operation and R&D, AREVA is now the leader in the field of spent fuel processing and recycling. The aims here are to guarantee the current operation of the La Hague plant while optimizing the process to rationalize consumables and the waste produced, and adapting the process to the variable nature of the fuels to be processed. In the context of the “vitrification 2010” project conducted by AREVA to increase the capacity of vitrification lines and install a cold crucible at the La Hague plant, inac-tive tests on the cold crucible installed on Line B of the R7 facility were successfully completed in 2009, thanks to the results of the many tests carried out on mockups in Marcoule.Development work continued on the new COEX™ spent fuel processing method. This process avoids the need to separate out the purified plutonium and directly pro-duces a mixed oxide (U, Pu) O2. In 2009, several batches of powder were produced at the Atalante facility in Marcoule, then sent to Cadarache and to the Melox LCT facility. Fuel pellets and the end of the proc-ess met specifications perfectly.

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From left to right: handling operations in the Osiris reactor pool, preparing a dimensional measurement program on spent fuel, glovebox for laser welding cladding containing pellets.

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From left to right: X-ray diffraction device for manufacturing fuels by the dry process, shielded line for studying irradiated fuel reprocessing.

Phénix reactor hall.

FISSION ENERGY

Sustainable management of radioactive materials and waste

main contributor to long-term radiotoxicity and the thermal load of disposal packages.The ExAm (extraction of americium) proc-ess developed by the CEA in Marcoule led to two patent applications in 2009. This innovative process was successfully tested in 2009 at the Atalante L17 laboratory. The

The Act of June 28, 2006 specifies the stages for implementing solutions for the sustainable management of radioactive materials and waste, and guides the R&D conducted by the CEA in two complemen-tary areas: the partitioning and transmuta-tion of long-lived radioactive elements.Studies concerning spent fuel processing are aimed at separating out transuranic elements to isolate them from final waste. Two recovery methods are examined: – Advanced partitioning of minor actinides (Am, Np, Cm);– Partitioning of transuranic elements (Pu, Am, Np, Cm) combined with the Ganex concept, developed with a view to uniform recycling of actinides in fourth-generation reactors. The main achievements of 2009 concerned the development of partitioning proc-esses to suit the various actinide recycling options: consolidation of the Ganex proc-ess for the overall extraction of all actinides and the development of a process outline for recovering only americium, which is the

americium was recovered quantitatively (> 97%), with a decontamination factor significantly above 1000.

A coherent set of R&D tools

Nuclear R&D programs to support exist-ing systems and prepare future systems require suitable experimental tools and high-performance numerical simulation tools that take the “multi-physics” aspect of the reactor environment into account.

Experimental reactors and hot labs

R&D programs designed to support exist-ing reactor systems and prepare future systems are based on a set of experimen-tal tools, mainly research reactors and hot labs. The Jules Horowitz reactor (RJH) will take over from the Osiris reactor in Saclay to study the irradiation behavior of materials and fuels. The construction of the nuclear island began in early 2009 with the pour-

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Applied Research

Technicians immersing a robot in a pool at the MAR 400 facility, where dismantling is in progress.

From left to right: construction site of the Jules Horowitz reactor (RJH), Jannus facility.

ing of the first concrete, the concreting of the excavation floor, the reinforcement and concreting of the lower foundation raft, installation of seismic bearings and their supports. The official go-ahead was given when the Prime Minister signed Decree No. 2009-1219 on October 12, 2009.Phénix stopped operating in 2009. A final test program was carried out successfully. It included a natural circulation operating test, a partial fuel fusion test in an experi-mental capsule, and tests aimed at under-standing the negative reactivity emergency shutdown phenomena experienced in 1989-1990. In 2009, the CEA’s collection of experimen-tal tools grew with the commissioning of the Jannus facility in Saclay (Joint Accelerators for Nanosciences and Nuclear Simula-tion), and in August 2009, the facility will be able to operate in three-beam mode as of 2010. This experiment was conducted in collaboration with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

Simulation

Numerical simulation uses a set of multi-purpose software platforms developed by French and international partnerships. Different combinations of these platforms are used to address the major challenges of numerical simulation:

– a first family includes the five main nuclear disciplines: neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, behavior of materials exposed to radiation, structural mechanics, and chemistry;– the second family is multidisciplinary. These incorporate couplings between platforms in the first family and are used for specific applications. In neutronics, initial 3D kinetic core cal-culations for fast neutron reactors were performed in 2009 to demonstrate how the Apollo3 code could be used with different reactor technologies.

In 2009 a new version of the Salome software integration platform, developed jointly by the CEA and EDF, was introduced. The new version offers new functional-ity for parallel processing and an improved human-machine interface. The Nurisp col-laborative project started in 2009 as part of the 7th European Framework Program. It is coordinated by the CEA and continues the European development of the Nuresim reference platform, which incorporates 13 software applications, including eight from the CEA.

Carrying out nuclear R&D involves con-ducting at the same time facility construc-tion and renovation programs, as well as dismantling programs when these facilities reach the end of their life time. Managing dismantling operations in a responsible way is one of the CEA’s major objectives, and a key requirement for sustaining the renewed interest in nuclear energy.The CEA program to clean up and disman-tle civil nuclear facilities entails spent fuel management, legacy waste recovery and conditioning, and cleanup/dismantling of the CEA’s civil nuclear facilities, as well as the Marcoule UP1 spent fuel processing plant. The highlights of 2009 include:– cleanup and dismantling operations at the Marcoule site, which made sig-nificant headway, with the rinsing of four

Cleanup and dismantling

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AINAUGURATION OF THE ICSM

The Marcoule Institute of Separative Chemistry (ICSM) was inaugurated in June 2009 by the Minister of Higher Education and Research. The ICSM is a joint research unit (CEA, University of Montpellier, National School of Chemistry, CNRS), and its teams conduct innovative work on the basic generic knowledge in the field of separative chemistry and materials. This work makes use of the ICSM’s technical facilities, which are currently being set up, and facilities at the Marcoule center, where research on the back end of the cycle is concentrated, with the Atalante facility in particular.

Pegase fuel storage pool.

From left to right: the Petrus laboratory specialized in processing irradiated targets for the production of transuranic fuels, radiological inspection of a truck by a radiation protection specialist.

bio, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic of June 12, 2009.The group will be in charge of relations with users of high-activity sources (e.g. cobalt-60 and cesium-137), collection and transport operations, waste conditioning in Andra-approved packages, dismantling, where necessary, of equipment that has contained sources, storage and removal to Andra disposal sites, as well as the administrative and regulatory management associated with these operations; – in November 2009, work began to remove plutonium-bearing drums from storage at the Pegase installation (the first basic nuclear installation built on the Cadarache site, which housed the Pegase experimental reactor). These containers were transferred to the Cedra facility in Cadarache pending transfer to Andra.

FISSION ENERGYCLEANUP AND DISMANTLING

old MAR 400 pools that once contained graphite-moderated, gas-cooled reactor fuels, and the dismantling of the dissolution “process” tanks at the old UP1 plant;– progress on the Passage project to denuclearize the Grenoble site, with an important stage in 2009: the first transport of irradiating waste from INB 79 from the CEA’s Grenoble center to its Saclay center; – completion of one of the main cleanup and dismantling operations of the old plu-tonium chemistry laboratory in Fontenay-aux-Roses, with the end of cleanup work on the Petrus line and the draining of tank B. The complexity of this operation was due to the inaccessibility of the tank room and the dilapidated condition of the facilities, which had not been used for more than 30 years. This made it neces-sary to make models, build mock-ups, design cutting and pumping tools, carry out dissolution tests, and install pumping and inerting tools contained in ergonomic gloveboxes, which finally made it possible to achieve this result—a major step in the Aladin project for the denuclearization of the Fontenay-aux-Roses site; – creation of the High-Activity Sources public interest group by the CEA and Cis-


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An interdisciplinary need

f luctuation measurements in the Tore Supra plasma were used to characterize turbulence mechanisms. The experimental fluctuation spectra were modeled using the Gysela code, which is being developed at the CEA. Another CEA code, Jorek, was used to advance the understanding of the physics of instabilities.

The CEA is the single entry point for all fusion activities nationwide (CNRS and uni-versities). The CEA’s special relations with the academic world enable it to mobilize the whole national community in prepara-tion for ITER, currently under construction in Cadarache. This concerns not only research carried out with the “magnetic fusion” research federation, but also the setting up of a “fusion sciences” Master degree.The CEA’s teams carry out research aimed at achieving a fundamental understanding of plasma physics. To do this, they set up simulations and experiments to support theory, as well as technological develop-ments to understand high-performance and long-lived plasmas.For more than 20 years, Tore Supra, the only facility of its kind in the world, has allowed them to develop unprecedented scientif ic and technological expertise concerning the continuous operation of a fusion reactor.

Experimentation and modeling for denser, hotter plasmas

The C4 antenna was installed on Tore Supra in August 2009, and will provide even longer, hotter, denser plasmas than ever before, for a better understanding of continuous stationary plasmas. The

Developing technologies for ITER and the machines of the future

A CEA team, working in collaboration with the Belgian laboratory SCK-CEN, installed a new type of sensor on Tore Supra designed to measure the current flowing in the plasma. The goal is to monitor the posi-tion of the plasma in a Tokamak chamber. In connection with projects financed by the Fusion for Energy (F4E) Agency and ITER Organization (IO), the CEA’s teams are involved in studies of the tritigenous blanket, a key component of future fusion reactors, by proposing an initial design and protection for the blanket. Through numer ical s imulation, CEA teams demonstrated that it is possible to accelerate intense beams of deuterium nuclei in various accelerating structures, as planned in the future IFMIF accelera-tor, which is designed to test materials for future fusion reactors. The complete model is the product of a European collaboration involving the CEA, INFN-Legnaro in Italy, and Ciemat-Madrid in Spain. The last coil of the Wendelstein 7-X Stellara-tor, a research machine for the European W7 fusion program located in Greifswald, Germany, left the CEA on September 9, 2009. This coil, the 70th, is joining the others, which are being installed on the machine after testing under cryogenic conditions carried out by the CEA.

Maintenance on the Tore Supra facility.

W7X magnet testing station.

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Screen printing of a photovoltaic cell on the Restaure platform.

* French National Solar Energy Institute.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENERGY

The CEA: delivering on Environment Round Table commitments

Reducing the use of fossil fuels by diversi-fying energy sources, cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the field of transport, and reducing the energy consumption of buildings: these are the major objectives the CEA has set itself. The CEA has set up technology platforms to meet these goals and industrialize production, in accordance with the French President’s wishes. In addition, reorganization took place in 2009 to concentrate most of the CEA’s technological activities around the LITEN Institute to reach a critical mass of resourc-es and skills in a short time.

Solar energy and energy efficiency

The world’s top heterojunctions

The activity in 2009 can first be summed up by a percentage: 19.6%. That is the energy conversion efficiency obtained for heterojunc-tion photovoltaic cells of industrial size (12.5 x 12.5 cm) with the extension of the capacity of the Restaure platform (INES* Chambéry). Industrial transfer should be carried out with the construction of a Heterojunction LabFab—a pilot unit created with an industrial partner.

Solar power plants: 24-hour forecasts

With an average error of 6.2% and 8.6% for the two sites studied for six months (Cadarache and Chambéry), the LITEN Institute’s photovoltaic production fore-casting tool obtained better than state-of-the-art results. This tool provides 24-hour production forecasts in half-hour steps, in accordance with French electricity transport network regulations, and allows the network manager to compensate, to a large degree, for the intermittent and relatively random nature of photovoltaic production.

2009 saw the introduction of Planning Act No. 2009-967 dated August 3, 2009 on the implementation of the French Environment Round Table. The Act puts the prevention of climate change high on the list of priorities and confirms the Government’s commitment to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by a factor of four between 1990 and 2050.

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CEA • 2009 ANNUAL REPORT 23* French National Solar Energy Institute.

Applied Research

Sunlight test bench to check the performance of thermal solar collectors.

Sailboat equipped with a fuel cell for the auxiliary motor.

Artificial sunlight test bench ready for use

The artificial sunlight test bench installed at the INES in late 2008 was subject to conclusive validation tests carried out using a reliable commercial collector and performed by several European laborato-ries accredited for certification. This bench is used to test all types of thermal solar collectors in conditions similar to actual sunlight, without being subjected to unpre-dictable weather conditions likely to distort the protocol. It makes the INES one of the best-equipped laboratories in Europe in this field.

Delivery of Inca houses

The INES Inca platform now has two experi-mental houses, each with a floor space of 95 m², which serve as full-scale research tools to develop a better overall approach to the design of energy-efficient buildings. Both are fitted with thermal and PV solar panels and equipped with nearly 300 sen-sors measuring temperature, humidity, air speed, light levels, pressure and energy consumption. The presence of occupants is simulated by electrical heaters and water vapor generators.

Innovative electrical transport

The continuing hunt for platinum

The work aimed at reducing the platinum content of fuel cells continued, with the establishment of the first durability standard for components. A membrane electrode assembly (MEA) consisting of a “Liten anode” with 0.2 g of platinum per cm2 and

a commercial reference cathode was tested for 1,000 hours in cycles representative of the transport application with, at the end of the test, a 10% drop in voltage at high current, which is acceptable at this stage of development.

Sailing the Mediterranean with zero CO2

A 12-m sailing boat with an electric drive system designed and created by the LITEN Institute and consisting of an electric aux-iliary motor powered by a 35 kW fuel cell, was presented at the Paris Boat Show in December. It will sail the Mediterranean for 10 months. The crew of scientists will col-lect data on pollution at sea while adopting ecological practices and behaviors them-selves.

Electric Peugeot 307: less than one kilogram of hydrogen per 100 km!

A Peugeot 307 convertible was equipped with lithium-ion batteries and a fuel-cell generator set based on LITEN’s Genepac technology, incorporating improvements to the MEAs. The vehicle, running in hydrogen mode, was tested and characterized on a circuit, and demonstrated performance to the highest standards in the world: maxi-mum speed of 155 km/h, 1,000 m from a standing start in 38 seconds, range of 75 kg on battery power alone, or 400 km with the fuel cell and hydrogen consump-tion at 995 g per 100 km.

Hydrogen safety: a risk level less than or equal to today’s energy solutions

An approach based on a combination of simulation and experiment was introduced, with the aim of building an internationally recognized center of excellence in the field of hydrogen safety. The facility was set up and a series of helium discharge experi-ments conducted in a confined environ-ment to characterize possible stratification regimes and confirm the allowable per-meation rates for hydrogen tanks.

Test on a hydrogen tank.

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Commissioning of an anhydrous room for the manufacture of lithium batteries.

Lithium-titanium-oxide: soon to be produced by the kilogram

The process for synthesizing Lithium- titanium-oxide for Li-ion cell electrodes has been developed on a kilogram scale to prepare for the LITEN Institute’s many electric mobility projects. The initial proc-ess, which had six stages, has progressed to a two-stage process compatible with industrial development. The Lithium-tita-nium-oxide obtained allows fast, multiple charging and discharging cycles, and combines power performance with high energy density. A first transfer, to Prayon, has taken place.

Prollion starts work

Created by LITEN and Alcen, Prollion is a start-up that custom-manufactures 50-100 Ah electrochemical lithium-ion bat-tery cells and battery packs with a man-agement system. Prollion is hosted by the LITEN Institute in Grenoble, on the Steeve technology platform—a facility unique in Europe, where the whole battery produc-tion process takes place, from material synthesis to installation in the vehicle.

French electric battery plant to open in 2012

The Renault-Nissan industrial site in Flins, close to Paris, should start mass produc-tion of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles starting in mid-2012. This project, representing an investment of €600 mil-lion, was launched at the beginning of November 2009 when representatives from the Renault-Nissan Alliance, CEA and the French Strategic Investment Fund

preparation technology to synthesize second-generation biofuels (diesel or kerosene). Within the CEA, the LITEN Institute’s teams will be in charge of work involving two or three of BioTFuel’s plat-forms: torrefaction and gasification.They are providing skills for the develop-ment of specific technologies (torrefac-tion, oxygen production) and expertise on material corrosion (linked to impurities in the biomass) and the development of instrumentation. The CEA is a partner in this project alongside the French Petro-leum Institute ( IFP), Total, Sofiproteol (the financial establishment of Prolea, the association of French vegetable oils and protein producers) and Uhde GmbH (a subsidiary of the German industrial group ThyssenKrupp).

Start of the Bure-Saudron project

The CEA and its industrial and financial partners are launching the first design finalization stage of a project to construct a BtL – “Biomass to Liquid” – demonstra-tion facility, for the production of second-generation biofuels on the Bure-Saudron site. Located on the boundary between the Haute-Marne and Meuse areas in eastern France, the project makes the most of regional resources and receives support from local economic stakehold-ers and local government, in particular the Regional Councils. The objective is to demonstrate both the technological and economic feasibility of a complete BTL production chain in France, from biomass harvesting to fuel synthesis. The introduc-tion of hydrogen into the thermochemical

NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENERGY

Pegase facility intended for the thermal purification of biogas (cracking of tars and methane).

signed a letter of intent to create a joint venture for developing and manufacturing electric vehicles.

Second-generation biofuels

ADEME gives the go-ahead for the BioTFuel project

BioTfuel is a research project set up to develop a new process that can utilize variable loads of biomass and oil residues and that will apply torrefaction biomass-

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Applied Research

Artist’s impression of the Bure facility.

process to optimize the mass efficiency will be a world first.

Nanomaterials for energy applications

Dense thermoelectric materials: sharp increase in efficiency

Thermoelectric conversion efficiencies of 9% (ZT = 1.45 at ambient temperature) have been measured on nanostructured solid materials made of powder by the Spark Plasma Sinter ing technique. Although efficiency performance remains lower than that of thin films, which can reach ZT figures of 2.4 at ambient tem-perature, only nanostructured solid mate-rials are able to generate electric power for heat flux levels below 100 W/cm2, which is required for certain applications such as car engine cooling.

Lithium microbatteries: ready to go into a 5 x 5 mm case

The collaboration with STMicroelectronics Tours on l i th ium microbatter ies has entered a new phase. This joint laboratory makes microbatteries based on a posi-tive TiOS electrode on a 200 mm silicon substrate. They are resistant to the heat from wave soldering and are sized for installation in a 5 x 5 mm case. Charge-discharge cycles have revealed electrical performance characteristics in compli-ance with the objectives; in particular, a capacity greater than 3 µAh.

High-performance tool for monitoring workplace environments

The LITEN Institute has developed an environmental nanoparticle monitoring technique that is a hundred times more sensitive than current methods. Based on chemical analysis of the nanoparticles col-lected, it is suitable for operational use in an industrial environment. The technique includes a sampler f i lter (nanobadge) small enough to be worn on the chest, and includes a micro suction pump and

tiny Li-ion batteries. Elementary analysis of collected nanoparticles is performed by total reflection X-ray fluorescence without prior handling of the filter. The measured detection limits are in the region of 35 ng of titanium oxide per filter, i.e. approxi-mately 1,000 particles of 30 nm diameter per ml of air, and the results can therefore be isolated from the background noise of natural nanoparticles, estimated at 10,000 particles per ml of air.

Bioenergies

Studying living organisms and drawing inspiration for new energy sources

Building on its expertise in the area of fun-damental research on photosynthesis and hydrogenases and its more applied skills, particularly in the design of catalysts, the CEA conducts bioenergy research. The aim is to develop third-generation fuels. To do this, CEA scientists are taking two main approaches. On the one hand, living organisms are used to bring out molecules with a high energy content (hydrogen, lipids, etc.), and on the other hand, biomi-metic production strategies are developed for hydrogen production.

Bioenergy: design of an oxygen-resistant hydrogenase

Joint research by CEA and CNRS scien-tists has demonstrated that the modifica-tion by genetic engineering of a bacterial

hydrogenase could considerably reduce its sensitivity to oxygen. Hydrogenases are enzymes used by cer tain photo-synthetic micro-organisms (microalgae or cyanobacteria) to produce hydrogen from water and solar energy. Their use in industr ial production processes is planned, but for this to occur, the problem of their sensitivity to the oxygen released by photosynthesis must be solved. This result opens up the prospect of modifying the enzymes of photosynthetic organisms, thereby improving their hydrogen produc-tion performance (Journal of the American Chemical Society [2009]).

Production of hydrogen under luminous irradiation by an inorganic photocatalyst.

Glovebox dedicated to nanosafety: Nanosafe2 project.

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Information and health technologies are a major growth area for the coming decades. The contribution of nanotechnologies to these fields will be decisive.

To ensure that French industry is ready to face this challenge, the Government has launched an ambitious project called Nano-Innov, which will define and implement a true innovation strategy. The CEA has a central, unifying role in this project thanks to its integrating capabilities, combining nanoscience with nanotechnology.

The CEA continues to work on technological innovations in the fields of microelectronics, innovative components, software technology, and support systems in partnerships with the microelectronics industry, major installers of complex systems, and SMEs that are candidates for the transfer of new technologies.

In the field of life sciences, the CEA’s research relies on its multidisciplinary skills, in a continuum from fundamental research to technological research. Several platforms of national and European interest have recently been set or entrusted to the CEA, in the fields of structural biology, imaging (NeuroSpin and MIRCen), and genomics. The CEA is a founder member of the AVIESAN alliance, which coordinates the programmatic investigation in the field of health and biotechnologies, and has been given responsibility for the multi-organization institute focusing on “healthcare technologies”.

Aware of the problems related to the possible effects of nanotechnologies on health and the environment, the CEA is seeking to understand and assess the impact of the nanomaterials it develops, through its knowledge of biological mechanisms. This research provides an essential knowledge base to make the CEA an influential player in the context of future standardization.

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The “Amont” technological platform at Minatec.


Information & health technologies


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Acquisition of very fine anatomical and functional images of the brain by 7-tesla MRI.

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Nanoscience and nanotechnologies

Understanding and controlling matter on a nanometric scale are key to industrial developments in many important sectors, such as energy, health, environment, transport, information and communication.

how to assemble objects on a nanometric scale. The CEA’s teams hope in this way to push back the boundaries of silicon-based electronics and intro-duce new nanoelectronic technology representing genuine breakthroughs, or develop innovative energy concepts.

Nanowires for electronics

Several CEA teams have obtained results concern-ing the manufacture and characterization of a silicon nanowire for use in electronics applications:– manufacture of an undoped 40-nm diameter nanowire; – characterization of electronic dif fusion in a nanowire, with the Nanomanufacture and Nano-characterization Research Center (CRN2) at the University of Sherbrooke;– creation of the first prototype of a multi-functional device that can be used as a field effect transistor, Schottky diode, or p n diode (the system behaves as either a transistor or a diode).

Low-power memories

A team from the CNRS, the University of Paris-South and the CEA has demonstrated the feasibility of dig-ital magnetic memories using an electric rather than magnetic field. To do this, the team used a new class of materials called “multiferroics”, which combine unusual electrical and magnetic properties.Thanks to a method devised at the CEA, the devel-opment of magnetic random access memories or

Nanoscience

In the fields of nanoscience, condensed matter and radiation–matter interaction, the CEA’s research lies upstream of research on energy and information and health technologies. Fundamental research in nanoscience is aimed at broadening our knowledge of the properties of matter on that scale, for exam-ple, by studying quantum phenomena in ultimate devices, the mechanisms of molecular interaction and electron transport in molecules, and learning

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Optical characterization bench for nanowires.

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MRAMs is now moving towards an electric current writing process with no applied magnetic field. The chief advantage of this technique is that a smaller memory cell means lower power consumption.

Studying the toxicity of nanotubes

A great deal of research is currently being devoted to the toxicity of nanometric objects, and CEA sci-entists have succeeded in developing an isotopic labeling method that provides an extremely reliable way to view the behavior of carbon nanotubes in living organisms. It is now possible to determine whether an animal’s organism can completely elimi-nate these nano-objects or whether they will exhibit marked biopersistence liable to lead, in the long term, to the development of pathologies in humans. More detailed toxicology analyses will enable scien-tists to ascertain whether or not these compounds are toxic.

Nanochemistry: creation of the Pegastech start-up

Pegastech, a new spin-off company of the Saclay Institute of Matter and Radiation (IRAMIS) was born in July, after two years of technological validation work. Pegastech aims to design, manufacture and market surface treatment products in various indus-trial sectors. It carries out industrial confirmation of the results of the CEA’s fundamental research to show that operational chemical grafting can be performed on a wide variety of surfaces. The project won an award in 2008 at the 10th national competition to support new, innovative technology businesses.

Record sensitivity for nuclear magnetic resonance

In view of the demanding requirements of nuclear magnetic resonance applications, the CEA’s fun-damental research teams are developing various strategies to improve the sensitivity of the technique, which is insufficient in many cases. In 2009, a CEA team showed that it was possible to increase NMR sensitivity substantially by combining the use of a hyperpolarized noble gas with “spin noise” detec-tion. Scientists inject atoms of a noble gas (xenon) into the sample after aligning the spins of the xenon nuclei by laser optical pumping. With this hyper-polarization, half the nuclei on average contribute to the NMR signal, as opposed to one nucleus out of 200,000, which used to be the case. Unlike traditional methods, this method requires no radiof-requency excitation, which means that the hyperpo-larization can be preserved, and avoids exposure to electromagnetic waves in biological or medical (MRI) applications.Another CEA team inserted molecules containing lanthanides in silicon balls 10 to 70 nm in diameter; these could act as contrast agents or fluorescent labels for MRI.


From top to bottom: Magnetic thin-film deposition machine used in making MRAMs, carbon nanotube.

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In vivo imagingLife science research calls on the multi-disciplinary skills of the CEA in a continuum from fundamental research to technological research. This situa-tion has enabled the CEA to create platforms of national and European interest in the fields of struc-tural biology, imaging, and global genome analysis methods. The national sequencing platforms and the NeuroSpin and MIRCen imaging platforms are examples. These imaging centers are contributing to the development of new methods for imaging and preclinical and clinical research into major chronic pathologies such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.Health and biotechnologies are two major national challenges faced by French research and industry. That is why the Government entrusted the coordi-nation of the programmatic investigation of this field to the Aviesan alliance, of which the CEA is a found-ing member. With the aim of transferring research results as efficiently as possible to industry, the CEA has accepted responsibility for the multi-organiza-tion institute (ITMO) on health technology, which was given specific development assignments by the Strategic Council on Health Industries in November 2009.Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emis-sion Tomography (PET), magnetoencephalography (MEG) are imaging techniques that gather large amounts of in vivo and in situ information on the functioning of organs. They achieve this by non-invasive means, i.e. without causing any trauma.This means that imaging is perfectly suited to the study of deep-seated, inaccessible organs such as the brain. The main aims of neuro-imaging are to map the brain areas responsible for the cognitive functions, to understand how information is routed and processed in the brain, and to understand brain pathologies. In order to conduct this research, the CEA has set up NeuroSpin, a large-scale facility for The NeuroSpin reception hall.

Advancing our knowledge of living organisms, providing earlier diagnoses, and developing therapeutic strategies.

LIFE SCIENCES

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intense-field brain neuro-imaging. NeuroSpin sci-entists have a 3-tesla and a 7-tesla MRI machines for use on human subjects (most MRI equipment in hospitals is only 1.5 T). In 2010, Bruker Corporation will install a 17.2-tesla magnet intended for research on animals. At the same time, the teams are work-ing on the Iseult 11.7-tesla MRI project intended for studies on human subjects.Imaging is also a unique method for developing diagnostic tools and innovative therapeutic strate-gies, especially for neurodegenerative illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, cancers and psychiatric disorders.

A A MIRCEN TEAM CARRIES OUT THE FIRST PRECLINICAL GENE THERAPY TESTING FOR PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Scientists and neurosurgeons at the Biomedical Imaging Institute (I2BM) at the University of Paris-12, Henri Mondor Hospital, and the British biotechnology company Oxford BioMedica have carried out preclinical gene therapy tests on primate models for Parkinson’s disease. The treatment they have developed is based on the transfer of three coding genes for the enzymes required to synthesize dopamine, a molecule found lacking in the brain of Parkinson’s patients. The treatment can restore local and continuous production of dopamine. The study, conducted at MIRCen, accelerated the launch of a Phase I/II clinical trial at the Henri Mondor Hospital on patients in an advanced stage of this disease.

Science Translational Medicine (2009), online.

A TEST TO DETERMINE A PATIENT’S STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

To help clinical teams determine whether an unresponsive patient (in intensive care or emerging from unconscious states such as a coma or vegetative state) is conscious, a French team (Inserm, AP-HP, CEA/NeuroSpin) has developed a test that combines the principles of auditive perception psychology with recording of brain activity. The test can detect the existence of conscious mental activity without relying on the often limited signs perceived through clinical examination.

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View of the MIRCen building.

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AOne highlight of 2009 was the commissioning of MIR-Cen (Molecular Imaging Research Center), a preclini-cal imaging platform for the study of infectious neuro-degenerative diseases, in Fontenay-aux-Roses. Built and operated jointly with Inserm, the facility already employs about a hundred doctors, physicists, chem-ists, neurobiologists, virologists, and imaging spe-cialists. MIRCen is an integrated research platform,

and one of its main objectives is to reduce the cost and timescale for the development of new therapies. Its teams work with those from major hospitals and universities, as well as the pharmaceuticals industry.Alongside the Frédéric Joliot hospital in Orsay, Neu-roSpin and MIRCen offer unique imaging resources to provide continuity between preclinical and clini-cal research.

LIFE SCIENCESIN VIVO IMAGING

THE ARTIFICIAL NEUROANATOMIST OF BRAINVISA SOFTWARE

The artificial neuroanatomist was created by the computer-aided neuro-imaging laboratory, and is used to measure the shapes of the cerebral cortex automatically. It compares large patient populations to control groups. One of the aims is to detect the signature of certain psychiatric syndromes in the folds of the cortex, with the idea that these shapes are formed in utero (Dubois et al.), and that this signature might therefore be present from a very early stage. This raises the possibility, for example, of detecting a higher-than-average risk of developing a brain pathology such as schizophrenia.

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Folding of the cerebral cortex in very premature infants (Dubois et al.).

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BiotechnologiesBiomolecular labeling, engineering and structure

Research in the field of biomolecule engineering seeks to reveal the structures of biological mac-romolecules such as proteins. The aim is to learn how they function so that they can be modified for biomedical or biotechnological applications. The molecular processes are observed and dissected

with higher and higher spatial and temporal reso-lutions on increasingly large integrated molecular complexes. This research requires the development of methods and instrumentation used in physics, par-ticularly for imaging and crystallography processes. Molecular labeling is a specialty of the CEA’s teams,

Studying the structure of the molecules of life and its impact on their function.


which they now apply to nano-objects. New, ground-breaking biophysical methods can also provide more precise knowledge of macromolecules, especially their folding and/or reconfiguration dynamics.

Genomics

Genomics research at the CEA is based on two national plat forms: the Genoscope-National Sequencing Center (CNS) and the National Geno-typing Center (CNG), both of which are part of the Genomics Institute of the Life Sciences Division. The CNS programs are aimed at acquiring and analyz-ing genetic information from various organisms of scientific, medical, or economic interest, particularly research into the microbial capacities of interest to industry for chemistry and the environment. The CNG focuses on searching for interactions between genes and environment connected with the develop-ment of cancers or neurodegenerative diseases in order to progress towards a personalized approach to medicine.

Alzheimer’s: identification of two new genetic predisposition factors

Scientists from Inserm, CNG, and the Jean Daus-set Foundation-CEPH, associated with a European consortium of 25 teams, led one of the first large-scale pangenomic studies investigating Alzheimer’s disease. An analysis of the genomes of more than 20,000 individuals, of whom 6000 were affected by Alzheimer’s disease, revealed two new genetic pre-disposition factors for this pathology. This research

opens up new prospects for the development of diagnosis and therapy methods. Nature Genetics, September 2009.

The Genoscope: a participant in the Tara Oceans expedition

On September 5, 2009, the schooner Tara set sail from Lorient for a three-year voyage across all the oceans of the planet to study marine ecosystems. This complex environment is still shrouded in mys-tery, yet it is full of microorganisms that produce half the oxygen we breathe, recycling 50% of the carbon dioxide produced on Earth, and which form the base of the food chain. As part of the international multidisciplinary scientific team for this mission, Genoscope scientists will study the biodiversity of genomes and the genetic wealth of the samples taken from the sea.

AAIDS: A NEW STRATEGY TO FIGHT THE VIRUS

A team from the Institute of Structural Biology, in collaboration with the Pasteur Institute and the University of Orsay, has developed a new molecule called CD4-HS, which is able to prevent HIV from entering cells. In contrast to currently available treatments, which are aimed at blocking replication of the virus, this completely original combination between a sugar and a peptide represents a promising new therapeutic strategy that is aimed at taking action long before the virus enters the cell.

Nature Chemical Biology, September 2009.

National genotyping center.

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AImmunotherapy

CEA scientists working in immunovirology research draw on their recognized expertise in structural biol-ogy, design and production of vectors (DNA, lenti-viral vectors, etc.), models for studying interactions between hosts and pathogenic agents, and preclini-cal research. This team has already demonstrated its ability to mobilize its skills in public health emer-gencies. Over the last ten years, the Life Sciences Division has been a major player in the development of diagnostic tools for prion diseases. During the last chikungunya epidemic in the Indian Ocean, the preclinical models that were essential for confirming new medication and vaccination approaches were developed at the Fontenay-aux-Roses center in just a few weeks.

AIDS: working towards a DNA vaccine

Scientists from the Institute of Emerging Diseases and Innovative Therapy (IMETI) managed to induce a strong immune response by intradermic injec-tion of a DNA vaccine to act against HIV. The DNA vaccine is based on the following principle: a small fragment of HIV protein-coding DNA is introduced into the cells via a vector. From this DNA, the cells manufacture the protein, which should behave as an antigen and trigger an immune response. The advantages of this process include lower cost, good stability at ambient temperature, and ease of large-scale production. Working with Fit Biotech, the scientists sought to increase the effectiveness of the vectors by developing a new type of vector that considerably increases the quantity of antigens

produced and maintains long-term activation of the immune response. After developing and proving the concept of use for this type of vaccine, the scientists will now test its effectiveness against HIV infection in primates.Human Gene Therapy, October 2009.

LIFE SCIENCES

Developing immunoassay results.

NEW THERAPEUTIC APPROACH TO TUBERCULOSIS

Researchers from the CEA and the Institute for Genetics and Microbiology (University of Paris -11, CNRS) have discovered some new enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of complex cyclodipeptides. These are molecules that are very widespread among microorganisms and have various biological functions. At the time of this biosynthesis, these novel enzymes act in concert with the enzymes that modify the cyclopeptides, providing them with a structural complexity. This is particularly the case for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis. Researchers have elucidated the entire pathway and characterized the modification enzyme involved, which is essential to the pathogen’s survival. It is now possible to inhibit this enzyme and thus consider designing a new class of antituberculosis agents.

Nature Chem. Biol., June 2009, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., May 2009.

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Micro- and nanotechnologies

In 2009, the LETI Institute, a technological and integrative research laboratory, provided its industrial partners with support to help them maintain strong innovative capabilities. Joint R&D actions and access to a portfolio of more than 1,500 patents will allow these partners to improve their competitive edge.

concern of this process is to maintain very high resolution while ensuring a high level of productivity. An Asian company called TSMC joined this consortium in 2010.Speed and reactivity are two essential factors of the LETI Institute’s R&D offer to industry, based in particular on its network of techno-logical platforms. This network is designed to accelerate the development of industrial products resulting from upstream research.The research infrastructure includes a CMOS clean room for the development of semi-conductor devices and has offered extensive research resources since 2008, in particular for the integration of new materials and the development of 3D integration processes.

Nanosimulation program

The CEA’s nanosimulation program was officially launched on February 11, 2009 in Grenoble. It focuses on multi-scale simu-lation from molecules to nano-objects

microelectronics, placing itself in the open industrial ecosystem. This coupled IBM-STMicroelectronics (Crolles) ecosystem will be reinforced by LETI expertise, which con-tributes to consolidating the position of the European participants in this sector. In this context, the LETI Institute has redirected its activities according to the requirements of the market and the IBM alliance in three areas: new CMOS transistors for the 22 nm node and beyond, E-beam lithography and characterization on a nanometric scale. The work carried out at the core of this alli-ance, formed in early 2009, has allowed the LETI, STMicroelectronics and Albany (USA) teams to obtain impressive results on the 22 nm technological node.In the area of E-beam lithography, the work benefits from the advances made by the Institute in the context of the Imagine international program (launched in 2008), in collaboration with a Dutch company called Mapper. This program, open to industrial partners, is the first consortium for multi-beam direct-write lithography. The main

With a core business based on integrative technologies on silicon, solidly rooted in social issues, the LETI Institute offers a range of spin-off technologies, particularly in four key sectors: imaging technology, technol-ogy for biological and health applications, telecommunications and communication devices, and new energy technology.

A world-class excellence program in the IBM-STMicroelectronics partnership

Concentrating on miniaturization technolo-gies and their applications, the LETI Insti-tute has undergone strategic development since 2005, affecting both the focus of its themes and its research resources. While the CMOS technology sector is chang-ing rapidly and organizing its structure around a few international partnerships, the LETI Institute has repositioned itself in

E-beam direct-write machine.

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From left to right: nanowires, nanocharacterization platform: Focus Ion Beam, microelectronics clean room, pressure sensor.


Applied research

Working hand in hand with its industrial partners, the LETI Institute is developing a generic technology called MEMSBOND that is ready for integration into their processes. MEMSBOND is based on technological building blocks aimed at

Institute’s ability to offer prototype manu-facturing and pre-production services in the field of heterogeneous integration, offering the institute’s industrial partners the opportunity to invest in innovation while limiting risk.

Open platforms and upstream partnerships

This mechanism is supplemented by other platforms conducting research further upstream, located at the center of the Minatec innovation campus: the nano-characterization platform and the chemis-try platform, managed jointly with the LETI Institute’s academic partners, in particular the Institute of Nanoscience and Cryogen-ics, the CNRS, Joseph Fourier University and the INPG. These platforms are shared with technology research partners such as the LITEN Institute.

by developing exact methods (ab initio), parameterized methods (kinetic Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, and micro-magnetism), and coupled methods. It sets out to model both the structure and the properties (electrical, magnetic, opti-cal, etc.) of these objects and, ultimately, advance system design methods.

Nano-Innov

The Paris Region Nano-Innov Integration Center of the Saclay Campus plan, agreed in February 2009, aims to boost the area’s capacity for technological innovation. It will significantly increase the synergy and sharing of resources between CEA scien-tists and the other members of the Saclay Campus (University and CNRS).

Stronger upstream partnerships

In France, the CEA’s nanoscience teams belong to the network of the C’Nano centers of excellence and the “Physics Triangle” “Nanosciences at the limits of nanoelectronics” thematic advanced research networks (RTRA), created in 2007 and located in Saclay and Grenoble respectively. The CEA was the project initiator of the Grenoble RTRA, and chairs the Nanosciences Foundation. CEA teams also participate in many research groups (GDR). Most of the teams work in mixed units with the CNRS or university labs (more than ten mixed research units with the CNRS and universities). They also participate in a large number of projects financed by the French National Research Agency (ANR).In Europe, the teams participate in a large number of projects (FP6 and now FP7). Worldwide, collaborations include activi-ties with laboratories in the USA, Japan, Russia, India, and Korea.

The growth of More than Moore programs for spin-off technologies and microsystems

The innovation factor in the integrated circuit industry is not only based on reducing the size of the transistor, but also on the integration of materials and devices foreign to CMOS technology as such (RF components, imagers, sen-sors, non-volatile memories, and optical interfaces). Interconnection and packag-ing technologies play a major role in this evolution, particularly in the development of three-dimensional solutions. The MEMS 200 platform, dedicated to the development of non-CMOS Microsystems (More than Moore) supports the LETI

A22 NM TRANSISTORS

The 300 mm operational line made it possible to obtain state-of-the-art results: 22 nm technology transistors on an SOI substrate. With this level of performance, the LETI Institute supports its industrial partners STMicroelectronics, IBM, and Soitec not only in the field of 300 mm advanced technologies, but also in upstream research and breakthrough designs.

Electromechanical component packaging.

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meeting performance, robustness, and cost requirements. It is ideally suited to the manufacture of the accelerometers, gyrometers, and pressure sensors used in the automotive market in particular.The Institute is also exploring a new iner-tial sensor concept with the development of M&NEMS technologies that combine micro- and nanometric dimensions and drastically reduce sensor size (by a fac-tor of more than 10 ). Developments concerning NEMS technology draw on the expertise of the California Institute of Technology, for NEMS sensors, and LETI know-how for microelectronics, as part of a collaboration agreement.

A global approach to imaging: from materials to data processing

New breakthrough concepts are under development across the market, from the mobile telephone sector (mass market) to astronomy, with the aim of delivering a complete imager, collectively packaged and at a reduced price. All of the LETI Institute’s skills are put to use: its knowl-edge of microelectronics processes and 3D integration, its innovation capabilities in creating new technological stacks, devel-oping the associated electrical models, and creating new concepts to reduce pixel size. In the field of consumer goods, the challenge is also to reduce the cost and therefore the size of the CMOS imager,

while maintaining its electro-optical per-formance. The Institute addresses these challenges through a variety of techniques aimed at improving sensitivity (backlight-ing) and limiting the effect of dif fusion (using ultra-fine plasmonic filters). In the field of cooled infrared, the LETI Institute is recognized worldwide for its sensors, which are used in civil and military appli-cations. They are found in night vision systems, meteorological satellites, and biomedical imaging. New applications are opening up for consumer products (secu-rity cameras, pedestrian detection, etc.).

New applications for micro- and nanotechnologies in healthcare

Healthcare, and diagnosis in particular, is one of the biggest challenges facing soci-ety today, because of our aging and grow-ing population. Micro- and nanotechnolo-gies provide innovative solutions through the development of technologies that improve medical diagnostic capabilities and treatments, while creating business opportunities for our industrial partners. This activity relies on the multidisciplinary nature of the teams, and focuses on four areas of R&D: digital radiation detectors for medical imaging, molecular imaging and administration of drugs, lab-on-a-chip devices for in vitro diagnosis, and

portable or implantable medical devices. The detectors developed at the Institute, with higher sensitivity and better spectral and spatial resolution, can equally well be used in medical radiology, nuclear medi-cine, and radionuclide detection. These technologies can also be used to design new detector architectures with innova-tive functions and detection systems that allow operation with signals of different energy levels.The Institute’s offer also includes indus-trial solutions for medical devices that are implanted in and/or worn by the patient. These sensors are directly built into clothing for real-time analysis of medical parameters such as sodium ion concen-tration, respiratory activity and hydration level. Other sensors, based on motion detection, can improve diagnosis, effec-tively assist rehabilitation protocols and provide reliable detection of epileptic fits.Work is continuing at the Clinatec center in the recording, analysis and stimulation of neuron structures for the brain/computer interface, and the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative illnesses and brain pathologies. This unique platform aims to prove preclinical and medical concepts of effectiveness and safety for implanted or minimally invasive medical devices result-ing from micro-nanotechnology devel-opments, in order to offer solutions to neurology patients and disabled persons through diagnosis, therapy, functional replacement therapy, and minimally inva-sive surgery.

ANANOMETRIC SENSORS

Nanocomponents have been created and functionalized at the LETI Institute, then tested in various gases at Caltech (USA). The response of the sensors demonstrated that nanometric structures could be useful for the creation of chemical sensors with very high sensitivity and good linearity of the components in ranges between a few ppm and 100 ppm.

From left to right: medical imaging at NeuroSpin, monitoring of firefighter hydration by a sensor built into their clothing, sensors built into fabric.

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Working towards communicating and standalone objects

Until now, electronics has been associated mainly with computers, mobile telephones, cars, and medical equipment. The current trend, however, is for information capture, communication power, and microsystems to be used more widely in various objects, furniture, and even paper. Many issues must be considered for communicating objects: standalone operation (battery life), sensitiv-ity to the environment, data transmission, etc. These are some of the technological building blocks that go into the making of a complete, coherent, and efficient system. Diabolo, developed by LETI teams, is a process for inserting microsystems into materials during the manufacturing phase. The result is a reel of chips connected to a flexible wire that can be incorporated into materials using various industrial proc-esses, for applications such as medical or sports monitoring (by placing sensors in clothing), and monitoring structures (build-ings, aircraft) made of composite materials.In the field of telecommunications, RF tech-nologies open the door to many applica-tions. There are many factors to consider for these systems (from sensor networks to biomedical systems): they must be reconfigurable, compatible with high data rates, or consume very little power. These functions, based on MEMS technology on silicon and designed by technology teams (for the development of new materials) and RF design teams, are more compact, cheaper, easier to manufacture and offer better performance than functions made using analog components.

Boosting technology transfer to SMEs

B2I is a platform that gives our industrial partners access to affordable design, inte-

gration and characterization equipment. It provides an opportunity to set up R&D partnerships to energize the innovation process, from feasibility study to proof of concept and supply of demonstration models, before the creation of prototypes. The platform also involves students from INP Grenoble in projects (lasting approxi-mately six months) to support SMEs.

A technological offer to address energy issues

Many programs in collaboration with the LITEN Institute are aimed at reducing energy consumption. These address a number of issues: improving the efficiency of photovoltaic cells, energy recovery techniques, perfecting new light produc-tion technologies, and developing built-in power components. Reducing consump-tion also involves optimizing electronic architectures, and a great deal of work is being carried out in this area for the design of complex integrated circuits.

From the manufacture of LEDs to the development of complete lighting sys-tems, the LETI Institute develops a global R&D offer to explore alternative ways of pushing back the known limits of the GaN material used in today’s products, with a view to reducing power consumption.

AMAGNETOMETERS

The Swarm project measures the Earth’s geomagnetic field using a platform of three satellites. It is led by the ESA, and CNES is responsible for it in France. In this context, the magnetometers designed and developed by the LETI Institute were approved in the detailed design review, allowing the construction of flight models to begin.

Applied research

From left to right: Example of structured patterns made in a clean room on the upstream technological platform at Minatec, cell characterization on the Restaure platform at the National Solar Energy Institute ( INES).

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> Question > Antenna 3/4th hour > Antenna 3/47th hour > Antenna 3/61st hour

Software and systems technologies

Research in this area is conducted at the LIST Institute, which works to promote technological innovation in close collaboration with industry and the entire scientific community. These partnerships are conducted on the national level, particularly in the context of Digiteo and the System@TIC competitiveness cluster, and on the European level, with strong involvement in the Joint Technology Initiative “Artemis”.

important economic considerations. For example, efforts aimed at reducing the number of computers to control costs and the energy footprint are leading to the coexistence of functions of varying confi-dence levels, which means that depend-ability must be enhanced. In the event of failure, present-day computers have to be completely rebooted, which means there is some downtime. To overcome this, the Pharos system developed by LIST main-tains its operating capabilities, in down-graded mode first, followed by a controlled return to normal operation.

There is strong growth in the security sector, where the protection of people and property requires increasingly high-performance monitoring systems. With the Visiopack project, LIST participated in designing a viewing system based on an intelligent, wireless, camera with its own power supply. The camera is equipped with a solar panel and an infrared detector that “wakes it up” when a movement is detected in its field of vision. The image processing software is able to identify human pres-ence, and generates an alarm if neces-sary. With its comprehensive expertise in software (algorithms and processing) and

In the transport sector, a common strate-gic vision on embedded electronic systems has been defined with all the French play-ers in the automotive sector. In this specific field, the future generations of electronic architectures are central to a number of

The technologies developed at LIST are focused on digital systems. The Institute’s skills in software engineering, ambient intell igence, embedded architectures, simulation, sensors and signal process-ing are very generic, allowing it to develop innovative concepts dedicated to industrial applications and a variety of other uses. The generic and disseminating nature of these skills is a real advantage for design-ing and mastering the complexity of highly integrated systems and transferring them to industry in the fields of energy, transport, safety, security and health.

The energy sector is still a key sector for LIST technologies. Civa simulation software, which uses the results of nonde-structive inspection research conducted by the CEA and its partners, plays a crucial part in the design of fourth-generation reactors. Inspection is performed to check the durability over time of the internal struc-tures in the reactor block and the position of certain components.

Computer analysis of nondestructive testing.

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A VIDEO SEARCH IN LESS THAN TEN SECONDS

How do you find a video among ten years of video content in less than ten seconds? To do this, the user goes to a Web interface and selects an image representing the question to be submitted to the search engine.The query is sent to the Piria tool at the LIST Institute, where Xedix, the native database management tool (CEA Military Applications Division) can sort the candidate results according to the distances between them.

Applied research


gation system and are transmitted to the cobot controller.• Sensors and signal processing : advanced nondestructive inspection tools, instrumentation for health and safety, ion-izing radiation metrology. On Thursday June 4, 2009, LIST’s Henri Becquerel National Laboratory (LNHB) inaugurated its new radioactivity metrology laboratory. This new phase allows the LNHB to con-solidate and sustain its high level of skills in radioactivity metrology, placing it among the top three European laboratories. It is also a clear sign of the CEA’s commit-ment to work alongside the national testing laboratory to support ionizing radiation metrology, in a period that is seeing the development of medical applications for this type of radiation and renewed interest in nuclear energy.

the numerical precision of algorithms, and advanced validation and security solutions.• Interactive systems: virtual reality and sensory interfaces, robotics, and multilin-gual multimedia knowledge engineering. In the context of the ANR* Tecsan Surgicobot project, the surgical application is laminec-tomy, which is a very tricky spine operation carried out to release pressure from the spinal cord caused by calcification of the medullary canal. LIST’s work concerns the design of a new-generation “cobot” to make a surgeon’s movements quicker and more accurate. This assist device guides an instrument held by the surgeon and the cobot at the same time. The cobot applies a force only in certain areas to protect them or guide the surgeon’s movement. These fragile zones, defined by medical imaging, are updated in real-time thanks to a navi-

hardware (architecture and electronics), LIST optimizes energy consumption and computing power to offer the best possible system.

The health sector is also growing rapidly, particularly in radiotherapy (precise control of the doses administered to patients), and in the development of intelligent embedded systems to monitor certain patient vital signs. In this area, LIST participates in the Miniara project, which is aimed at integrat-ing imaging techniques more effectively to optimize cancer treatment (planning, tar-geting, speed). Its teams have developed software tools to perform precise process-ing of the digital images acquired by an Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID) X-ray imager. The dosimetric calibration performed means that EPID detectors could be used as transit dosimeters, which are the only devices able to check in vivo the dose actually delivered to the patient during treatment.

Today, the industrial production sector is strategic for LIST’s partners, with the devel-opment of real digital system prototypes to simulate their assembly, use, and main-tenance in real time. In the context of the Innovia partnership program with Renault, LIST has developed a demonstrator to train bodywork painters. In this simulator, virtual paint is deposited instead of real paint. It is a realistic system that results in substantial savings on equipment. It also promotes independence in its users and fine-tunes the quality analysis of their performance.

To satisfy all of these economic consid-erations, LIST relies on high scientif ic standards and recognized technological skills, structured around three main lines of research:• Embedded systems: tools for software and system security, high-performance computation architectures, and intelligent viewing systems. The LIST Institute and Esterel Technologies have set up a joint laboratory called Listerel Critical Software Lab, dedicated to the development of tech-nology for advanced critical system design. The Esterel Technologies–CEA LIST joint team is already looking at certain essential inhibitors concerning the development of critical systems, including system design,

ADOSEO FOR RADIOTHERAPY TECHNOLOGIES

“Innovate, control, train and unify” are key words for Doseo, a benchmark platform for radiotherapy technologies, launched in 2009 at CEA Saclay. Its purpose is to guide development in this high-tech field. A new building with approximately 2,000 m2 of floor space is planned for 2011, near NeuroSpin in an open area of the CEA Center at Saclay. Radiotherapy is an essential and fast-changing technique for the treatment of cancer.

From top to bottom: application to detect zones with movement (in green) and to detect human presence (in blue), virtual reality demonstration for the automotive environment.

* ANR: National Research Agency.

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Research and large-scale research facilities (TGIR)

The production of knowledge in “Physics of the two infinities” and very high-intensity physics using lasers requires highly specific instrument developments. In these areas, physicists develop their own tools by pushing instrument technology to the limits and then using the instruments to increase their knowledge. They can then share this knowledge with the scientific community by providing access to their facilities or applying their knowledge to make instruments for use by other scientific communities. Through this cascade mechanism, sciences that use large-scale research facilities contribute greatly to the development of the investigation and innovation capabilities of scientific communities.

development of the very high-field MRI magnet for the functional imaging of the brain (NeuroSpin) and vital components of the Megajoule laser (LMJ).

Source (ESS), the fourth-generation light source (XFel), ion accelerators (Fair), and future particle colliders (CLIC & ILC). These technological skil ls are equally essential for meeting some of society’s major challenges, including healthcare. This applies to CEA projects such as the

Concerted national strategy

The CEA acts within the scope of the national roadmap for large-scale facilities (www.roadmaptgi.fr). While reinforcing its role in existing infrastructures, it organ-izes its participation in the development of future large-scale research facilities. It represents France alongside the CNRS, and sometimes other bodies, in the organizations responsible for large-scale research facilities.The CEA chairs the CEA-CNRS coordina-tion committee for large-scale research facil ities, created in 2009. One of its aims is to increase France’s influence in the international steering committees of large-scale research facilities in the fol-lowing fields: light and neutron sources, ion accelerators, nuclear and high-energy physics, environment and supercomput-ing. Both bodies have also created a second committee more specifically dedi-cated to conducting nuclear and high-energy physics research.

Skills at the service of all CEA activities

The CEA is recognized worldwide for its participation in the development and creation of large-scale research facilities thanks to its cutting-edge technological skills: spatial instrumentation, accelera-tors and detectors, cryotechnology, very high-intensity beams and very large superconducting magnets. It guarantees French involvement at the forefront of many international development projects, such as the European Spallation Neutron

From left to right: : LHC (Large Hadron Collider) tunnel, mock-up of the 11-tesla magnet for NeuroSpin, quadrupoles of the Spiral 2 linear accelerator, at Ganil, ejection line of the Cime cyclotron ion beam.

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Hybrid architecture for simulation in cosmology

The appearance of the first stars in a uni-verse full of hydrogen and neutral helium led to the complete reionization of the Universe after the irradiation of their envi-ronment. This fundamental process was simulated at high resolution by a CEA team on the Titane computer at the CCRT. The distributions of the gas and the radiation sources, light propagation, chemistry and gas heating were modeled using various codes. This phase was accelerated by a factor of 100 by distributing the calculation on 128 graphics cards. Modeling work highlighted the importance of the physics behind the formation of the very first gen-eration of stars in the process of reioniza-tion of the Universe.

Petal

Backing up the experimental programs carried out at the LIL and, in the future, at the LMJ, additional research facilities are dedicated for research in the fields of laser and plasma physics. Petal, the petawatt laser facility, is one of them. The Aquitaine region is the contracting authority for this project for the construction of a high-energy, high-power laser.

Large-scale facilities managed by the CEA-CNRS subject area coordination committee Neutron sourcesOrphée-laboratoire Léon Brillouin (LLB) Saclay www-llb.cea.frLaue-Langevin Institute (ILL) European facility in Grenoble www.ill.eu

Light sourcesSoleil Synchrotron Saint-Aubin, near Saclay www.synchrotron-soleil.frESRF European facility in Grenoble www.esrf.euXFel European infrastructure under construction www.xfel.eu in Hamburg (Germany)

Nuclear and high-energy physicsGanil & Spiral 2 Caen www.ganil-spiral2.euCern-LHC Global infrastructure near Geneva www.lhc-france.frFair European facility in Darmstadt (Germany) www.gsi.de/fair/index_e.html

EnvironmentIcos European infrastructure network: www.icos-infrastructure.eu under construction

SupercomputingGenci (Grand équipement national de calcul intensif) www.genci.frPrace European infrastructure network: www.prace-project.eu under construction

Astrophysics instruments installed on board satellites are considered as large-scale research facilities.

AFIRST HIGH-ENERGY COLLISIONSThe Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near Geneva has made it possible to arrange collisions of proton beams with an energy of 2.36 TeV, the highest energy ever reached in this type of experiment. The CMS, Atlas and Alice experiments (in which CEA teams participate) recorded hundreds of thousands of events in this first operating phase. The results have already been published in dozens of papers in scientific journals.

FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURESTwo new ion accelerators, mainly dedicated to nuclear physics, are under construction in Europe: Spiral 2, an extension of the Ganil facility, in Caen, France, and Fair in Darmstadt, Germany. XFel, currently under construction in the German city of Hamburg, must provide a source almost ten times brighter than current synchrotron radiation sources. Two major experiments to measure the properties of neutrinos are being prepared: Chooz in the French Ardennes region (Double Chooz), and the other in Japan (T2K). Finally, in 2009, it was decided that the ESS spallation neutron source would be based in Lund, Sweden. In another field, preparatory work for the European Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) project, dedicated to the precise measurement of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, continued with the drafting of specifications for the future network of monitoring stations in 2009.

THE BIGGEST SPACE TELESCOPEWhile traveling in space, more than a million kilometers from Earth, the Herschel space telescope took its first look at a galaxy on June 14, 2000. It shot submillimeter domain and infrared pictures of the Universe with the PACS bolometer camera, designed and built by the CEA. The resolution of these images is unprecedented.

GONE WITH THE WIMPSThe new detectors of the Edelweiss experiment (Modane underground laboratory) were commissioned in 2009. They have provided a tenfold increase in the sensitivity of WIMP detection (weakly-interacting massive particles that could explain the nature of dark matter).

Simulation of structure formation in the Universe.

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Cross-functional programs

At the CEA, six cross-functional programs unite the skills of the organization’s research centers. These programs coordinate research, both applied and fundamental, based on major subject areas. They respond to the CEA’s desire to adapt to the new research structure and the national strategy for research and innovation, and take into account the new funding system and the new requirements of society and the emerging markets.

Advanced materials program

Most of the CEA’s programs, particularly those connected with the preparation of future energy sources (f ission, fusion, new technologies for energy), require an understanding of new materials with regard to synthesis, predicting and checking properties, or predicting behavior under dif ferent conditions and over time (the problem of aging). The cross-functional program makes the connection between the upstream production of knowledge (both scientific and technological) and more application-oriented programs. One of the main roles of the Advanced Materi-als cross-functional program is to build new bridges between the disciplines of materials science, some of which are highly compartmentalized. Breakthrough innova-tions are often found just on the boundary between these different cultures. The inte-grated approaches combining upstream research and technological developments involve four main themes: high-perform-ance metallurgy, advanced composites and ceramics, surface engineering, and synthesis and integration of nanometric structures. In order to identify additional financial resources and ampli f y col laborative research, an initiative to set up joint projects was undertaken. It involves the national research agency, the competitiveness clusters (EMC2, AESE, Céramique, Mater-alia), Oseo and Europe (FP6 and FP7). The Regions are also involved in this effort.

Toxicology program

In 2001, the CEA launched ToxNuc, a multidisciplinary internal research program in biology and physical chemistry, with the aim of understanding the modes of action and the effects of radionuclides used in research, medicine, and the nuclear indus-try. This initiative was amplified when it was extended to include CNRS, Inserm, and INRA teams from 2004 to 2007. Demand has risen with the growing development of nanomaterials and the new directives on chemical products. The objective of the cross-functional Toxi-cology program set up in 2009 is to promote the skills of CEA teams and increase their ability to respond to new risks. Through targeted projects connecting upstream research and the various facets of hazard characterization, the program supports the shif t towards a more operational, rather than descriptive approach. The first studies concern both radionuclides and nanomaterials, with the development of (bio)-chemical techniques appropriate for the complex nature of living organisms (chemical speciation and labeling, “omics” technologies, etc.). The program contrib-utes to the national network on predictive toxicology Antiopes, particularly through its integrated approach “from the molecule to the organism”, and via innovative technolo-gies for biomarkers and biosensors. Finally, actions have been launched in the field of medical and environmental treatments of contamination.

Health technology program

A great deal of progress in the field of healthcare will come from the use of technologies, many of which originate from other scientific fields, to learn more about how living things work and improve the treatment of human pathologies. The contribution of technology in the health field is amply illustrated by developments in recent years in the areas of imaging, large-scale biology (genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), and surgery assisted by imaging and robotics. At the CEA, life sci-ences experts cooperate with technology experts, opening the way to a vast array of medical applications.The Health Technology program aims to mobilize the CEA’s technological and biological skills through a cross-functional approach to create industrial value in the field of health. To do this, it identifies, matures, and finances finalized projects that could lead on to industrial applications (technology transfer). At the same time, it contributes to the creation of start-ups. It is currently funding 14 projects aimed at industrial transfer, and supports 11 com-pany creation projects.

Study of materials for new technologies for energy.

Robotized plating of DNA samples for genotyping.Care of quinoa plants in a controlled-environment chamber.

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Nanoscience program

The CEA’s cross-functional Nanoscience program is a fundamental research pro-gram; a coordination and leadership drive to prepare the technological developments of the future in the CEA’s fields of activ-ity: information and communication tech-nologies, low-carbon energies, and health technologies. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are closely connected. While nanotechnol-ogy capitalizes on advances made in nanoscience, it also drives progress in nanoscience through improved control of handling and measuring tools. The cross-functional Nanoscience program supports this strategic complementarity, which is a source of innovation for the CEA:– upstream from information technologies, with areas of excellence such as quantum nanoelectronics, spintronics, and chem-tronics (chemistry for nanoelectronics);– upstream from energy with, for example, the exploration of the effect of nanos-tructuring a surface or volume on energy efficiency, or the development of innovative catalysts;– upstream from health technologies based on nanomedicine;– cross-functional research on nanosimulation, nanocharacterization, and nanotoxicology.Nanoscience is primarily affected by sci-entific considerations (observing, under-standing, making new nano-objects and using the understanding of phenomena and/or nano-objects in systems for new applications), but also by social considera-tions (risk analysis and control, interaction with society, issues of sustainable develop-ment, health, and the economy).

Global security and non-proliferation program

All the global security research and devel-opment programs conducted at the CEA contribute to the fight against terrorism, from R&D actions directly dedicated to CBRN-E threats (1) to actions in related areas, such as the security of transport systems, critical infrastructures, and infor-mation systems, as well as technologies dedicated to emergency response man-agement.That is why, in 2005, the public authorities put the CEA in charge of setting up and coordinating the interministerial R&D pro-gram on CBRN-E. Its main objectives are to develop new methods in the detection-intervention-rehabilitation areas by exploit-ing the skills and expertise of all branches of the CEA and drawing on the skills of the nation’s academic research network (Pasteur Institute, IRSN, CNRS, INRA, etc.).Over the last five years, the many scientific results have led to a dozen technological solutions that are now mature enough to be considered for industrial transfer. Two transfers took place in 2009: the Dirad radiological detection system, and biologi-cal toxin detection strips. The research on explosives is also responding to growing demand from the public authorities in view of the significance of this threat.The research conducted for this program has demonstrated the CEA’s essential role in providing support and expertise to the public authorities and in offering new tech-nological solutions to meet requirements.

New technologies for energy program

The cross-functional program for New tech-nologies for energy (NTE) meets demand in several areas: ensuring the availability of energy sources (other than nuclear) that do not produce greenhouse gases, providing society with innovative and sustainable energy resources, and reducing energy dependence as raw materials run out. Research focuses on solar energy (pho-tovoltaic, CSP, thermal), energy storage, hydrogen technology and fuel cells, biofu-els, and nanomaterials for energy.The aim is to meet the technology require-ments of the following applications:– electric or hybrid transport, particularly with projects concerning solar mobility, i.e. where electricity is provided by photovoltaic cells during recharging cycles;– buildings: energy efficiency and the incor-poration of solar power;– matching electricity supply with demand;– energy microsources.Activities related to solar, thermal and photovoltaic energy, and the incorpora-tion of these energies into buildings, have been brought together at the National Solar Energy Institute (INES) in Chambéry. There is strong growth in this activity.The cross-functional program on new technologies for energy main objectives is the cross fertilization of the techno-logical research both by more fundamental research, and by coupling with complemen-tary CEA skills such as TIC, nanomaterials, biology, economy...

(1) CBRN/E: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive.

The Epicea portable, standalone generator set for fuel cells.

Chemical vacuum coating on the NanoS technology platform.

Development of field demonstrators of a toxic gas detection system.

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High-performance computingComparing experiment to theory

The development of supercomputing has pushed numerical simulation, an essential tool for scientific, technological, and industrial research. Side its academic and industrial partners, the CEA aims to be a leading player in this field.

Tera is used to perform the numerical simulations required to certify the weap-ons of nuclear deterrence.http://www-hpc.cea.fr/

Experimental platformThis platform includes all the actions led by the CEA and run in collaboration with industry and university labs in the context of the calls for proposals of the System@TIC competitiveness cluster, the French National Research Agency, and the Euro-pean Union (PRACE). It will move to the Ter@tec campus in 2011.

CCRTThe CCRT (Research and Technology Computing Center), one of Europe’s lead-ing computing facilities, was set up to meet the needs of its partners (CEA, GENCI, EDF, Snecma, etc.) for major numerical simulations, and to promote exchanges between research and industry. Vector and massively parallel computers (with a total power of more than 300 teraflops) of fer users a variety of applications: astrophysics, climate, energy, health, etc. GENCI made a major investment in 2009 at the CCRT, with the installation of Europe’s first hybrid supercomputer, for the IPCC’s next calculations. http://www-ccrt.cea.fr/

PraceThis European program aims to set up three to five world-class computing cent-

An interdisciplinary need

A development strategy has been set up:– the f irst part concerns the design, creation and implementation of large-scale computing facilities, for which the CEA relies on partnerships with industry. This aspect is handled by a team of experts from the CEA DAM Center (Ile-de-France), based on collaboration with industrial part-ners (Bull and Intel, EDF, Safran, Astrium, Onera, Ineris);– the second part concerns the develop-ment of applications for defense, energy, and research in the fields of climate, nano-science, life sciences, astrophysics, and particle physics, which means that every CEA center will be involved.

Designing, creating and implementing large-scale facilities

The CEA has set up several entities to design, create and use large-scale com-puting facilities. The design and construc-tion of large computer resources are car-ried out jointly with Bull and Intel.

Extreme Computing

Set up under the Tera 100 contract, this Bull/CEA joint laboratory aims to ensure sus-tainable expertise in Europe for designing architectures for high-powered machines.

Exatec

This laboratory was created in late 2009. It is a joint effort by Intel (49%), the CEA (23%), GENCI (23%) and the University of Versailles (5%), and is aimed at develop-ing technologies able to reach the exaflop range (1018 operations per second) within the next decade.

The CEA high-performance computing facility

This facility is located in Bruyères-le-Châtel, at the DAM Center (Ile-de-France).

The Tera Defense Computing CenterSince 2005, this center has housed the Tera 10 supercomputer (peak power of 60 teraflops). The Tera 100 demonstrator was delivered in June 2009 in accordance with the contract signed with Bull in July 2008. It has been used to confirm the new technologies required for the operation of a petaflop computer, which will be installed in 2010.

Research and Technology Computing Center (CCRT).

The Tera 10 supercomputer and its video wall.

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ers coordinated by a European entity. Eighteen EU countries are involved.France, represented by GENCI, chose the Bruyères-le-Châtel site to install the pro-gram’s first petaflop machine. The invita-tion to tender was launched in December 2009, led by a joint CEA/GENCI team.http://www.prace-project.eu/

In 2009, the CEA launched the con-struction of the TGCC (Very Large Computing Center) to house the Prace European computer and the future CCRT. This will be Europe’s largest scientific computing center.

Ter@tecThis association was created to promote numerical simulation and develop syner-gies between the defense sector, industry, and research, based on the CEA’s exper-tise. In 2009, in collaboration with the municipalities of the Arpajonnais area, the Essonne Council and the department’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it announced the creation of the Ter@tec campus, the first European technology park devoted to high-performance com-puting technology.http://www.teratec.eu/

Rising to the CEA’s major scientific challenges

Materials simulation for hydrogen production

For the mass production of hydrogen by high-temperature water vapor electrolysis, a unit cell consisting of a ceramic core sur-rounded by interconnecting metal plates is simulated using large meshes. In this context, physical phenomena act on very different scales, from tens of microns to objects measuring a few hundred cm². An approach combining thermal, hydraulic, electrochemical and mechanical aspects is used to predict current distributions in electrodes and thus the amount of hydro-

gen produced. This makes it possible to define high-performance architectures and predict optimum operating points.

Optimizing hadrontherapy treatments

The computing power of the CCRT has allowed scientists from the SHFJ and the CNRS to simulate hadrontherapy treat-ment using carbon-12 ions on two cancer models (lung and brain). Online positron emission tomography (PET) monitoring of the administered dose has also been studied. This should make it possible to calculate the spatial and dosimetric distr ibution of the treatment. These simulations, carried out using the Gate calculation platform, constitute a first step towards improved definition and optimiza-tion of hadrontherapy treatment protocols in association with effective therapeutic monitoring by PET imaging.

Hybrid architecture for nanosimulation

Physicists have implemented an ab initio simulation code, developed at the CEA and based on mathematical functions called wavelets, to simulate the growth of materials and for molecular dynamics with a description of systems on an elec-tronic level. These wavelets are specially adapted for problem solving on parallel supercomputers. The growth of nanowires made of silicon or graphene can now be simulated on a supercomputer like Titane (CCRT). These simulations will be used to learn more about elementary growth mechanisms and the effects of tempera-ture, and to define the right experimental growth regime.

Nuclear steam supply system protection

In the context of the Barracuda project for future nuclear attack submarines, CCRT computing resources have been used to confirm the design of the radiation protec-tion systems around the nuclear steam supply compartment. The expected level of neutron flux attenuation, greater than 14 decades, required the use of super-computers to carry out the first direct calculation of this type using Monte Carlo methods. Above and beyond the undeni-able technical achievements of the work carried out, this is the first high-perform-ance computing application performed by the CCRT for the Nuclear Propulsion Division.

Defining a loading pattern

A loading pattern is defined by an arrange-ment of fuel assemblies in a nuclear reac-tor core. In view of the large number of configurations to be dealt with, the CEA has created an optimization tool for use with any type of core or fuel. It is based on optimization software using the Uranie/Vizir genetic algorithm and the Apollo3 neutronics code, and allows designers to improve reactor safety. With supercom-puters, complex loading patterns can now be calculated in a short time. With Titane, it took less than 24 hours of computing time and 4,000 processors to perform ten million 3D calculations that highlighted the most appropriate management strategies.

ATHE SIMULATION CENTER AT SACLAY

In 2009, the CEA, the CNRS and INRIA finalized the definition of the Simulation Center, located on the Saclay Plateau. The center will give scientists access to multidisciplinary expertise for the development of new simulation codes suited to massively parallel supercomputers.

From left to right: photoelectrolysis cell used for studies on hydrogen production by photoelectrolysis of water, Barracuda program.

Power distribution simulation in a reactor core.

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AReport on the 2006-2009 performance target agreement

Scientific assessment of the CEA

Technology transfer at the CEA

Education and training

Awards and distinctions

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Bioorganic chemistry and marking department in Saclay.


Report on the 2006-2009 performance target agreement

2009 was the last year of the 2006-2009 performance target agreement signed by the Government and the CEA. The agreement covers a four-year period and provides a detailed description of tasks, priorities, and programs, as well as the related financial projections. It reflects the CEA’s commitment to completing the projects entrusted to it according to the terms (budget and deadlines) agreed upon with the supervisory authorities.

for coordinating public-sector research in their field, in particular through joint pro-gram discussions. This national research and innovation strategy also highlights the role of universities in research. It adopts a reinforced site-based approach, particularly through support for the Campus projects in Saclay, Toulouse, Grenoble, Aix-Marseille, etc.;– the Government specified the CEA’s main objectives via the mission letter it sent to the new Chairman, appointed in early 2009. The letter highlighted five top-priority concerns, essentially in the civil nuclear sector and the field of new energy technologies; – lastly, in his speech in Flamanville in Feb-ruary 2009, the French President officially asked the CEA to be the lead institution for scientific and technological research in the field of low-carbon energies. The CEA’s strategy, set out in the 2006-2009 performance target agreement, has evolved to allow for and respond to these additional tasks.Efforts in the field of new technologies for energy can be illustrated by several exam-ples, such as the expansion of the INES, or the partnership set up with Renault and Nissan to develop batteries for electric vehi-cles. In the nuclear sector, the creation of the Agence France Nucléaire International (AFNI) within the CEA is in line with French ambitions to contribute to the renewed interest in civil nuclear power around the world, by working to guarantee responsible management and development, and provid-ing access to civil nuclear power under out-standing conditions of safety and prevention of nuclear proliferation. In 2009, negotiations with the Government began for the next performance target agreement, for the period 2010 to 2013.

(1) AVIESAN (National Alliance for Life and Health Sciences), ANCRE (National Alliance for Energy Research Coordination), ALLISTENE (Digital Science and Technology Alliance), ALLENVI (Alliance for the Environment: food, water, climate and territories).

An initial summary of the CEA’s activities during these four years provides a measure of its performance in terms of the objectives set out in the contract.In order to monitor the organization’s goal-oriented research activities, the perform-ance target agreement set out 63 scientific and technical milestones, marking various stages of the contract. More than 90% of these milestones were reached.The agreement also provided for the moni-toring of the organization’s performance through a set of 33 indicators covering vari-ous aspects of its operation. Over the four years, the criteria chosen with respect to these indicators followed the trend defined at the beginning. The following points can thus be highlighted:– the annual growth in the number and impact of publications, as well as the number of international joint publications; – the increase in the number of patent appli-cations filed;– the rise in the annual number of new doctoral candidates and the professional integration rate of those who have earned a doctorate. The proportion of the budget devoted to training is on target;– in the field of safety, the drop in the fre-quency rate of occupational accidents resulting in sick leave, for CEA employees and employees of outside companies. This initial analysis of the 2006-2009 per-formance target agreement between the Government and the CEA thus seems very positive with respect to the targets set when the agreement was signed.The period was also marked by several key events on the French and European research and innovation landscape:– on a European level, the Energy-Climate package adopted by the European Council on December 12, 2008 instituted a set of measures aimed at achieving the “20-20-20” target by 2020. This target means reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% compared to 1990 levels, increasing the use of sustainable energy source to reach 20% of total energy production, and reducing energy consumption by 20% compared to the level initially forecast for 2020;

– the first Planning Act concerning the implementation of the Environment Round Table (the Grenelle 1 Act) was promulgated on August 3, 2009. The Act provides for the national research effort to be steered towards several areas in which the CEA is an essential participant, in particular sus-tainable energy sources, energy storage, fuel cells, second- and third-generation biofuels, energy efficiency, observing and learning more about climate change and adapting to it, and ecotoxicology. This will reinforce the CEA’s activities in the field of energy and the environment;– in 2008, a broad consultation process was launched by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research to define a national strategy for research and innovation, which the CEA helped to draft. The report, written in 2009 by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, identified three top-priority research areas:• health and biotechnologies;• the environmental emergency and eco-technologies;• information, communication and nanote-chnologies.The recommendations also highlighted the role of the partnerships between organiza-tions (1): AVIESAN, ANCRE, and ALLISTENE, created in 2009, and ALLENVI, created in 2010. These partnerships, of which the CEA is a founding member, are responsible

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Welcoming the Visiting Committee.

Fundamental chemistry research was assessed by the Visiting Committee.

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Scientific assessment of the CEA

The creation of the AERES, the French National Agency for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education, in 2007 caused a profound change in research assessment in France.

The Scientific Council of the Nuclear Energy Division continued it assessment program by subject area, and completed its examination of the “multiscale modeling, multiphysics, and parallel computing” topic.

The Scientific Council of the Military Applica-tions Division examined the “design of laser lines” topic.

The units of the Life Sciences Division, which were all assessed in 2005, will be assessed by AERES in 2010 as part of Campaign A.

As part of the activities of Department 1, which is undertaking the systematic evaluation of all public research institutions, the AERES evaluated the CEA in 2009 and gave a highly favorable overall opinion.

The CEA continued the assessment of its sci-entific policy according to its usual process, in which one major subject area is examined every year by the CEA’s Scientific Council and then by its Visiting Committee, which offers an additional international viewpoint on the organization’s scientific directions and strate-gies. In 2009, the Visiting Committee’s work focused on fundamental chemistry research, following the inspection by the Scientific Council in late 2008.

2009 was the last year of the 2006-2009 cycle of research unit assessments by the CEA mechanism. The assessment calendar was adapted to ensure a smooth transition to the AERES schedule, which will take over the assessment of the CEA’s own research units as of 2010. These assessments will be carried out on a four-year basis, in phase with univer-sity contract campaigns; the joint research units involving the CEA are already evaluated by AERES (five units were inspected in 2009).

At the Physical Sciences Division, the units of the Saclay Center, which had not been

assessed in the past three years, were inspected by AERES in the context of Campaign D. This concerns the Labora-tory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE), the Photons, Atoms and Molecules Laboratory (SPAM), the Francis Perrin Laboratory (LFP), the Molecular Chemistry Department (SCM), the Claude Fréjacques Laboratory (LCF), and the Pierre Sue Labo-ratory (LPS) (the last three laboratories listed have merged into a single CEA-CNRS joint research unit, SIS2M). The assessment reports were very positive on the whole. LSCE, SPAM, and LFP in particular were considered of the highest international standard.

The Technological Research Division assessed the last departments in the CEA’s 2006-2009 assessment cycle. The assess-ments were based on the AERES format, adopting the institute-based assessment approach chosen by the CEA. The assess-ments of the Department of Nanotech-nologies, the LETI Institute’s silicon and heterogeneous silicon integration technology platform, the LITEN Institute Department of Hydrogen Technologies, and the LIST Insti-tute Measurement Systems and Technolo-gies Department, served to specify assess-ment criteria specific to technology research that the AERES will need to consider.

LED microdisplay (1.7 million pixels).


Technology transfer at the CEA:development confirmed in 2009

For several years now, the CEA has implemented an ambitious policy to encourage researchers to protect their intellectual property. In 2006, one target of the CEA’s strategic plan was to achieve an annual rate of 500 patent applications by 2009. With 585 patent applications filed in 2009, this objective has been reached.

At the CEA, finding outlets for research activities means transferring technology, primarily through a mechanism that gener-ates partnership contracts involving the CEA’s intellectual property.The large number of R&D contracts with industrial companies shows to what extent the CEA as an organization has grasped the importance of anchoring its research work in the business world. In 2009, nearly 500 new partnership agreements were signed with various industrial and academic partners.Example of this include the agreement reached between the Renault-Nissan alli-ance, the CEA and the FSI to create a joint venture to develop and produce batteries for electric vehicles, the partnership signed

by Intel, the CEA, GENCI, and the UVSQ (University of Versailles at Saint-Quentin) in the context of the Large–Scale Computing Center, and the agreements signed with

Servier, the aims of which include driving progress in research on Alzheimer’s disease.The CEA has always been highly committed to supporting the creation of new companies through awareness campaigns and matura-tion and incubation activities. It focuses partic-ularly on high-tech start-ups. In 2009, the CEA was behind the creation of 19 companies, including 11 innovative businesses based on CEA technologies or skills, and three compa-nies set up in partnership with the CEA.It is important to note that the “technology transfer” process at the CEA receives effec-tive support from the “marketing research” department. This department helps labora-tories to optimize technology transfers by understanding application markets better and targeting them more accurately. It car-ried out 35 such marketing studies in 2009.Finally, note that 75 expert assessments were carried out in the context of CEA Tech-nologie Conseil, allowing SMEs to benefit from advice and recommendations by CEA experts according to flexible, well-adapted methods.

585 priority patent applicationsfiled at the CEA in 2009

DRT: 457 DAM: 21DSV: 21 DEN: 52 DSM: 34DRT: Technological Research Division.DAM: Military Applications Division.DSV: Life Sciences Division.DEN: Nuclear Energy Division.DSM: Physical Sciences Division.

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CREATION OF AVENIUM

CEA Valorisation began its industrial property management and strategy consulting activities in 2002. For the last few years, the company has worked increasingly with industrial companies and academic research organizations. Avenium was created with a view to pursuing this strategic development under the best conditions and become the French leader in its field of expertise. All CEA Valorisation’s teams, methodologies, tools, and customer contracts were transferred to Avenium on May 1, 2009.

“CEA VALORISATION” BECOMES “CEA INVESTISSEMENT”

CEA Investissement is a corporation with a registered capital of 27 million euros. Its chief activity is to provide seeding funds for fledgling enterprises with high growth potential. It can also direct, guide and advise young entrepreneurs, in close collaboration with the CEA. CEA Investissement funds and holds the CEA’s promoters” shares in the capital of the start-ups. It has financed more than 30 companies to date.

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Education and training

As a leading player in the renewal of human resources in the nuclear sector, the INSTN (French National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology) and its programs help to pass on the CEA’s knowledge and know-how.

More students and new programs

The availability of human resources in suf-ficient numbers and quality is a crucial issue for the nuclear industry and the health sector. In its constant effort to fulfill these needs, the INSTN is increasing its student intake and setting up new programs.The success of the Nuclear Engineering course is growing. It had 118 students in 2009, twice the number of students it had in 2006. Note that this course is due to be assessed by the Committee for Engineering Qualifications in 2010.The Nuclear Energy master degree course was launched in 2009, with 95 students. The “Nuclear Engineering” major, launched in 2008 with University of Paris 11, is now one of the five second-year “majors” available in this master degree course. Two other majors are currently undergoing the joint approval process, one in “Engineering Physics for Energies” with University of Paris 7, and the other in “Engineering for the Nuclear Indus-try” with University of Paris 6.In partnership with the Institut supérieur des techniques de la performance (ISTP) and the Ecole des mines de Saint-Etienne, the INSTN has set up a “nuclear facility engineering” course. In September 2009, this three-year salary-paying course had its first intake of 24 students. This approach ties in with the INSTN’s desire to develop apprenticeship programs.In the field of healthcare, the INSTN took part in reworking the Order concerning the diploma for the radiological and medical physics qualification. One of the aims of this Order was to extend the pool of candidates to increase class size. In 2009, 77 students were recruited through a national competitive entrance examination. This is a 40% increase compared to 2008.

European and international involvement

The INSTN plays a major role on the European scene, particularly through the ENEN associa-tion, which it still chairs. ENEN and the INSTN are also involved in two Euratom FP7 projects.ENETRAP-II, dedicated to radiation protec-tion, was launched in March 2009. Within this project, ENEN and the INSTN must draw up the training benchmark for radiation protection

A very positive result in continuing education

The INSTN is continuing its efforts to sup-port the nuclear industry, both in France and abroad.The year 2009 saw a boom in nuclear train-ing courses abroad. These training activi-ties were either connected with the ENEN network, or aimed at specific clients (Fukui University in Japan, EDF, and Electricité du Vietnam). The numbers of sessions and participants rose by 26%.In all, 717 sessions have been organized, with 8600 participants, representing an 11% increase in participation. Nearly 37,900 man-days of training were completed, including 43% in “nuclear research, engi-neering and operation”, and 50% in “radia-tion protection, metrology, and health and information technologies”. 39% of the train-ing was devoted to the CEA, with 29% for major accounts (AREVA, EDF, ASN, IRSN) and 32% for nuclear SMEs.

specialists, create an identical Europe-wide training plan, and develop educational tools. ENEN-III, launched in October 2009, is coordi-nated by ENEN. This project will be concerned with four specific areas in the nuclear field, for which the skill benchmark and appropriate training courses must be created.The INSTN became a partner of the Franco-Chinese Nuclear Energy Institute (IFCEN) under a French-Chinese cooperation agree-ment signed in December 2009 by a con-sortium of academic institutions led by INP Grenoble. The IFCEN, which will open at Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, in 2010, will train 100 to 150 engineers each year, to help China speed the development of its nuclear power program.The partnership with the Tunisian electric-ity and gas company (STEG) saw increased activity in 2009. It is now a long-term arrange-ment, taking in ten students per year on the nuclear engineering course. An optional course taught by CEA experts was also set up at the Tunisian national engineering school in Tunis (ENIT).

From top to bottom: nuclear engineering course, lab work on the Isis reactor.

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Awards and distinctionsChristophe Pédron (DMAT/DAM) was made a Knight of the National Order of Merit.

Anne Peyroche ( Institute of Biology and Technologies/DSV), received the Victor Noury-Thorlet-Henri Becquerel-Jules and Augusta Lazare Molecular Biology Prize for her work on Brefeldin A, a drug that blocks the secretory channel of proteins, and for her research that led to the identification of several “chaperone” proteins that guide the assembly of protea-some, which is responsible for the targeted degradation of proteins in cells.

Jean-Baptiste Poline of NeuroSpin (I²BM/DSV) was elected for three years as Secretary General of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, the most important learned soci-ety in neuroimaging, and which organizes the annual HBM conference.

Cécile Reynaud (Iramis/DSM) and Jean-René Regnard (Inac/DSM), Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor

Cécile Reynaud and Jean-René Regnard became Knights of the National Order of the Legion of Honor for their work at the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.

International distinctions

Four European Starting Grants awarded to CEA scientists in 2009

The CEA now has ten teams funded by the European Research Council (ERC). This fund-ing, which is awarded on a very selective basis, is intended to help scientists with very high potential to assemble or independently struc-ture a research team within a highly innovative program. Five scientists whose projects were chosen by the ERC in 2009 plan to set up their teams at the CEA:

– Iosif Bena (Institute of Theoretical Physics-IPHt/DSM) plans to apply string theory to the physics of black holes;

– with his Dofoco project, Sebastiaan Luys-saert (DSM), who is joining the CEA on the occasion of receiving ERC funding, wishes to understand and quantify the role of forest management in the prevention of climate change;

– Emanuele Daddi (IRFU/DSM) studies the formation and development of the oldest and most remote galaxies;

– Fabien Quéré (IRAMIS/DSM) will study the laws of optics at extreme light intensity;

– Bernard Dieny (Institute of Nanosciences and Cryogenics-Inac/DSM) is aiming to lay the foundations of an entirely new electronics technology, through the development and

National distinctions

The Jean Rist Medal for 2009 was awarded to Nadège Caron (DMAT/DAM); this is an award to encourage young metallurgists or materials scientists who have distinguished themselves through scientific and applied work on materials.

François Daviaud (Saclay Institute of Mat-ter and Radiation – Iramis/DSM), the French Academy of Sciences/CEA first prize. The CEA awarded its top prize to François Daviaud (CEA) as well as Stephan Fauve and Jean-François Pinton (ENS Ulm and Lyon) for their work on spontaneous generation and the dynamics of a magnetic field in a finite volume of liquid metal in turbulent flow conditions.

The Charles Eichner medal for 2009, the prize for the French Society for Metallurgy and Materials (SF2M), was awarded to Patrick David (Department of Materials-DMAT/DAM) in recognition of “the merits of a figure whose work has had significant impact on the field of materials used in energy production and in the field of emerging materials”.

Christian Deleuze (DMAT/DAM) was elected a member of Board and National Council of the French Society of Metallurgy and Materials (SF2M).

Andrea Dessen’s team ( IBS/DSV) was awarded the title of “FRM Team of 2009” by the Foundation for Medical Research in the context of the “promising researcher” program for work on “the biosynthesis mechanism of the cell wall of bacteria, a target for the devel-opment of new antibiotics”.

The prize for the best poster went to the work carried out in the context of the CEA/DAM-NNSA Computer Science collabora-tion, presented jointly by the Simulation and Information Sciences Department (DAM) and Sandia National Laboratory (USA) at the International Meshing Roundtable, an event attended by international experts on algo-rithms and computer applications dedicated to meshing.

The heterodyne velocimetry measurement benches developed by DCRE/DAM and mar-keted under license by IDIL won the Photon silver medal for innovation 2009, awarded by the journal Photoniques and the French pho-tonic community.

On May 18, 2009, the SFEN awarded its top prize to three representatives of DRSN, DM2S, and DTN, for the MERCI experiment. The aim of this experiment (measurement of residual energy of an irradiated fuel) was to reduce the uncertainties related to the basic data used for residual heat calculations and qualify the Dar-win/Pepin and Fakir computer codes. MERCI

is a highly innovative world-first. It is also highly technical, because the measurement is taken directly on a section of irradiated UO2 rod, like those used at nuclear power plants, because of the measurement speed, and because of the design and use of an innovative, patented, calorimeter device, specially designed and developed by the DTN.

Éric Forest, head of the protein mass spec-trometry laboratory (IBS/DSV), was elected President of the French Mass Spectrometry Society.

The 2009 Rotblat prize, which is awarded to the most cited article in the last five years, went to the Gate par tnership (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission) for an article published in 2004 in Physics in Medicine & Biology: “Gate: a simulation toolkit for PET and SPECT” (S. Jan & al.). GATE is part of the international simulation program Geant4, developed at CERN in Switzerland, dedicated to the modeling of tomographic imaging exams (PET, SPECT, CT) and radia-tion therapy. Sébastien Jan (SHFJ, I2BM/DSV) is its technical coordinator.

Vincent Haguet (iRTSV/DSV) received the Gravit (Grenoble Alpes valorisation innova-tion technologies) award on April 20, 2009 in the context of the Focus Innovation pro-gram, for his Video-Cell emerging innovation project. The award is aimed at developing a miniaturized videomicroscope for the optical characterization of the growth of cell cultures, and to collect real-time information about cells, including their number, morphology, and motility.

Jacques Joly, CNRS Cristal award winnerJacques Joly, from the Synchrotron group of IBS (DSV), was the winner of the CNRS Cristal award for 2009. The CNRS Cristal is awarded to engineers who, through their creativity, technical expertise, and innovative approach, work alongside scientists to advance scientific knowledge and discoveries.

Thierry Lasserre (Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe-IRFU/DSM), Chief Research Scientist of the Double Chooz international collaboration, received the CNRS bronze medal. This distinc-tion is awarded to about forty scientists each year. It distinguishes a researcher’s first work, recognizing him/her as a promising specialist in his/her field.

Olivier Parcollet ( Institute of Theoretical Physics/DSM) was awarded the Academy of Sciences Ernest Déchelle prize for the imple-mentation of non-local dynamic mean field methods and their application to the Mott metal-insulator transition and many strongly-correlated electron problems.


scientific research, technology transfer and innovation.

Thomas Zemb (Marcoule Institute of Sepa-rative Chemistry-ICSM/DEN), Humboldt-Gay Lussac prize for his work on colloid chemistry and sonochemistry, and his contri-bution to forging closer scientific links between Germany and France.

The LIST Institute joins the Trusted Comput-ing Group.

The LIST Institute specializes in the field of information systems security, based on the formal verification of software systems accord-ing to security criteria. It is involved in two European projects (eConfidential and OpenTC) concerning the verification of trusted systems. Its expertise led the Central Directorate for Information Systems Security (reporting to the Prime Minister’s office) to ask the LIST Institute to join the TCG as a guest expert. In addition to drawing up future standards and protecting the interests of European industry based on the confidence calculation, this status gives the CEA an opportunity to design its tools not only as qualification tools, but also as metrol-ogy tools to compare the level of security of different technologies.

Company creation

Five projects arising from CEA projects were distinguished at the 2009 national competition for new innovative technology enterprises, organized by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, including:

– the Pegastech enterprise project, which exploits the Graftfast technology developed at the CEA to offer the biomedical, polymer metal-coating and water treatment markets functional polymer layers (lubricants, anti-biotics, adhesive primers, purification) that are chemically bonded to the materials to be treated;

– nanomakers is concerned with designing, producing, and marketing nanopowders used to obtain significantly improved performance from industrial materials, while guaranteeing safety throughout the production and supply chain. The chief applications are to be found in semiconductors, aeronautics and aerospace, and in the nuclear, automotive, and building industries;

– natX-ray markets robotic systems used by laboratories to carry out automated crystal-lography experiments;

– arcure is aimed at designing an industrial, augmented-reality system intended, in partic-ular, for complex maintenance and production operations;

– the SafiaA project offers a range of services from case studies and training to integration into the software development cycle of a proc-ess for validating programs with a high numeri-cal content, particularly in terms of calculation accuracy.

characterization of CMOS-magnetic hybrid components and new circuit architectures.

Six projects presented by CEA scientists had already obtained ERC funding in 2007 and 2008.

Set up under the Tera 100 contract, this Bull/CEA joint laboratory aims to ensure sustain-able expertise in Europe for designing archi-tectures for high-powered machines. In 2009, it received the annual Best Architecture prize from the American magazine HPCwire at Supercomputing 2009.

Perrine Batude (CEA, LETI, Minatec) received the 2009 Roger A. Haken Best Student Paper Award at IEDM 2009 (International Electron Device Meeting) for “Advances in 3D CMOS Sequential Integration”. IEDM is the most selective conference in the field of micro-nanoelectronics and power electronics.

Philippe Belleville (DMAT/DAM) was elected Secretary of the Board of Directors of the International Sol-Gel Society (ISGS) at the 15th International Sol-Gel Conference.

At the awards ceremony for the “Science and Technology in European Art” competi-tion, organized by the Supélec Association, Dominique David of the CEA-LETI’s Art and Science Workshop received second prize for his original work on “Dance, Music & the Elec-tronic Gesture”.

At its annual conference, Corrosion 2009, held in Atlanta from March 22 to 26, 2009, NACE-International (National Association of Corrosion Engineers) awarded the NACE Fel-low Honor to Damien Féron (DANS/DEN) for his contribution to the control of corrosion at nuclear facilities. This distinction is awarded to ten people each year.

Céline Lucchesi (DMAT/DAM) received the prize for the best poster at the European Polymer Congress 2009 in Austria. The poster presented a new class of supramolecular materials with a core-shell structure. This prize is awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and rewards the work conducted at the DMAT in collaboration with the University of Tours in the context of the laser-targets project.

In July, Thierry Massard, Scientific Director of the DAM, became a World Fellow of the International Committee on Composite Mate-rials. He is the first Frenchman to receive this distinction, awarded in recognition of his out-standing contribution to the field of composite materials.

Stephan Roche (DSM) received the Von Humboldt Foundation’s Friedrich Wilhelm Bes-sel Award (2009) for his work on the theory of electron transport in carbon nanotubes.

Karine Wittman-Teneze and Nadège Caron (DMAT/DAM) received the prize for Best Article in the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology for “Parameters Controlling Liquid Plasma Spray-ing: Solutions, Sols, or Suspensions”. This article was written by the Le Ripault Center’s thermal projection laboratory in the joint

research laboratory created with the SPCTS team at the University of Limoges.

Young Scientists

The University of Limoges, in association with the Limousin Regional Council and Oseo, organizes the annual Jean-Claude Cassaing competition, which rewards the work of sci-entists with doctorates at the University of Limoges.

Anne-Cécile Bravo (DMAT/DAM), who defended her thesis on the manufacture of transparent Yb:Sc2O3 ceramics in December 2008, received the prize for Innovation, which rewards originality in thesis work according to several criteria: innovation, new technical applications, new fields of research, company creation.

Maïté Hanot (IRAMIS/DSM), Le Monde prize for university research 2009. This prize was awarded for her thesis on the effect of radiation at low doses: “Microbeam irradiation of alpha particles: involvement of reactive species of oxygen in the neighborhood effect”.

The prize for the best poster was awarded to Frédéric Rambaud during the French Chemi-cal Society’s Center-West Regional event in Limoges. He is in the first year of his doctoral studies at DMAT/DAM, working on the devel-opment of organic/inorganic mesostructured hybrid materials created by a sol-gel process.

Nathaëlle Bouttes (doctoral candidate at LSCE/DSM) received the L’Oréal Foundation scholarship. Nathaëlle Bouttes is one of ten recipients of the L’Oréal Foundation’s scholar-ships “for women and for science”. Her thesis concerns the study of carbon and analysis of the link with past climates. This fundamental work aims to model and understand the carbon cycle over the last two million years to enhance our overall vision of the climatic system and to explore its future changes.

Experts

Jean-Paul Blaizot (IPhT/DSM), J. Hans D. Jensen prize. The institute of theoretical phys-ics at Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg, awarded the prestigious J. Hans D. Jensen prize to Jean-Paul Blaizot for his work on finite-temperature quantum chromodynamics, quark-gluon plasma, and the exact renormali-zation group.

Élisabeth Bouchaud (IRAMIS/DSM), win-ner of the Lars Onsager Medal and Chair from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU-Trondheim).

Jean Jouzel (LSCE/DSM) was appointed Chair of the French High Council of Sci-ence and Technology. This institution has 20 members appointed for a four-year term, and reports to the French President. Its purpose is to inform and advise the Government on all matters concerning French policy regarding


AProgram management at the CEA

Human resources

International relations

Communication and circulation of information

Safety and nuclear security policy and management

Information systems

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NanoBio at the CEA center in Grenoble.

Program management at the CEA

The CEA’s civil programs are defined in the long-term contract between the organization and the Government, signed in 2006 by the Supervisory Ministries and the Chairman of the CEA. It is the result of a long consultation process between the public authorities and the CEA, setting out the medium- and long-term plan (MLTP) for ten years. It is the CEA’s consolidated specification of requirements. The contract is updated regularly to account for research developments and context, and adjust its vision of the future. Moreover, negotiations for the next performance target agreement, covering the period 2010 to 2013, began in 2009.

genomics, medical imaging research, information and communication technolo-gies, and cross-functional programs.The Chairman of the CEA chairs these meetings, which are also attended by the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, the Vice-Chairman of the CEA, the Director of Programs, the Directors of the Operational Sectors and guest experts invited accord-ing to the program under examination. The meetings are followed by Select Executive Committee meetings, arranged to decide on appropriate strategic guidelines. This year, these meetings once again brought to light the impetus created by cross-functional programs and synergies within the CEA. The Investment Committee is one of the financial management tools. It is chaired by the Vice Chairman, and brings together the Financial, Purchasing & Strategic Part-nerships, and Programs Divisions. It is convened to examine large-scale invest-ments for programs relating to research and cleanup and dismantling operations, as well as for operations relating to property and other assets. A number of cases were examined in 2009: the case relating to the Atalante standing commit-tee, the removal of Pegase drums from storage, the Bure Saudron demonstrator at Nano-Innov, a center of excellence in nanotechnology, the Digiteo Labs sci-ence and technology park in Saclay, and, in Grenoble, NanoBio (development of nanotechnological tools for biology) and Clinatec (biomedical research center set up to prove the concept of devices that can be implanted in humans).In addition, Select Executive Committees and Operational Executive Committees meet with the Chairman of the CEA on a regular basis to make decisions on policy guidelines and the running of the organization. The entire CEA manage-ment structure also meets regularly in a management seminar to consider matters of mutual interest.

The contract reinforces both of the CEA’s strategic research areas: energy sources that do not emit greenhouse gases, including nuclear energy (fusion and fis-sion) and new technologies for energy (photovoltaic, energy storage, applica-tions for buildings and transport and the development of suitable special materi-als), as well as information and health technologies. The third area, defense and global security, is not covered by the document and is the subject of a separate procedure (see page 42).In view of these challenges, the CEA’s action is based mainly on the various research management and coordination instruments set up by the Government in recent years to give new momentum to the French research and innovation system (ANR, Oseo, Carnot, competitive-ness clusters: RTRA, RTRS, etc.) and on its integration in the European (European Research Council, FP7) and international environment. In addition, the CEA is strongly involved (often as a founding

member) in setting up partnerships to coordinate public research in cer tain major “finalized” sectors, and to make proposals to the Government concern-ing programming requirements to meet the main criteria of the national research and innovation strategy and reach the targets set by the public authorities: ANCRE for energy, AVIESAN for life sci-ences, ALLISTENE for information and communication science and technology and their impact on the environment, the economy, and human health and well-being, and ALLENVIE for water and food, climate and territories. Finally, milestones and performance indicators are defined so that regular progress reports can be produced regarding the achievement of the main objectives of this contract.Internal management efforts continued, making use of various instruments set up to enhance overall efficiency. “Program meetings” were organized to monitor sci-entific and technical activities in a variety of areas such as hydrogen production,

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From left to right: preparation of a shipping cask for man-made radioelements at Osiris, resin deposition by spin coating on a glass substrate.

Human resources Creation of an “experts” section and new end-of-career measures

On December 31, 2009, the CEA had 15,756 permanent employees: 56.6% were managerial staff and 43.4% were in non-managerial positions. There were 11,274 employees in the civil sector, and 4,482 in the Military Applications Division. The percentage of female employees was 30.4%. The CEA also had 1,182 doctoral students and postdocs, 424 apprentices, and 1,324 interns.

Further to the profit-sharing agreement of June 27, 2008, a first profit-sharing bonus was paid to CEA employees in 2009 as a result of the CEA’s good performance in 2008. In addition, an agreement was reached to set up a collective retirement savings plan (PERCo) at the CEA.In September 2009, an action plan for the prevention of work-related stress and psychosocial risks was deployed: some of the main measures were the creation of a national working and monitoring group including personnel representatives, and the creation of a “stress” questionnaire to be completed by each employee at the time of his or her annual medical check-up. Lastly, following the decision announced in July 2008 to transfer the Gramat research center, part of the French Defense Pro-curement Agency (DGA), to the CEA, the year 2009 was spent preparing for this event. The agreement of July 3, 2009 defines the procedures by which the CEA will hire all the personnel concerned. The Gramat center officially became part of the CEA on January 1st, 2010.

The year 2009 saw the arrival of 599 new staff members ( including 35% women). 75% of these new employees were hired for scientific and program technical sup-port jobs, 12.5% were in the fields of safety, security and quality, and 12.5% were for jobs in administration, manage-ment and coordination. Over the same period, 526 employees left the CEA, with 53% retiring or leaving on early retirement. 2009 was marked by the overhaul of the mechanism for knowledge and recogni-tion of expertise, with the aim of mapping out in full the expertise and experts at the CEA. This mechanism plays a role in man-aging jobs and skills at the CEA, both in its collective approach, based on company requirements, and its individual approach, focusing on the career of each employee. 1,272 experts, 706 senior experts, and 234 research directors or international experts were identified in 2009. Following the renewal of the labor agree-ment (of December 22, 2008) for a five-year period, three important agreements

on end-of-career management were signed on July 16, 2009, coming into force on January 1, 2010. In accordance with legal requirements, the new system marks the end of retirement on the initiative of the CEA, and institutes the principle of retire-ment on the employee’s initiative. The implementation of a notification period concerning the chosen retirement date allows employees to maximize their retire-ment benefits, and gives the CEA a clearer view of employee departures.For employees able to take advantage of early retirement, this mechanism is now initiated on the employee’s initiative and ends in full retirement, also on the employ-ee’s initiative, at the age of 65 at the latest. The duration of benefits depends on the accumulated entitlement, with a five-year limit.The agreement promoting the employment of mature workers instituted special meas-ures pertaining to job and skill management, and advocated the legal system of gradual retirement, which allows a half-pension to be combined with a part-time job.

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Signing of a CEA-Poland agreement on nuclear R&D in November.

International relations

Through its International Relations Division, the CEA advises the Government on matters of foreign nuclear policy (in particular through the operational implementation of the dynamic cooperation policy), sits on the IAEA Board of Governors, and looks after administrative matters for the Euratom scientific and technical committee. It develops collaborative activities in the fields of nuclear power and fundamental and applied research, relying in particular on the network of CEA advisers working in embassies.

and technical cooperation agreement with Rosatom covering most of the CEA’s civil activities. The purpose of this agreement was to acknowledge the reorganization of the Russian nuclear sector to renew links with Russia. Other noteworthy events included reinforced cooperation with Canada’s NRC(4), particularly in the fields of medical imaging (with NeuroSpin) and attosecond physics, as well as closer ties with China.Finally, Agence France Nucléaire Interna-tionale (AFNI), set up in 2008, responds to the growing demand from countries wishing to develop a civil nuclear program in the short or medium term. AFNI’s mis-sion is to help these countries set up the necessary infrastructure. The areas of cooperation covered by current intergov-ernmental agreements concern feasibility studies for the development of nuclear power, assistance for site qualification, and training of human resources. In this context, AFNI and its partners provide experts to the countries concerned; some are currently posted to the United Arab Emirates, Poland, and Tunisia.

(1) EARTO: European Association of Research and Technology Organizations.

(2) ENEA: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.

(3) CNEN: Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear.

(4) NRC: National Research Council Canadian.

European affairs…

Major changes took place among the CEA’s European institutional partners in 2009, with the installation of a new Parliament, a new Commission, and the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty. The construction of the European Research Area moved forward, with the selection of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s first Knowledge and Innova-tion Communities, in which the CEA is heavily involved (energy, climate, informa-tion and communication technologies). The partnership between technological organizations within the European energy alliance firmly committed the CEA to new joint programming mechanisms, for which the Chairman expressed his wholehearted support at the EARTO(1) conference in May. Following the signing in February of an agreement between the French and Italian governments concerning the devel-opment of nuclear power, the CEA and the ENEA(2) updated and renewed their coop-eration agreement on low-carbon energy sources. In the context of the launching of a nuclear power plant construction program in Poland, the CEA signed two

partnership agreements: one with the Academy of Sciences and the other with six R&D institutes involved in the prepara-tion of the program, thus capitalizing on a long-standing partnership with Polish laboratories. In Bulgaria, a partnership with the Academy of Sciences was signed in June. Two initial concrete actions were to do with nuclear cooperation and climate and environmental sciences. In Romania, a new partnership agreement was signed in December with the IFA, which coor-dinates national activities in the fields of energy, life sciences, and materials, also reinforces a long-standing tradition of cooperation.

…and international affairs

As part of “France Year” in Brazil, a series of events to support the strategic partnership between the two countries, the CEA and its counterpart, the CNEN(3) strengthened their cooperation in the civil nuclear field, with a particular focus on research reactors, waste management, public opinion issues, and training. Also in 2009, the CEA negotiated a new scientific Mr. Lelli of the ENEA visits the Cadarache center.

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External communication concerning World Astronomy Year 2009.

Communication and circulation of information

The purpose of the CEA’s communication division is to publicize (externally) and share (internally) the issues and results of research carried out within the organization. The CEA’s contribution to the crucial topics of concern to our society, such as low-carbon energy, defense and global security, information technologies and health technologies, was confirmed and broadened by the French President’s announcement of the CEA’s new name: Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux energies alternatives (Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission).

stay, with more than 400,000 visits and 2,000,000 downloads.Concerning press/media campaigns, 71 press releases were published in 2009, generating more than 180 articles in the media (national and regional dailies, Inter-net), 14 press operations (conferences or trips) were carried out in 2009, involving around ten journalists on average, and leading to 120 media reports (stable com-pared to 2008). In the field of internal communication, 110 bulletins were published to inform CEA personnel about all important events concerning the organization, in addition to 63 intranet bulletins. In the context of the national debate on nanotechnologies and the participation of CEA scientists in public meetings, a dedicated section and a “nanos” blog were set up on the CEA intranet for the entire duration of the debate. To promote sustainable development and cost control, the internal magazine Talents has become bimonthly. With the increased number of pages (from 24 to 28) and opti-mized coupling with the intranet, Talents, a publication that is greatly appreciated by CEA employees, should retain its appeal.

World Astronomy Year, 2009, provided an opportunity for the CEA to address a wide audience and collaborate closely with the CNRS, CNES, the French Astronomical Association (AFA), the Palais de la Décou-verte, and Cité des Sciences: first, through the CEA’s contribution to the AFA’s “door to the stars” web portal, followed by the “Journey to the Center of the Galaxy” exhibition, a project led by the CEA with assistance from CNES, hosted by the Palais de la Découverte, and the creation of its portable version (three copies, made available to many schools), as well as the publication of a special astrophysics dou-ble issue of Clefs CEA, and participation in the creation of the “Mysteries of the Uni-verse” exhibition at the Trocadero, which drew 50,000 visitors. To help promote careers in research, the CEA produced a booklet, Imagine your career, presented in fact sheets in the new “careers” section of the website. Themed sessions and career talks, entitled “Cafet sciences junior” (or “Junior Science Caf-eteria” ) were organized at Victor Hugo High School, Charlemagne Junior High in Paris, and Chérioux Junior High in Vitry-

sur-Seine. Research scientists spoke at these sessions.The partnership with the Ministry of Educa-tion is ongoing, with CEA participation in initial and continuing training courses for pri-mary and secondary schools teachers, and teacher-training institutes, particularly with the Versailles and Créteil boards of educa-tion. Les Défis du CEA has maintained its monthly rate of publication. A special astro-physics issue was published in the context of world astronomy year, as well as a special “nanos” issue to pave the way for public debate. On the international scene, the CEA publishes the quarterly CEA News. This magazine is circulated mainly through the network of nuclear advisers in embassies.The webs i te w w w.cea.f r rece i ved 1,700,000 visits in 2009 (a 13% increase). Its attractiveness was maintained through the enrichment of its content and the crea-tion of new theme-based sections (video systems, research careers, astronomy, and nanotechnologies). Most of the traf-fic is generated by the content aimed at teachers and young people; the “youth” section alone accounts for 40% of the traffic, and flash animations are its main-

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Remote manipulation in a hot cell of targets for Mo-99 production, Osiris research reactor.

Security and nuclear safety policy and management

Some of the CEA’s research and development activities for civil or defense nuclear programs, as well as fundamental research and teaching activities, are carried out in basic nuclear installations (INB), individual secret basic nuclear installations (INBS), or facilities classified for environmental protection purposes (ICPE). There is a wide variety of such facilities: research reactors and labs, support facilities for waste and effluent treatment, etc.

new facilities, with reinforced second-level inspection and project reviews by panels of experts to check compliance with safety requirements.Resources have been allocated to the centers for the new human and organiza-tional factors structure.In addition to the indicators for monitoring the three-year plan, the CEA introduced other specific safety management indica-tors in 2009 (monitoring of safety-related staffing levels, quality of documentations, and observation of deadlines). These indi-cators are monitored by the management of each center, while overall reporting is the responsibility of the Risk Control Sector.

Occupational safety

For two decades, the CEA has been com-mitted to reducing occupational accidents and improving safety management at its facilities by setting up and tracking safety improvement plans.The goals of the CEA’s last three-year plan, for the period 2009-2011, fit into the national and European strategy for occupational health. The main actions are based on training, knowledge of risks, detection of accident precursor events, and employee participation in the evalua-tion of occupational risks.In 2009, 123 work accidents requiring time off occurred. The frequency rate* was 4.1, which is slightly higher than in 2008.

The potential risk specifically associated with nuclear facilities is related to the usu-ally limited presence of radioactive materi-als. The radiological impact in the event of an accident would be low, or even very low, outside each center concerned.The risks posed by the radioactive prod-ucts or radiation beams used therefore essentially concern personnel working in the facilities. The control of safety in nuclear facilities is the responsibility of the operator. This responsibility is held from the design phase until complete dismantling. Safety is a priority written into successive performance contracts between the French Government and the CEA. Safety control is based on a set of provisions, both organizational and tech-nical. The framework for these provisions is a safety policy developed and notified on all levels.

Safety standards and objectives have been set up in order to implement this policy. These include: – the CEA’s internal safety baseline;– successive three-year plans to improve safety and security;– the resources required for this purpose. This policy aims to ensure that safety objectives are consistent with the regula-tory requirements expressed in particular in the “Quality” Order of August 10, 1984. In 2009, the CEA produced a detailed report on “safety and radiological protec-tion management at the CEA”. This report, which is being examined by the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), must be inspected by the Nuclear Safety Authority’s standing committees of experts in late 2010.Throughout the year, particular attention was paid to work on civil structures at

APOINTS OF INTEREST

Every year, the CEA’s Risk Control Sector issues a report on risk control. It can be viewed on the website: http://www.cea.fr

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Frequency rate for work accidents requiring time off – CEA employees

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

1988-1992 five-year plan Goal: to reduce Fr (frequency rate) by 30% in five years Variation 87/92: – 30.5%

1994-1996 three-year planGoal: to reduce Fr by 20% in five years Variation 93/96: – 11.3%

1997-1999 to reduce Fr by 10% in three years Variation: 0

2000-2002 to reduce Fr by 10% in three years Variation: 2000/2002: - 10%

2003-2005 to reduce Fr by 10% in three years

2006-2008 to reduce Fr by 5% in three years

2009-2010 three-year plan Goal: to reduce Fr

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Switch on the dosimeter before entering a controlled area.

These 123 work accidents led to 3,737 days of lost time (including lost time due to a relapse). The resulting severity rate is 0.12 (stable since 2007).With regard to occupational accidents involving employees of external com-panies working at CEA facil ities, the accident frequency rate, which had seen a slight increase in 2008 although after falling steadily since 2005, dropped again in 2009, standing at a value of 10.1. The severity rate is stable on the whole.Some significant work was carried out in 2009:– all laboratory heads continued to receive training;– a guide was published for use as a train-ing tool for those working in areas with an explosive atmosphere, an information campaign on the new labeling system for chemicals was conducted, along with a number of safety campaigns. * The national health insurance fund has defined two national indicators:

– frequency rate: Number of workplace accidents requiring time off per million hours worked;

– severity rate: the number of days of lost time per million hours worked.

This change in average dose is due to a 50% increase in the number of employees actually exposed, while the total dose received by all employees remains rela-tively stable. The maximum dose received by a CEA employee is equal to 4.9 mSv.

Environmental monitoring

Research activities at the CEA involve radioactive chemical or biological sub-stances. The ef f luents from facil i t ies are treated and checked before being released, and are kept at the lowest possi-ble level. These checks guarantee that the impact of activities on local populations and the environment remains negligible.Each center uses a detailed environmental monitoring system tailored to the activi-ties being carried out there and to local conditions. This system meets the joint objectives of monitoring the low level of added radioactivity, awareness of the state of the environment, and providing a warning in the event of an abnormal rise in the level. The system set up can detect very low levels of artificial radioactivity in the environment.

From expertise to information

In 2009, CEA laboratories, which have had Cofrac accreditation for many years, and whose expertise is recognized by the French Nuclear Safety Authority, analyzed 23,000 samples taken from the environment.The results of these measurements are completely transparent, and published both within and outside the organization. As a major participant in the national environmental radioactivity measurement network ever since it was set up, the CEA sent in 32,000 results in 2009.

Recent developments in personal dosimetry

Early in 2009, new dosimeters applying the principle of radiophotoluminescence (RPL) replaced photographic film. These dosimeters have the advantage of better sensitivity (0.05 mSv instead of 0.2 mSv for photographic f i lm) and improved response to low-energy gamma radiation.

Dosimetry of CEA personnel

In 2009, individual dosimetric monitoring concerned 7,142 CEA employees. Of that number, 87% had not received any dose.The analysis of occupational exposure on all CEA sites reveals low levels of external exposure.In 2009, the average dose for CEA employees who were actually exposed was 0.31 mSv (compared to 0.67 in 2008).

Emergency response drill in Cadarache.

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Gaseous effluent discharged from the main CEA centers in 2005-2009

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Liquid effluent discharged from the main CEA centers in 2005-2009

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Information systemsArchives: preserving the organization’s assets

The continuation of the Arcadi project should give all CEA units access to an archive management model via an intranet access.

Meeting the national priorities defined in the master plan for information systems led to improvements in the information system in five strategic areas:

– consolidating the CEA’s control in this area;

– giving greater consideration to the requirements of research programs and facilities;

– optimizing activities by simplifying, indus-trializing, and reducing life cycle cost;

– maintaining the security level of systems while adapting to the growth of activity;

– providing through-life support.

Research and projects in line with forecasts

The information system was upgraded in three areas:

– infrastructure upgrade, required because

of the obsolescence of hardware and tech-nologies, increased requirements in terms of storage, data rate and sharing;

– optimization, for the purpose of simplify-ing the information system to create value and reduce operating costs;

– application upgrades to meet the need for new functions arising from changes in regulations or the emergence of new activities and new requirements.

Twenty-seven new projects were author-ized in 2009. The targets set by the CSI (performance, cost and deadlines) for completed projects were met.

Through-life support

The operation of facilities and machines installed in secure premises, the application services they host, and access points, were all satisfactory and no major difficulties were encountered.

SAFETY POLICY AND MANAGEMENT

Environmental monitoring, preparing samples for radiological analysis.

Satisfactory results

The continuous improvement in facility per-formance and operating procedures has reduced the amount of gases and liquids discharged to the environment for many years. This downward trend has been con-firmed, and emissions remain well below the authorized limits on each site.In Marcoule, the main liquid emissions not shown in the above histograms are from the operation of the INBs (secret basic nuclear installation) at the center (41,000 GBq of tritium in 2009).

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A04 Structures

Organization chart

Corporate governance

The Executive Board

The Audit Committee

Monitoring Committees for funds allocated to the cleanup and dismantling of civil and defense facilities


Scientific Council

Visiting Committee

Activities of the General Economic and Financial Control Service

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CEA organizational structureCorporate governance (AS AT DECEMBER 31, 2009)

and obligations of trustees. Each trustee undertakes to exercise independent judg-ment and to participate actively in the work of the Board, in particular through the information provided by the CEA. The trustee informs the Board of any situations where he/she may be confronted with a conflict of interest. Each trustee clearly expresses any opposition to the projects discussed by the Board. It is forbidden for any trustee to conduct any transactions involving securities for companies within the CEA/AREVA group or any related stocks or shares, as well as similar trans-actions involving companies on which he/she holds information as a CEA trustee.

Clarified legal status

With the publication of the legislative part of the Research Code (Ordinance No. 2004-545 of June 11, 2004, which repealed the Ordinance of October 18, 1945 creating the Atomic Energy Com-mission), the status of the CEA was clarified. As a research organization with a scientific, technical and industrial pur-pose, it constitutes a distinct category of state-owned public establishment, com-ing under the “EPIC” classification (public authority with industrial and commercial activities). Its legal status and activities are now defined in Articles L. 332-1 to L. 332-7 of the Research Code.

Corporate governance

Even though it has public authority status, the CEA is careful to observe the rules and best practices applicable to corporate governance. This policy results in increased focus on management operations and the implementation of risk assessment and internal auditing systems.

>> Trustees’ Charter

The Trustees’ Charter, prepared by the Executive Board on July 21, 2004, was adopted by the renewed Council at the first meeting of its new term, on July 29, 2009. This charter sets out the rights

Organization chart

Operational Sectors

ChairmanBernard Bigot

Defense Sector

Daniel VerwaerdeHuman Resources and Training Sector

Jean-FrançoisSornein

Nuclear Sector

Christophe BéharStrategy and External Relations Sector

Frédéric Mondoloni

Technological Research Sector

Jean Therme

Information Management and Systems Sector

Christophe Gégout

Fundamental Research Sector

Yves Caristan (Physical Sciences)Gilles Bloch (Life Sciences)

Risk Control Sector

Edwige Bonnevie

Vice-ChairmanHervé Bernard

High Commissioner for Atomic EnergyCatherine Cesarsky

Functional Sectors

Global Security and Non-proliferation program

Étienne Pochon

Materials Program

Frédéric SchusterNanosciences Program

Jean-Philippe Bourgoin

New technologies for energy Program

Nicole Mermilliod

Health Technologies Program

Jacques GrassiToxicology Program

Éric Quemeneur


– Mr. Cyrille Vincent, and then Mr. Tho-mas Branche, Deputy Director of Nuclear Industry, Directorate General of Energy and Climate, Ministry of the Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea, in charge of green technologies and climate negotiations.

>> Acting in an official capacity

– Ms. Catherine Cesarsky, High Commis-sioner for Atomic Energy;– Mr. Paul Jacquet, General Administrator of the Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, and then Mr. Hervé Le Treut, Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute;– Mr. Albert Ollivier, Adviser to the Sec-retary General, Deposit and Consignment Office, and then Mr. Gérald Arbola, Deputy CEO of the AREVA Group;– Mr. Claude Jablon, former Scientif ic Director – Total, and then Mr. Guy Couar-raze, President of the University of Paris-Sud-11;– Mr. Laurent Stricker, and then Mr. Georges Servière, Adviser to the Chairman – nuclear activities – EDF.

>> Elected personnel representatives

– Mr. Guy Lumia, Engineer – Nuclear Energy Division CEA/Marcoule (proposed by the CFDT);– Mr. Jean-Charles Bellot, Engineer - Pro-grams/Waste Treatment and Conditioning Division, and then Mr. Philippe Tanguy, Waste Project Manager - AREVA NC/La Hague (endorsed by the CFDT);– Ms. Clarisse Bourdelle, Engineer in the Physical Sciences Division, and then Mr. Daniel Bessolo, CEA/Cadarache (endorsed by the CGT);– Ms. Martine Dozol, Engineer – Nuclear Ene rgy D i v i s i on , CE A / Cada rache (endorsed by the CGT-FO);– Mr. Dominique Ghaleb, Engineer – Nuclear Energy Division CEA/Marcoule (endorsed by the CGT);– Mr. Bernard Verrey, Engineer – Mili-tary Applications Division, CEA/Valduc (endorsed by the CFE-CGC).

>> Attending meetings in an advisory capacity

– Mr. Christophe Lafon, Secretary of the National Committee;– Mr. Jean-Marie Rossinot, State Control-ler, Member of the CEA General Economic and Financial Control Service.

The CEA is the first public organization in which the Executive Board has a charter of this type.

Executive Board

>> TasksThe Executive Board deliberates on the broad strategic, economic, financial and technological issues of CEA activity, and in particular on the long-term contract with the State. The annual budget, the statement of corporate accounts and consolidated accounts of the CEA group, the annual activity and management report and the report on the funding of the dismantling of nuclear facilities and management of spent fuel and radioactive waste are all submitted to the Board for approval. It also approves the CEA’s research programs and allocates the budgets required.

>> Activities in 2009

The Executive Board met seven times in 2009 to deliberate before taking sev-eral important decisions and defining a number of important guidelines on:– affiliation of one of the activities of the former CEA Valorisation, now called CEA Investissement;– creation of the Toxicology cross-func-tional program Division;– advance granted by SC Genci in the framework of the TGCC (Very Large Com-puting Center);– reorganization of the Nuclear Energy Division;– transfer of the Gramat center (DGA) to the CEA;– signing a building lease for a property in the municipality of Palaiseau for the Nano-Innov project;– CEA participation in the creation of a simplified joint stock company in the con-text of the BioTfuel project;– CEA acquisition of shares in a company for the development of a French sector for batteries for electric transport systems;– framework agreement for a property partnership for the development of the Grenoble “peninsula” (Giant project);– renewal of the CEA’s involvement in the Cyceron public interest group;– reorganization of new technologies for energy at the CEA and of the LITEN and LETI Institutes;– changes to the organization of the Mili-tary Applications Division (DAM);

– organization of government control of nuclear deterrence within the CEA;– new organization of the INSTN;– report concerning the internal monitor-ing mechanism to secure the funding of dismantling operations. In addition, it is kept up to date with progress in key scientific and technical projects:– milestones and indicators for the 2006-2009 per formance target agreement between the Government and the CEA;– guidelines on the development of the CEA’s real estate assets;– research structures with a legal person-ality in which the CEA participates;– report on risk control;– Bure-Saudron pilot construction project;– CEA European cooperation policy;– CEA policy on sustainable energy sources.

>> Members

Note: The CEA is subject to the provisions of Act No. 83-675 of July 26, 1983 relating to the democratization of the public sector; the mandate for all members of the Board is five years, from date to date, as of July 29, 2009, the date of the first meeting of the new Board.

>> Government representatives

– Mr. Bernard Bigot, Chairman of the CEA, Chairman of the Board;– Mr. Emmanuel Caquot, Head of Depart-ment for Manufacturing Industries and the Post Office – General Directorate for Busi-nesses, then Mr. Yves Robin, Head of the Industry Department, General Directorate for Competitiveness, Industry and Serv-ices, Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment;– Mr. Gilles Bloch, and then Mr. Ronan Stephan, Director General of Research and Innovation – Ministry of Higher Educa-tion and Research;– Mr. Henri Guillaume, Inspector-General of Finance, Inspectorate-General of Finance, Ministry of the Budget, Public Accounts and the Civil Service;– Mr. Gui l laume Gauber t, and then Mr. Rodolphe Gintz, Deputy Director of the Third Budget Subdirectorate, Budget Directorate, Ministry of the Budget, Public Accounts, and the Civil Service;– Mr. Bruno Sainjon, Assistant to the Director of Weapon Systems, and then Mr. Christophe Fournier, officer in charge of deterrence – Directorate for Weapon Systems - French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) – Ministry of Defense;



The monitoring committees for the civil and defense funds met four times in 2009. They discussed the following points in particular:– analysis of budget implementation for 2009;– internal audit report;– draft budget for 2010;– examination of the asset management policy.

>> Members

Monitoring Committees for funds allocated to the cleanup and dismantling of civil facilities:

– Mr. Henri Guillaume, Chairman;– Mr. Philippe Jurgensen, Chairman of ACAM, and then Mr. Georges Servière;– Mr. Gui l laume Gauber t, and then Mr. Rodolphe Gintz;– Mr. Cyrille Vincent, and then Mr. Thomas Branche;– Mr. Rodolphe Chevalier, Agency for State Holdings, until July 29, 2009;– Mr. Emmanuel Caquot, and then Mr. Yves Robin;– Ms. Martine Dozol.

Attending the meetings

– Jean-Marie Rossinot, Member of the CEA General Economic and Financial Control Service;– Ms. Nathalie Moulet, Secretary of the Board.

Rapporteur: Mr. Christophe Gégout, CEA Financial Director.

Monitoring Committees for funds allocated to the cleanup and dismantling of defense facilities:

– Mr. Henri Guillaume, Chairman;– Mr. Philippe Jurgensen, Chairman of ACAM, and then Mr. Georges Servière;– Mr. Gui l laume Gauber t, and then Mr. Rodolphe Gintz;– Mr. Emmanuel Caquot, until July 29, 2009;– Mr. Bruno Sainjon, and then Mr. Christophe Fournier;– Mr. Cyrille Vincent, and then Mr. Thomas Branche;– Mr. Bernard Verrey.

Attending the meetings

- Mr. Frédéric Bioche, and then Mr. Jean-Marie Rossinot, Member of the CEA General Economic and Financial Control Service;– Ms. Nathalie Moulet, Secretary of the Board.

Rapporteur: Mr. Olivier Pagezy, and then Mr. Christophe Gégout, CEA financial director.

>> Secretary

– Mrs. Nathalie Moulet, Head of Depart-ment at the Legal Affairs Division.

>> Permanent guests

– Mr. Hervé Bernard, Vice Chairman;– Mr. Jean-Claude Petit, Director of Pro-grams;– Mr. Olivier Pagezy, and then Mr. Christophe Gégout, Director of the Information Man-agement and Systems Sector and CEA Financial Director;– Mr. Jean-François Sornein, Director of the Human Resources and Training Sector;– Mr. Marc Léger, Director of the Legal Af fairs Division, Legal Adviser to the Chairman.

Audit Committee

>> Tasks

The Audit Committee is responsible for the following tasks:– examining the accounting and financial aspects of the draft budget and draft statement of accounts of the CEA; the draft long-term contract with the State, as well as the draft strategic plan and the report on the State performance targets contract;– carrying out specif ic studies at the request of the Board or at its own initiative;– examining the activity report drawn up by the contract advisory board and advis-ing the CEA on it;– contributing to the definition of account-ing, financial and professional standards, taking into account the specif ic rules applicable to the CEA, and ensuring the relevance and ef fectiveness of these standards;– advising the Board on the effectiveness of internal audit procedures;– advising the Board when the time comes to renew the auditor’s mandate.


The Audit Committee met six times in the year and examined the following points in particular:– statement of accounts and the audi-tors” report, statement of consolidated accounts of the CEA group;– draft annual budget and new half-yearly forecasts;– milestones and indicators for the 2006-2009 performance target agreement;– 2009 annual audit plan;– risk inventory;– 2008 activity report of the contract advi-sory board.

>> Members

– Mr. Albert Ollivier, and then Mr. Henri Guillaume;– Mr. Cyrille Vincent, and then Mr. Thomas Branche;

– Mr. Gui l laume Gauber t, and then Mr. Rodolphe Gintz;– Mr. Dominique Ghaleb;– Mr. Guy Lumia;– Mr. Gilles Bloch, and then Mr. Ronan Stephan;– Ms. Nathalie Moulet, Secretary of the Board, and Mr. Christian Bozec, Deputy Director for Audits.

Permanent guest

Mr. Jean-Marie Rossinot.

Attending the meetings as required

Thierry Blanchetier and Laurent des Places, auditors.

Monitoring Committees for funds allocated to the cleanup and dismantling of civil and defense facilities

The task of these committees, which are part of the Board, is to help monitor the portfolio of dedicated assets set aside by the CEA to cover the cost of future cleanup and dismantling operations at its civil and defense facilities. As part of their activities, they put proposals before the Executive Board for a policy frame-work for acquiring and managing these assets, bearing in mind their purpose and observing the principles of caution and risk spreading.To do this, they each examine and advise on the following:– the Funds Management Charter appli-cable to funds allocated to cover facility cleanup and dismantling costs (civil facili-ties for one committee, defense for the other);– the five-year cleanup and dismantling plan and the annual budget;– the financial balance outlook for the fund over its entire lifetime;– estimates of operations covered by the fund and their schedule, along with uncer-tainties relating to liability assessments;– possible changes in scope;– annual accounts of the fund;– procedures for building up, managing and auditing the fund;– policy for managing the financial assets of the fund;– internal auditing system;– and, more broadly, all matters concern-ing the operator’s compliance with legal and regulatory provisions for securing the financing of nuclear costs. They give an opinion on the annual fund activity and management report, on the three-yearly report on the funding of cleanup and decommissioning costs, the annual dis-counting report concerning these costs and the annual internal audit report relat-ing to the fund.


CEA ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

AWashington

– Prof. Helmuth Möhwald, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany.– Prof. Krishnaswamy Ravi-Chandar, University of Texas, Austin, USA.– Prof. Marshall Stoneham, University College London, UK.– Prof. Sune Svanberg, Lund University, Sweden.

CEA General Economic and Financial Control Service

This committee monitors CEA financial and accounting management.

Members:- Mr. Bruno Rossi, Head of the Inquiry Committee.– Mr. Frédéric Bioche, Comptroller General of the Armed Forces.– Mr. Tony Cavatorta, Civil administrator hors classe.– Mr. Daniel Métayer, and then M. Bernard Abate, State Comptroller.– Mr. Jean-Marie Rossinot, State Comp-troller.


The primary role of the Atomic Energy Committee, which can be likened to an interministerial committee, is to define French nuclear policy. The CEA acts as Secretariat for the committee. Its decisions may have a direct impact on the activities of the CEA and its nuclear subsidiaries, as well as on EDF and ANDRA.

>> Chairman

The Prime Minister or delegated Minister or, failing this, the Chairman of the CEA.

>> Ex officio members

– Mr. Bernard Bigot, Chairman of the CEA,– General Jean-Louis Georgelin, Armed Forces Chief of Staff.– Mr. Gérard Errera, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.– Mr. Laurent Collet-Billon, Delegate General for Armament.– Mr. Christian Piotre, Secretary General for Administration, Ministry of Defense.– Mr. Pierre-Franck Chevet, Director General for Energy and the Climate.– Mr. Luc Rousseau, Director General of Businesses.– Mr. Philippe Josse, Budget Director.– Mr. Marcel Jurien de la Gravière, Del-egate for Nuclear Safety and Radiological Protection for Defense-related Activities and Facilities.– Mr. Gilles Bloch, Director General of Research and Innovation.– Ms. Catherine Brechignac, President of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).

>> Appointed by the Prime Minister

– Ms. Jacqueline Lecourtier, Director General of the National Research Agency.

>> Appointed by the Minister of the Environment

– Mr. Jean-François Lacronique, Adviser to the Chairman of IRSN (Institute for Radio-logical Protection and Nuclear Safety).

>> Persons qualified in the scientific and industrial field

– Mr. Bernard Bigot, High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, and then Ms. Catherine Cesarsky.– Mr. Pierre Turq, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Paris VI.– Mr. Pierre Gadonneix, Chairman of the Board, EDF.– Ms. Anne Lauvergeon, Chief Executive of AREVA.

Attending Committee meetings in an advisory capacity

– Mr. Bruno Rossi, Head of the General Economic and Financial Control Service.

Attending Committee meetings

– Mr. Hervé Bernard, Vice Chairman of the CEA.

>> Committee Secretary

– Mr. Jean-Claude Petit, Director of Programs, CEA.

Scientific Council

The Scientific Council assists the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy in the assessment of the CEA’s research activities and proposes directions for scientific research.

Chairman

– Catherine Cesarsky, High Commissioner for Atomic Energy.

Outside the CEA

– Hélène Bouchiat, CNRS/LPS, Orsay.– Marie-Françoise Debreuille, AREVA NC, Paris.– Roland Douce, University of Grenoble.– Bernard Dubuisson, DGA, Paris.– Olivier Joubert, CNRS, LTM, Grenoble.– Jean-Pierre Sauvage, University of Stras-bourg.– Christine Petit, Pasteur Institute.

CEA members

– Élisabeth Bouchaud, DSM/Iramis.– Bernard Boullis, DEN/DISN.– Hélène Burlet, DRT/LITEN.– Franck Carré, DEN/DS.– Denis Juraszek, DAM/DIF.– Vanina Ruhlmann-Kleider, DSM/IRFU.

Personnel representatives

– Jean-Pierre Bruhat, CFE-CGC – DAM/Dir.– Jean-Paul Crocombette, CGT – DEN/DMN.– Jean-Louis Gerstenmayer, CFTC – DRT.– Nicolas Parisot, SPAEN – DEN/DRSN.– Jean-Eric Ducret, CFDT – DSM/IRFU.– Mohamed Eid, CGT-FO – DEN/DM2S.

Visiting Committee

Alongside the Scientific Council, a Visiting Committee was created nine years ago, made up of internationally renowned experts. Its purpose is to give an opinion on the strategies and directions of CEA research.

– Prof. David Andelman, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.– Prof. Giovanni Ciccotti, University of Rome, Italy.– Prof. Antoine Georges, Collège de France, Paris, France.– Prof. Serge Haroche, Collège de France, Paris, France.– Prof. Jacques Livage, Collège de France, Paris, France.

ACEA CENTERS

• CEA Cadarache, Nuclear Sector: Serge Durand, Director.

• CEA Cesta, Defense Sector: Jean-Pierre Giannini, Director.

• CEA DAM-Île-de-France, Defense Sector: Pierre Bouchet, Director.

• CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses, Life Sciences Fundamental Research Sector: Ms. Malgorzata Tkatchenko, Director.

• CEA Gramat, Defense Sector: Didier Besnard, Director.

• CEA Grenoble, Technological Research Sector: Jean Therme, Director.

• CEA Le Ripault, Defense Sector: Serge Dufort, Director.

• CEA Saclay, Physical Sciences Fundamental Research Sector: Yves Caristan, Director.

• CEA Valduc, Defense Sector: Régis Baudrillart, Director.

• CEA Marcoule, Nuclear Sector: Christian Bonnet, Director.

• INSTN, National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology: Laurent Turpin, Director.


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Network of CEA Advisers at the Embassy

The CEA A key player in research and technological innovation in Europe

Interview with the Chairman

Interview with the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy

1 – PROGRAMS

DEFENSE AND GLOBAL SECURITY • Basic research Nuclear weapons, nuclear propulsion, and prevention of proliferation and terrorism

• Applied research Nuclear deterrence and national and international security

LOW-CARBON ENERGY SOURCES • Fundamental researchPhysical sciences Life sciences

• Applied research Fission energy Fusion energy New energy technologies

INFORMATION AND HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES • Fundamental researchPhysical sciencesLife sciences

• Applied research Micro- and nanotechnologiesSoftware and systems technologies

Research and large-scale research facilities

Cross-functional programs at the CEA


2 – REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

3 – SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS

4 – STRUCTURES

Contents

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Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternativesFrench Alternative energies and atomic energy commission91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedexwww.cea.fr

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1 CEA Cadarache13108 Saint-Paul-lez-DurancePhone: +33 (0)4 42 25 70 00

2 CEA Cesta15, avenue des Sablières – BP 233114 Le BarpPhone: +33 (0)5 57 04 40 00

3 CEA DAM Île-de-FranceBP 12 – 91680 Bruyères-le-ChâtelPhone: +33 (0)1 69 26 40 00

4 CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses18, route du Panorama – BP 692265 Fontenay-aux-Roses CedexPhone: +33 (0)1 46 54 70 80

5 CEA Grenoble17, rue des Martyrs38054 Grenoble Cedex 9Phone: +33 (0)4 38 78 44 00

6 CEA Le RipaultBP 16 – 37260 MontsPhone: +33 (0)2 47 34 40 00

7 CEA GramatBP 8020046500 Gramat

8 CEA Saclay91191 Gif-sur-Yvette CedexPhone: +33 (0)1 69 08 60 00

9 CEA Valduc21120 Is-sur-TillePhone: +33 (0)3 80 23 40 00

10 CEA MarcouleBP 171 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze CedexPhone: +33 (0)4 66 79 60 00

11 INSTN91191 Gif-sur-Yvette CedexPhone: +33 (0)1 69 08 60 00

12 Headquarters CEA SiègeLe Ponant D – 25, rue Leblanc75015 Paris Phone: +33 (0)1 64 50 20 59

13 Administrative headquarters CEA Bâtiment siège91191 Gif-sur-Yvette CedexPhone: +33 (0)1 64 50 10 00

09A N N U A L R E P O R T

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