The thermal technology platform is unique in Europe, in terms of both its size and the scope of its R&D activities, which span technologies to produce thermal energy (concentrated solar power), store it for later use, and use it efficiently for industrial applications like heat pumps, boilers, and thermal exchangers.
The R&D carried out at the platform involves around 50 industrial partners, including major corporations like ENGIE, Saint Gobain, Total and ALCEN. These partners hope to improve the energy performance of their industrial processes by optimizing heat transfer and by introducing thermal storage systems.
The platform possesses an extraordinary range of equipment: two concentrated solar power plants of more than 1,000 sq.m, approximately 20 instrumented test loops, and thermal storage demonstrators (phase-change-material on a highpressure steam circuit, oil on rock bed, and stacked ceramic on a high-temperature—up to 1,200°C—air circuit).
. A team of 75 researchers and technicians work with industrial and academic partners on leading edge projects. Services include feasibility studies, prototype development, testing, security analysis, and benchmarking.
. Yes. service.

The smart-grid systems platform works with fifteen industrial partners on how to scale, operate, and optimize energy systems for individual homes, buildings, or entire neighborhoods.
These energy systems can be connected to intermittent energy sources (PV solar panels or electric vehicles) and electricity storage systems—all of which must be managed optimally to ensure that electricity is available when needed. R&D work at the platform encompasses modelling, virtual and real-world component testing, software development, and materials selection.
The platform leverages a real-time grid simulator showing converters, consumption, rooftop PV panels, and various electricity-storage systems. The simulator can be used to test different grid configurations, determine operation strategies, and optimize overall system efficiency.
. 30 engineers and technicians manage a real-time grid simulator integrating converters, power transfer, rooftop PV panels, and various electricity-storage systems. Services include feasibility studies, prototype development, testing, security analysis, and benchmarking.
. Yes. service.

The Pictic large-surface printing platform develops smart plastics, papers, and textiles produced by printing electronic functions directly on flexible, 320mm x 380mm surfaces. The applications for these flexible circuits are complementary to those addressed by silicon-based technologies, and include human-machine interfaces, smart lighting, interactive displays, and environmental monitoring.
The platform develops formulations for electronic inks, scales up printing processes for industrial rollout, and manufactures prototypes and preseries, working with companies from around the world.
The processes developed at the platform stand out for their precision and competitive pricing. Electronic functions are deposited on the substrate in a single step, eliminating the need to use lithography and other subtractive processes.
The platform is Europe’s only specialized R&D facility to bring together all of the necessary printing techniques—screen printing, inkjet, gravure, flexography, and slot-die—under one roof. The platform also has characterization, assembly, encapsulation, and other equipment. 600 sq. m of clean rooms, EUR 9 million in investment.
. A team of 50 researchers and technicians work with industrial and academic partners on leading edge projects. Services include feasibility studies, prototype development, testing, security analysis, and benchmarking.
. Yes. service.

The photovoltaic solar platform’s mission is to contribute to the development of a solar industry in France. And, with more than 200 employees and 100 industrial partners from SMEs to corporations, the platform is one of Europe’s largest PV R&D facilities. The platform’s PV R&D focuses on materials, with particular attention given to developing high-performance, competitively-priced silicon; PV cell technology and yield-enhancement; and solar modules and optimization.
The 15 000 m2 solar energy research facility with a total investment of 100 M€ is operated by a team of 200 researchers and technicians. Of particular interest is the Heterojunction LabFab—a pilot production line capable of manufacturing heterojunction PV cells with yields of over 20%—boasts a theoretical capacity of 30 MW. The platform helps solar-energy SMEs develop their products and services and can even build turnkey PV solar plants.
. - Scientific & technological research
- Study / initial design / Simulation
- Proof of concept / Lab testing of basic experimental set-up/ Characterisation
- Component/ breadboard / process development & testing
- Prototyping (integrated system/ sub-system) development & testing
- Pilot line / demonstration line / preseries
- Product validation / certification
 
. Yes. service.

The nanosafety platform focuses on protection, health, and safety issues related to the handling and use of nanomaterials. Housed in a  brand-new, 5,000 sq. m building and staffed by a team of 150, the platform has two main activities :

R&D, with five major focus areas: toxicology, ecotoxicology, the integration of nanomaterials into industrial processes and nanomaterials lifecycle analysis; industrial health and safety, and characterization and methods.
B2B services: training of prevention and emergency response personnel, consulting, workstation auditing and design, occupational health consulting, and 24-7 incident-response services.

The platform’s partners come from all industries (inks, paints, cosmetics, food) and also include prevention and testing organizations like INERIS, INRS, Institut Pasteur de Lille, and the French National Testing Laboratory.
5,000 sq. m, including 2,000 sq. m of laboratory space. Most notable equipment includes FFF-ICP-MS (for nanoparticle analysis), cryogenic transmission electron microscope, and a full range of equipment for the measurement of nanoparticles in aerosols and colloids.
. B2B services: training of prevention and emergency response personnel, consulting, workstation auditing and design, occupational health consulting, and 24-7 incident-response services.
. Yes. service.

The semiconductor fabrication infrastructure of CEA is composed of two major installations operating on 12 inch and 8 inch wafer sizes. The 12" nanoelectronics platform develops advanced transistors, integrated circuits and non-volatile memory. It is also where FD-SOI—today used to mass-produce chips worldwide—was born. The platform also conducts 3D integration R&D.

Activities encompass simulation, technology development, demonstrators and prototyping, advanced characterization and reliability testing. The platform can also conduct short-loop, proof-of-concept testing with wafer manufacturing sites. Foundries, fabless manufacturers, integrators, and materials and equipment manufacturing partners of the platform benefit from high-added-value modules offering excellent energy consumption, speed and frequency. This is ideal for the microcontrollers used in the automotive and medical industries and for smart cards among many other applications. The platform is one of the world’s top five 300 mm… The platform houses more than 200 primary front-end manufacturing tools covering the complete range of processing requirements. Exceptionally noteworthy is the availability of a high-end tool set and advanced know-how in e-beam lithography, a potential alternative to optical lithography in achieving ultimate resolution. 
. - Scientific & technological
- Study / initial design / Simulation
- Proof of concept / Lab testing of basic experimental set-up/ Characterisation
- Component/ breadboard / process development & testing
- Prototyping (integrated system/ sub-system) development & testing
- Pilot line / demonstration line / preseries
- Product validation / certification

Please visit the website for further information.
. Yes. service.

The nanocharacterization platform houses 40 pieces of major research equipment operated by a staff of experienced researchers and technicians. The platform studies samples for CEA research programs and conducts research on characterization techniques and protocols to provide appropriate responses to tomorrow’s characterization needs.

The platform possesses specific equipment-used at just a handful of other locations worldwide—for example the Titan Ultimate transmission electron microscope offering 50 picometer resolution.
 

Researchers can characterize a material’s morphological, physico-chemical and electrical properties based on their needs, often delivering 2D and, increasingly, 3D images of materials under study. Tests conducted provide valuable insight into nanomaterials and nanocomponents. The platform also works with major research instruments ESRF and ILL, leveraging their synchrotron and neutron capabilities to obtain even higher resolution images.

The platform is used by scientific… 40 pieces of major analytical equipment, including Ion-beam and X-ray beam, surface analysis, near-field

electron microscopy, optical characterization, magnetic resonance, and sample preparation. The total investment exceeds 30M€.
. - Scientific & technological
- Study / initial design / Simulation
- Proof of concept / Lab testing of basic experimental set-up/ Characterisation
- Component/ breadboard / process development & testing
- Prototyping (integrated system/ sub-system) development & testing
- Pilot line / demonstration line / preseries
- Product validation / certification
 
. Yes. service.

R&D for biotechnology applications

The 5,500 sq. m nano-biotechnology platform deploys a full range of medical systems development know-how from sample surface preparation, biological analysis and substrate functionalization to packaging, microfluidics, microsystems, biological detection systems and component readers.

The platform’s R&D activities benefit scientific researchers, hospitals, and biomedical companies.

Its X-ray, gamma-ray, fluorescence, visible and lens-less imaging solutions ensure its unmatched performance in studying living organisms, tissues, cells and bacteria.

Its microsystems meet today's new needs for personalized medicine, nanomedicine and remote diagnostics. They can be implemented in vivo, embedded or implanted in medical devices.

The platform is located next to Clinatec and the Bioscience and Biotechnology Institute of Grenoble (BIG) and leverages BIG’s basic research. The platform files around 35 patents per year including for solutions… 25 pieces of major equipment: X-ray measurement chambers, screen-printing machines, stamping and machining equipment, etc.

 
. - Scientific & technological
- Study / initial design / Simulation
- Proof of concept / Lab testing of basic experimental set-up/ Characterisation
- Component/ breadboard / process development & testing
- Prototyping (integrated system/ sub-system) development & testing
- Pilot line / demonstration line / preseries
- Product validation / certification
 
. Yes. service.

The micro energy source platform concentrates at a single location all the resources needed to design power supply systems for smart cards, sensors, laptop computers and much more. The 1,000 sq. m platform is home to 30 items of equipment suitable for scaling up these technologies for industrial manufacturing.

The platform develops micro batteries and micro fuel cells with a sharp focus on enhancing materials to improve performance. It leverages technologies, such as thin-layer deposition for batteries, and investigates ways of improving fuel-cell catalyst and collector performance and lifespans.
The advanced equipment available at the platform includes a five-PVD chamber unit capable of depositing a series of thin layers. The platform can develop processes all the way to industrial scale-up. It operates with two major partners: STMicroelectronics for micro batteries measuring thicknesses of around 100 microns and Intelligent Energy for mobile electronic device fuel cell chargers.
. Staff are involved in all aspects of micro energy source development, from basic materials studies to design of custom sources for specific applications. Feasibility studies, prototyping and small scale production are available for Micro batteries (from a few μWh to 100 mWh) and micro fuel cells (from 5 W to 100 W)
. Yes. service.

Today's technological challenges require implementation of a holistic approach to hardware and software. The embedded systems design platform combines the special competencies of two institutes, specifically Leti's IC design and testing and List's embedded software development. 

The embedded systems design platform possesses unrivaled know-how in hardware-software integration. The platform designs systems that respond to high reliability and security demands for Big Data servers, IoT, transportation, energy, manufacturing and other industries. The R&D conducted at the platform falls into two categories: development of hardware and software solutions for optimizing system design and integration of electronic and computing modules into existing systems. These R&D activities share an objective of enhancing overall system operation and usage through smaller form factors, more memory, better energy efficiency, lower cost, and greater security and reliability. 

The platform’s advanced… CAD tools for hardware and software simulation, Synopsys ZeBu embedded system emulation system, test benches replicating severe environments (high temperature, radiation, etc.). The facility of more than 2000 sq meters is operated by 120 engineers and technicians.
. - Scientific & technological
- Study / initial design / Simulation
- Proof of concept / Lab testing of basic experimental set-up/ Characterisation
- Component/ breadboard / process development & testing
- Prototyping (integrated system/ sub-system) development & testing
- Pilot line / demonstration line / preseries
- Product validation / certification
 
. Yes. service.