Vectors and resources
Energy resources and vectors are a vital part of the low-carbon transition. The Institute works on characterizing their potential, forecasting, and production, and also looks at issues of supply, development, and flexibility of energy resources and vectors.
Examples of related research projects:
Mini-tests for in-service monitoring of structures applied to hydrogen transportation (CMAT)
Diagrams of CO2 phases and ancillary gases during capture, transportation and storage (CTP)
Find all of our projectshere
Systems operation and flexibility
Technologies, energy resources and vectors need to be employed in the smartest way possible in low-carbon transition scenarios. As a result, the Institute looks at operation questions associating energy efficiency, network and physical systems optimization, logistics, flexibility, and demand-side management.
Examples of related research projects:
Physical Internet, aimed at more sustainable logistics (CGS)
Find all of our projectshere
Spatiality and pace of implementation
A credible low-carbon transition scenario must integrate elements related to the spatiality of systems and their pace implementation. The Institute therefore explores temporal questions concerning the pace of implementation of technologies, and the spatial and temporal deployment of industrial sectors, in particular via the deployment of geographic information systems (GIS).
Examples of related research projects:
Physical Internet, aimed at more sustainable logistics (CGS)
Find all of our projectshere
Lifestyle and society
Establishing a low-carbon transition in our societies inevitably means taking humans into account. Low-carbon transition scenarios must therefore include criteria like lifestyle, behavior, usage and demand, acceptability, adaptation, and nudges.
Examples of related research projects:
Find all of our projectshere
Governance, regulation, and institutional conditions
Governance, regulation, and institutional and geopolitical conditions are key factors to take into account when designing the transition. The Institute’s research work therefore centers on multi-scale governance frameworks (international, national, organizations, companies, regions, etc.), the legal aspects of the transition, environmental responsibility, climate justice, development and innovation policies, environmental policies, measures, regulation, and engineering, along with the question of degrowth, controversies, and historical analysis.
Examples of related research projects:
Support for urban ecodesign (CES)
Physical Internet, aimed at more sustainable logistics (CGS)
Systems engineering and transition, explorations in the Nord Pas de Calais mining basin (ISIGE)
Find all of our projectshere
Externalities and environmental impacts
All technological, economic and political choices automatically have consequences. In order to design solid low-carbon transitions, we need to take into account the impact of all of the choices made, and the externalities involved. The Institute therefore studies LCA methods, the impacts on biodiversity, the impacts of information technologies, recycling, energy efficiency and consumption, and the management of and impacts on natural resources (water, materials for energy, all types of pollution, land use, climate variability, biodiversity, etc.).
Examples of related research projects:
Support for urban ecodesign (CES)
Find all of our projectshere
Cost and financial engineering
Money is the lifeblood… of the transition. The Institute looks at how to finance the transition, energy market economics and analysis, the costs of investment and adaptation, operation and maintenance costs, taxes and carbon accounting, and subsidies.
Examples of related research projects:
Find all of our projectshere
Land-use management
Implementing low-carbon technologies and using energy vectors and resources require managing land use and establishing or modifying infrastructures. The Institute works on a range of questions that include all types of networks, centralization and decentralization, urbanism, cities, urban logistics systems, eco-industrial parks,
the circular economy, territorial ecology, and alluvial plains.
Examples of related research projects:
Support for urban ecodesign (CES)
Systems engineering and transition, explorations in the Nord Pas de Calais mining basin (ISIGE)
Find all of our projectshere
Technological products
The Institute works on numerous types of low-carbon technological solutions (including forthcoming technologies) and integrates them into transition scenarios. Examples include vehicle engines operating on hydrogen, aerogel materials for thermal insulation of buildings, Green IT, and innovative processes, without forgetting software technologies and so-called decarbonization technologies. Prospective modeling is employed to investigate the potential integration and deployment of these technologies in the future.
Examples of related research projects:
Diagrams of CO2 phases and ancillary gases during capture, transportation and storage (CTP)
Mini-tests for in-service monitoring of structures applied to hydrogen transportation (CMAT)
Find all of our projectshere