Chairman's report

A dual challenge: energy and climate change

Energy plays a vital role in our society, with all sectors of activity dependent on it. But the inexorable increase in our energy requirements gives rise to a dual challenge: the availability of fossil energies and their impact on the environment, particularly climate change.

A strong positioning...

IFP Energies nouvelles's mission is to meet the dual economic and environmental challenge identified above by offering innovative and concrete solutions in the fields of energy, transport and the environment. This strategic positioning is consistent with both the needs of society and the expectations of the State, as reflected in the signing, in June 2009, of the Grenelle amendment to the Objectives Contract for the period 2006-2010 linking IFP Energies nouvelles with the State. The amendment confirmed the orientations and commitments set out in the objectives contract. It also reinforced the priority given to projects relating to new energy technologies, particularly with respect to hybrid and electric vehicles, 2nd-generation biofuels and CO₂ capture and storage.
Today, new energy technologies account for around 50% of IFP Energies nouvelles's R&D programs. More than ever before, IFP Energies nouvelles is firmly committed to supporting the current trends in energy use, as well as the industrial and political orientations that are of such importance for our future.

... for a smooth energy transition

Urgent action is required to tackle climate change. However, we cannot just abandon fossil energies overnight. Replacing current oil and gas resources with other energy sources on a large scale requires significant research and development efforts. Projects intended for industrial application need to be technically and economically sound. It is vitally important, therefore, to pursue research in the fields of exploration, production, transformation and use of hydrocarbons to allow green technologies – commonly referred to as cleantech – time to mature. Hence the need for a smooth transition towards a sustainable energy system. The goals are to avoid a major crisis in terms of energy supplies and to prevent a level of climate change that would have catastrophic consequences. We
need to continue to work with oil-related technologies while preparing for the post-oil era. In other words, we need to act for today and for tomorrow. Once again, IFP Energies nouvelles is well placed to meet this dual challenge.

Acting today and preparing for tomorrow

Our researchers are currently working to improve IC engine performance, while designing powertrains for the hybrid and electric vehicles that will be available on the market in the future. They are perfecting software solutions for the modeling and characterization of potential hydrocarbon sites, at the same time as developing CO₂ capture and storage technologies.
But the latter will not be rolled out on an industrial scale before the period 2015-2020. Researchers are continuously improving the
production processes associated with current fuels, in terms of energy efficiency and pollutant emission reduction, while, at the same time, designing the fuels of the future, particularly those derived from biomass.

Expertise and technologies: change as a natural progression

Breakthrough technologies are real, but they nonetheless come about as part of a natural progression. A considerable proportion of IFP Energies nouvelles's expertise and know-how in the oil and transport sectors can be adapted to new energy technologies. For example, exploration and production have paved the way for the evaluation, injection, storage and monitoring of CO₂ , as well as the management of production water and large-scale energy storage. In terms of refining, IFP Energies nouvelles's expertise is being used for CO₂ capture as well as
the transformation of biomass (1st and 2nd-generation fuels) and hydrogen. IFP Energies nouvelles also brings its experience in engine technologies to vehicle hybridization and electrification, particularly through the use of onboard energy storage.

From research to industry

All this research, together with the resulting innovations, will also help us emerge from the crisis and prepare for the future. Moreover, the State and industry have invested heavily in the field of new energy technologies. The challenge is to reconcile economic development with the protection of the environment and the tackling of climate change. Hence the relevance of IFP Energies nouvelles's industrial development strategy, wich has never been questioned. IFP Energies nouvelles has the capacity to bring concrete solutions to society's needs and create jobs in the cleantech sector, as it has already done in the oil and gas and related industries sector.

Strength in numbers

However, the scale of the challenges is such that they cannot be met by one organization alone. Expertise and resources have to be pooled. IFP Energies nouvelles has considerable experience in working in partnership with others and 2009 was no different. We have been actively involved in several demonstrator projects financed by Ademe (in the fields of vehicle electrification, biomass and CO₂ storage).
Its capacity to manage networks and multipartner projects also makes IFP Energies nouvelles a key player in terms of competitiveness clusters (Axelera, LUTB, Mov'eo, Tenerrdis, Avenia, etc.), innovation platforms (green chemistry with Axel'One, carbonfree vehicles with Mov'eo-Dege, biofuel platform under development), and, more broadly, major projects, both national (ongoing creation of excellence institutes and structures for the industrial development of innovations) and European (FP, ZEP and Biofuels platforms). Finally, IFP Energies nouvelles's capacity to lead partnerships with other research centers and manufacturers made it the ideal candidate to oversee the creation,
organization and running of Ancre – The French National Alliance for Energy Research Coordination. The objective is a bold one: to pool the strengths of all national energy players with a view to finding fast and effective solutions to the dual energy and climate challenge.

Looking further into the future

Alongside the achievements mentioned above, IFP Energies nouvelles continues to optimize the way it operates, particularly in terms of managing its R&D project portfolio. We are seeking more transparency, flexibility and responsiveness. Lastly, IFP Energies nouvelles is conducting a review of its longer-term strategic ambitions, looking towards 2020 and beyond. New research avenues are already under scrutiny, particularly in the fields of marine energies, energy storage, environmental technologies and eco-efficient water management. These strategic re-orientations, adopted by its Board of Directors in October 2009, reflect IFP Energies nouvelles's determination to further step up its commitment to the development of new energy technologies. They will be set out in the Objectives Contract for the period 2011-2015, which will be IFP Energies nouvelles's new road map.

OLIVIER APPERT, IFP Energies nouvelles's Chairman and CEO

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