Chairman's report

How would you sum up 2008 for IFP?

A key feature of 2008 was the unusual economic context across the globe, which eventually led to the recession we now find ourselves in. It was also marked by two important national events: the Grenelle de l'Environnement forum on the environment and France’s Presidency of the European Union during the second half of the year.
Not only has this guided IFP’s actions in general, but it has also led us to realize a number of things. The strength and relevance of our strategic position, founded on increasingly resonant energy-related and environmental principles, is clearly apparent. These principles have been the driving force leading us to accelerate our actions in the field of technological development to tackle climate change and diversify energy sources. The urgent need to achieve an energy transition towards a lower-carbon world can no longer be in any doubt.
The number of patent applications filed by IFP in 2008 is a perfect illustration of its commitment and determination. We applied for a total of 183 patents, including 78 in the field of new energy technologies, up 50% from 2007, making it a record year for our research and development.
Over and above this outstanding achievement, IFP’s expertise and know-how were in great demand from the public authorities. First of all, within the context of the dynamic Grenelle de l'Environnement initiative, with our active involvement in numerous themed committees charged with examining specific issues and developing action plans. And secondly, within the context of France’s European Union Presidency, with IFP being directly involved in a number of major events, including, on behalf of our supervisory authorities and working closely with the European Commission, the joint organization of a major conference bringing together energy players: "Towards a low-carbon future – The European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan)".

What results and innovations do you see as best reflecting the work done by IFP?

IFP achieved excellent results in all sectors in 2008. Indeed, the great majority of the objectives we set ourselves as part of the Objectives Contract we signed with the public authorities for the 2006-2010 period have already been met, or even exceeded. Consequently, it would take far too long to provide you with an exhaustive list of our achievements, so I will cite just some of our major projects by way of example.
In the field of second-generation biofuels (ethanol production), we played a key role in the launch of Futurol, the first French field demonstration project that emerged from the Grenelle de l'Environnement forum on the environment. We also made some significant breakthroughs in 2008 in the area of hybrid vehicle simulation and battery modeling. Our expertise in the field of clean, fuel-efficient vehicles has also led us to be closely involved in government consultations, in the context of the États généraux de l'automobile car industry convention to define the conditions for financial and technological support in the sector.
In the field of CO2 capture and storage, we are actively involved in 13 French National Research Agency (ANR) projects and, for post-combustion capture, we have now achieved a very significant level of maturity for first-generation processes.
On the exploration-production side, several modeling and simulation software products have been successfully launched and a number of new JIPs (Joint Industry-funded Projects) have been created in partnership with some of the biggest international oil and gas companies. In addition, considerable progress has been made in various exploratory research projects – focusing on two-dimensional chromatography and X-ray microtomography, for example.
Finally, on a European level, 12 programs have already been selected under the first call for projects in the 7th Research and Development Framework Program (FP7), in fields such as the fuels of the future, the management of automobile systems and new powertrains or technologies designed to reduce CO2 emissions.
These results provide the best illustration of our capacity to innovate, consolidating our strengths and investigating new technological fields while remaining true to our principles: providing concrete solutions to society’s requirements, at the same time increasing the current and future competitiveness of the energy, transport and environment sectors.

And what about tomorrow? What is the outlook for IFP?

In view of the current economic crisis, IFP will need to concentrate on reinforcing its actions in two major areas if it is to be in the best possible position when the economy recovers.
First of all, it will need to build on what it has already achieved, whether this be through our capacity to lead large-scale partnerships within the French Research and Innovation System (SFRI) –competitiveness clusters, ANR projects, technological platforms, demonstration funds, Carnot institutes, etc. – or our ability to support the public authorities in their major deliberations concerning national energy and environmental strategy. It will also be important, in this difficult context, to make sure that our technologies fit squarely with the needs of our industrial partners, in order to safeguard their competitiveness and, by extension, jobs.
Secondly, it will be necessary for us to continue to focus on optimizing the way we operate in order to maintain an ever-increasing level of innovation. We will also maintain a dynamic approach to keep our R&D quality certifications, adapt the skills of our personnel to the requirements of our research programs and reinforce our project portfolio analysis and management methods. We will also need to make sure we strike the right balance between an ambitious long-term vision and an increased level of short-term responsiveness.
Tomorrow’s success will depend on our ability to anticipate and innovate. I am confident that our men and women have the determination and skills required to handle these changes for IFP.

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