Chairman's report
Our traditional oil and gas-related activities have expanded to include new energy technologies, which today account for almost half of our research programs.
Interview with Olivier Appert, IFP Energies nouvelles Chairman and CEO
At a time when IFP Energies nouvelles is preparing to sign a new objectives and performance contract with the State for the period 2011-2015, its Chairman, Olivier Appert, outlines the changes implemented by the company to establish its position as a major player in the energy transition currently underway.
The 2006-2010 objectives contract between the State and IFP Energies nouvelles has just come to an end. How would you sum it up?
This contract defined the broad lines of our research over the last five years: Capturing and storing CO2 to combat the greenhouse effect, diversifying fuel sources, developing clean, fuel-efficient vehicles, converting as much raw material as possible into energy for transport and pushing back the boundaries in oil and gas exploration and production. This ambitious program was accompanied by performance indicators related to the industrial application of our research, as well as scientific excellence, training, and the dissemination of knowledge and expertise in support of public policies. We are proud to have achieved all the objectives that we had agreed with the State, well before the 2010 deadline.
What were the reasons behind the name change?
It was IFP Energies nouvelles that wanted to change its name, and the name change was supported by the public authorities and the French President himself. It had become necessary to ensure our name reflected the true nature of our activities. Because we have a come a long way since the company was founded in 1944! Our traditional oil and gas-related activities have expanded to include new energy technologies, hence the incorporation of "énergies nouvelles" into the new name. Almost half of our research programs today concern these new energies. Our new name reflects this, while at the same time demonstrating the State's recognition of the relevance of our positioning. Everyone knows that we will not be able to stop using fossil fuels overnight. They will continue to be essential in every sector - and especially the transport and chemicals sectors - for many years to come. We believe that the solution is based on an “energy mix” combining oil and gas with new energies and ensuring a smooth transition between the energy systems of today and tomorrow. Hence it is necessary to maintain a balance between the two.
IFP Energies nouvelles has been assessed by Aeres (French Agency for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education). What conclusions did the assessment committee come to?
The committee members highlighted the clarity of our strategy and our capacity to meet the objectives set for us by the public authorities. This is due to both the advanced skills of our researchers and the quality of our research facilities. Aeres also underlined the strength of our economic model, based on the transfer of our technologies to industry, a creator of jobs and wealth. Furthermore, it encouraged us to continue our policy of forming European and international partnerships in the field of new energy technologies.
Let's speak about the future: what are the new strategic orientations of the 2011-2015 objectives and performance contract?
Like the previous contract, it reflects our fundamental mission, which is to provide both the public authorities and industry with efficient, economical, clean and sustainable technologies in the fields of energy, transport and the environment. It sets out our new road map, incorporating the achievements of the last five years and taking these even further, expanding our scope to include new fields, such as marine energies – in the form of floating wind power in the immediate future – and the management of production water. It also focuses on innovation, the aim being to develop new green industrial processes that will help France emerge from the economic crisis. It nonetheless stresses the essential nature of oil and gas, resources we will be unable to do without any time soon. It will be necessary to conduct research aimed at extending oil and gas reserves until the new energy technologies are technically and economically ready and at reducing the environmental impact of the oil industry.
What trump cards does IFP Energies nouvelles hold to help it take up these challenges?
Our scientific excellence, the expertise of our research teams, our experience and our numerous past and current successes, etc. It is important to remember that a significant proportion of skills acquired in our traditional fields can be adapted to new energy technologies! Our capacity to instigate and lead partnerships is another great strength, since, given the magnitude of the challenges facing us, research bodies and industry need to join forces and work together to take them up. It is against this backdrop that the Alliance nationale de coordination de la recherche pour l'énergie (ANCRE, or French National Alliance for Energy Research Coordination), currently chaired by IFP Energies nouvelles was created. In 2010, Ancre finished mapping the strengths and weaknesses of French R&D in the fields within its scope. From 2011 onwards it will be in a position to propose particularly ambitious and innovative joint research projects. In addition, we have launched projects in the context of the Investment for the Future government-backed spending program, in partnership with other research and industry players. Here, I'm thinking particularly about the Indeed projects on low-carbon industrial processes and VeDeCoM on smart low-carbon vehicles. Finally, through our IFP School, we are helping to prepare the future by training the engineers who will take up the energy, transport and environment challenges in coming decades.
