Two innovative projects from BIAM rewarded and supported by CEA
On January 23rd, the CEA’s General Management organized the award ceremony for the Elan Eco Energies Challenge 2023. The event took place in the presence of Laurence Piketty, Deputy General Administrator of CEA, Marie-Astrid Ravon-Berenguer, Financial and Programs Director, and Armelle Mesnard, Director of Sustainable Development and President of the challenge jury. It was during this ceremony that the two projects from BIAM were honored with:
With an investment of 45 000 €, the project BIAM'agasin aims to minimize the environmental impact of BIAM's research activities.
The initiative will focus on an eco-responsible approach to laboratory consumables, with the goal of increasing shared orders, incorporating eco-friendly product lines, optimizing recycling, and establishing a network of eco-responsibility. The redesign of BIAM’agasin will be crucial to triple the storage space for consumables. Concurrently, research is underway to identify eco-friendly alternatives while studying their economic viability. Laboratory waste management will be optimized, with particular attention to recycling.
The project aims to establish a pilot network to promote sustainable practices within and beyond the institute. Ultimately, the results of this experiment could lead to the creation and operation of a dedicated network for sharing and optimizing sustainable practices in the research sector, beyond the walls of BIAM. This project was made possible through a collaborative effort between the Ecobiam team and the Service des Marchés et Achats (SMA) of the Center. The Center’s management and BIAM’s leadership join forces to commend their actions and hope that BIAM’agasin becomes a true pilot project.
BIAM is also committed to energy management with the launch of the ECCARE Project, an investment of 70,000 € dedicated to implementing a system for mapping, counting, and monitoring electrical consumption
The main objective of ECCARE is to map the electrical consumption of BIAM in real-time, incorporating parameters such as research activity levels, facility attendance rates, and climatic conditions. The device aims to optimize energy use within the institute based on various input variables.
Benefits of the project in an energy efficiency approach:
BIAM aims to measure energy consumption in a granular manner (day/week/month/seasonal evolution) and map the most energy-intensive areas. By linking this data to institute activities, staff presence, and climatic conditions, the project will identify actionable insights. Anomalies detection, internal communication, and employee training as ambassadors will be necessary to empower everyone.
The first consolidated data from the ECCARE project will be available in spring 2025 after a period of system monitoring and optimization. This project serves as a “pilot” with the prospect of broader deployment to the REGAIN1 projects for DES and REGAIN2 for DG-Cad support services.
Beyond reducing energy consumption, the ECCARE project incorporates creative values by rethinking the layout of the new CEA buildings, also addressing HR aspects, quality of work life (QWL), and safety.
Without the support of BIAM’s leadership by a portion of the Technical and Logistics Service teams at Cadarache (STL), which played an essential role, this collaborative project could not have been possible.
Seven projects were thus internally rewarded by CEA, attesting to its commitment to innovation and sustainability, placing scientific research at the core of the transition towards environmental and energy sustainability each day a bit more.