ENGIE’s CRIGEN Lab is the ENGIE Group's corporate research and development (R&D) center. ENGIE CRIGEN Lab is located on Urban Valley Campus site, winner of the first edition of “Inventons la Métropole du Grand Paris”. It is the most advanced project in the competition, and won the 2020 MIPIM Award in the "Best futura mega project" category. Initially located in Saint-Denis, ENGIE’s CRIGEN Lab has recently moved to Stains into an eco-designed building.
The research center comprises 200 researchers representing 11 different nationalities. Among them, 50 researchers have doctorate degrees and around 20 are undertaking PhDs as high-level specialists in green gases, new energy uses and technologies of the future.
The researchers at ENGIE’s CRIGEN Lab are undertaking operational R&D projects and are developing industrial pilot projects in France and Europe, to hone their expertise in low-carbon technologies and to help projects to reach maturity. They are supported by a whole R&D ecosystem (European universities, manufacturers, start-ups, laboratories, etc.), and use testing facilities that are unique in Europe.
The research work is structured around three main themes:
- Low-carbon energies and in particular green gases (hydrogen, biogas, etc.)
- Intelligent and efficient energy consumption in cities, buildings and industry 4.0
- Emerging technologies essential for the energy transition (artificial intelligence, nanotechnologies, robots and drones, etc.).
Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, Chairman of the Board and Claire Waysand, interim CEO jointly declared: “In a world in which industrial changes are extremely fast, R&D is essential to maintain our competitiveness. We are convinced that accelerating the transition to a carbon-neutral economy is based on an ambitious Research & Development policy. This investment in our new research center gives our teams the resources they need to invent the solutions of tomorrow".
Research and innovation are at the heart of ENGIE's strategy. ENGIE is an acknowledged player in R&D:
- EUR 189 million in 2019
- 400 patents filed
- 8 R&D centers in seven countries
- 900 researchers
