Jinnove.net News

SMB INNOVATION - It’s not just about technology

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:10:11 GMT

Non-technological innovation holds a major place within SMBs, including the organization of the company, its strategy, its methodologies and procedures, its services, its employee training, its business model, and more. The InnoMot project will be open from 2012 to 2014.

The project’s 12 European partners will learn from each other and organize their work into three phases:

What exists in other countries?
How are these non-technological innovations integrated into businesses? What are governments and industry players doing to convince businesses to engage in non-technological innovation?
How can best practices be applied and implemented in our region?

The goal is to promote business development and to encourage SMBs to adopt new business models through strategies, public policies, and tools for developing non-technological innovation involving the motivation of SMB leaders. This may include developing methods for identifying, packaging, and sharing best practices, designing tools for promoting innovation in SMBs, making it easier to create platforms involving the partners, defining regional action plans, and strengthening communication in order to introduce new approaches.

Launched in February 2012, the project will have a budget of €2.5 million, partly financed by the INTERREG IVC programme. In 2014, each partner region will come away with a well-crafted action plan, which must then be implemented.

EUROPE - INTERREG IVB: Take 10!

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:44:54 GMT

For Jodie Bricout, project manager for CAP’EM (Cycle Assessment Procedure for Eco-Materials), managing a European project is as rewarding as it is difficult, especially because CAP’EM, established to promote eco-materials, brings together ten partners in five different countries. INTERREG IVB’s support is crucial to the success of this project.

Positive record for the region

The region has come out on top during previous calls for project proposals. Eurasanté’s Biomat[in] (Biomaterial Innovation Network) project and REGAIN (Reducing the Greenhouse Effect through Alternative Industrial Estates Management in Northwest Europe), involving the Artois-Flandres Industrial Park, were funded by INTERREG IVB. According to Fabrice Falvo, the French contact person for the programme, Nord-Pas de Calais is the nation’s top beneficiary of ERDF funds (totalling €14 million) and the third largest beneficiary of the 93 regions that participate in INTERREG IVB. There is much optimism for a programme that promotes the development of projects with tangible results for the economy.

A 10th call for project proposals

Open for just one month, from April 11 to May 11, 2012, the 10th call for project proposals is an opportunity for regional operators to demonstrate their enthusiasm for transnational cooperation. It is for public and private non-profit operators in the eight countries of Northwest Europe, with sizable projects (8-10 partners, representing 4-5 countries, for average financing of €3 million) addressing one of the programme’s priorities (innovation, environment, accessibility, or strengthening of the community). The INTERREG programme has a bright future. INTERREG VB is expected in 2014, with a budget of nearly €354 million from its predecessor.

For more information: http://www.nweurope.eu
CAPEM: www.capem.eu
REGAIN: www.programme-regain.eu
BIOMATIN: www.biomatin.eu

> Contact: Fabrice Falvo / fabrice.falvo@nordpasdecalais.fr

SMB - Sealock: sticking with success

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:36:49 GMT

Sealock, an industrial adhesive manufacturer based in Sallaumines, employing 23 salaries, with a €4.7 million turnover,, is indeed a very profitable company. And the secret of its success? "Innovation” said Jean-Marc Barki, the company’s Managing Director and co-founder, adding that:”20 % of the company’s human resources are given over to R&D. For us, innovation is not just a priority, it’s a business strategy and the only way for a SMB to get ahead”. As an SMB it’s not always easy to innovate. Support and assistance, in the form of Research Tax Credit (CIR) is all the more crucial to companies like Sealock. ”Without the CIR incentive, we’d perhaps have twice less staff working on innovation," confirmed their manager.

Sealock’s innovative projects also take into consideration sustainable development. In 2010, the business won the Northern France Chamber of Commerce and Industry award for environmental performance for its economical low density adhesive. Jean-Marc Barki is in favour of limiting consumption and encourages his clients to use less glue, hardly a fashionable view in today’s consumer but a very intelligent one.

A director with distinct opinions, he is also in favour of the harmonisation of fiscal policies, at least across Europe, to encourage SMB international development. The matter is crucial because “VSB-SMB make up 98 % of French companies and represent our economic future,“ explained Jean-Marc Barki, who shared his opinion with 400 businessmen from the world over at the G20 summit in Nice at the end of October 2011.

To find out more: www.sealock.fr/accueil.php

Contact: Jean-Marc Barki, jmbarki@sealock.fr

ICT: Web Accessibility for All

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:29:50 GMT

It’s not often that you stop to think about it, but browsing online if you’re partially sighted can be a real headache. Urbilog, a Roubaix based company, has thought about it and since 1998 have dedicated themselves to making the Internet fall within everyone’s reach.

Definite Advantages

Businesses would do well to think about access to their website, in order to avoid “isolating themselves from the entire partially sighted population, and in particular senior citizens’ said Benoît Thieffry, Urbilog’s director. Another very good reason for doing so is that accessibility criteria automatically improve website referencing. Furthermore, it doesn’t cost very much to make a website more accessible provided it is done in the initial design stages. Despite this, web accessibility is still very often overlooked. ”Things have started changing in the last few years,” added Benoît Thieffry, “but not necessarily for the right reasons”. Fear of being hauled up in court for discriminating against the disabled has been more of a driving force for some businesses to improve accessibility to their sites.

Tried and Tested Solutions

Urbilog have developed Ocawa for its customers, site audit software that tests website accessibility using precise reference systems. They’ve also brought out technical solutions to improve accessibility on PC’s and mobile devices (Smartphones, web tablets), such as adding a sound function to a virtual keyboard – for typing personal identification numbers, for instance, to access online accounts. The company’s innovative products have attracted interest from groups such as Orange, IBM and BNP Paribas and make it one of the leading names in the market place today

To find out more:

www.urbilog.fr / 03 28 55 21 30.

Contact:

Benoît Thieffry, b.thieffry@urbilog.fr

IDIVE: A NEW EQUIPEX PROJECT - Seeing is believing

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:49:16 GMT

Taking a walking tour of a virtual archaeological site to test scientific theories in real-life conditions: this is just one of the visual studies applications that researchers on the iDIVE platform are currently working on. Focusing on research and development in visual, interactive digital technology, the iDIVE platform will serve the Interdisciplinary cluster for the advancement of visual studies (iCAVS) research programme. Headed by Yann Coello, Professor of Psychology at Lille 3 University, iDIVE is set to welcome 50 research scientists in life and social sciences (LSS) and information and communications technology (ICT) at the Plaine Images Centre in Tourcoing as of autumn 2012. Scientists taking part in the project will be encouraged to advance the visual studies programme and its uses in economic and artistic fields.

Leading Edge Research

iDIVE is set to become the benchmark in imaging with the help of local partners (French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the University, local and regional authorities), and French and European funding totalling some 5.6 million euros.The platform will be housed in virtual reality facility unique in Europe, symbolic of its advanced technology and competitive advantage.Research will concentrate on the production, reception and use of digital imagery, around three main themes:cultural and social designs of visual artefacts (recreating a virtual archaeology site as mentioned above for example); perception, cognition and interactive processes to better understand visual perception, emotional reactions and interactions with images; and how arts, science and technology can encourage new forms of artistic creations.

The ‘Cité des images’ will be a technological showcase for the public who in the long term will be able to enjoy using the new applications in video games, visual displays and interactive books.

Contact:

Yann Coello - Affectives Sciences and Cognitive Psychology Research Unit, University of Lille 3 : yann.coello@univ-lille3.fr

EQUIPEX - REALCAT: a catalyst for progress

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:42:48 GMT

One of the six regional projects certified by Equipex at the end of 2011, the integrated high-throughput catalyst screening platform for biorefineries – better known as the REALCAT platform – has been awarded the biggest budget. A total of 8.7 million euros will be spent on developing this hi-tech piece of equipment, unique worldwide.

Lead by Franck Dumeignil at Lille’s Catalysis and Solid State Chemistry Unit (UCCS), which is supported by several Nord-Pas de Calais institutions (Lille 1 University, Lille’s ‘Ecole Centrale’ , the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the National Graduate School of Engineering Chemistry in Lille, and Artois University), the REALCAT project will enable the design and testing of new catalysts. "The project’s major breakthrough lies in the development of hybrid catalysts which combine the advantages of chemical and bio- catalysers,” said Lionel Montagne, director of UCCS. The new equipment, which is fully automatic, will be capable of high-speed parallel testing of several catalysers which is key to reducing the time needed to adjust and perfect these new substances (around three months as opposed to three years at present). It won’t be too long a wait before the new equipment can be used as “the platform will be operational within 18 months at most,” confirmed Etienne Craye, director of Lille’s Ecole Centrale.

Joint Efforts

The REALCAT platform will be used not only by universities, but also by industrial companies such as Sofiprotéol, Roquette, Solvay, Arkema and Adisseo that have shown interest in the development of new catalysts using renewable resources ever since the project began. Once up and running the new equipment will be available for them to use according to their own needs and indeed some 50% of the platform’s new catalyst development initiatives will soon be a result of joint industrial and academic projects.

Contact: franck.dumeignil@univ-lille1.fr

Lettuces and Leafy Greens, the nitty gritty

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:37:18 GMT

Innovation does not always rhyme with spectacular. On the face of it, one pre-packaged lettuce is pretty much identical to another pre-packaged lettuce. Except that the wash process for some lettuces uses up two times less water and less chlorine too! The humble lettuce, a classic 4th range foodstuff – a range including fresh fruit and vegetables that have been minimally processed and are ready-to-use – is at the heart of the SUSCLEAN programme. This FP 7 programme aims to develop the best available processing techniques (for food decontamination and equipment sanitation) but also to improve knowledge of potential pathogens so as to improve washing, peeling and chopping processes.

Thierry Bénézech, Research Director at Inra’s Lille centre , is coordinating this European project which brings together some 20 organisations in several different European countries, including Portuguese supplier IBERIAN salads, Germany’s National Research Institute FRAUNHOFER – the equivalent of France’s CNRS – and Belgian enzyme-based detergent developer REALCO.

Digging beneath the surface

Lille’s Inra Centre is focusing specifically on prevention, and on perfecting food-processing equipment. ”By studying how pathogenic micro-organisms interact with machine surfaces and by testing alternative surfaces, we can contribute to getting rid of micro-organisms“, explained Thierry Benezech, director of Inra’s PIHM Unit (Interface Processes and Equipment Hygiene). We can in this way achieve innovative results for a part of the programme at the micrometric level: by using new treatments or coatings on equipment surfaces, we can ensure that cleaning is sufficient (to eliminate bacteria), rather than using chlorine to disinfect (which kills biological contaminants).

The other partners involved in the project have selected different research priorities: ultrasonic cleaning, environmentally friendly detergents (enzyme-based), how the organoleptic or sensory properties of fresh produce are affected by the use of less water or chlorine etc. An open workshop will be held in Lille on 28th March for an initial progress report.

Contact:

Thierry Bénézech, Research Director INRA-PIHM
Tel:+33-320435412.
> Click here to find out more.

HOSPITAL SECTOR : tomorrow’s World in the Hospital Environment

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:28:57 GMT

We might well be hearing talk of Clubster Santé’s latest creation come May of this year in Paris. Clubster Santé, a group of Biology and Health Industry companies from the Nord-Pas de Calais region, have chosen the Hospital Expo 2012 trade show to unveil their prototype hospital room of the future to some 20,000 plus visitors. Thirty of the group’s one hundred and fifty members have been working on the project since September 2011. "It’s a concept room, in much the same way that concept cars are revealed at the Paris Motor Show to showcase manufacturers’ pioneering designs and technology. The idea was to come up with a global and ambitious concept, that would see different companies collaborating on designing and putting together what you are going to find in the hospital rooms of the future. Clubster Santé want to champion the region’s creative potential” explained Caroline Auberger, the association’s joint project coordinator. The 30 companies involved also worked with the region’s hospitals and universities, relying on collective innovation. Ideas are shared with medical and academic staff at Lille’s Regional University Hospital.

Time to get patients back on their feet

The key design feature of the hospital room of the future is ‘rehabilitation’, in other words ‘bringing people back to health’. Yannick Yhuel, manager of Clinibed, one of the concept-room partners and specialist supplier of medical bedding, spoke to us about the idea underlying the project: “Our view is that in the future, the patient should at least be able to sit if not stand. He shouldn’t have to lie down in bed all day. ”So we organised the room around a sort of armchair-bed. “It’s a system which should lead to a speedier recovery. It should enable hospitals to speed up turnaround times, and so admit more patients each year…which would in turn generate savings.

Jean-Luc Claye, Managing Director of Resinor and Biolume, and one of Clubster Santé’s administrator’s, sees the concept-room as a way of putting the region in the spotlight, an opportunity to not only ‘create a buzz’ about northern companies involved in the project, but also to ‘create debate’. Once the project has been revealed, we intend to set up a forum/chat room where everyone – designers, nurse, and engineers- can give their reactions. “This room will be our Oracle of Delphi. [which predicted the future, ed.]. Feedback and ideas from the public will help us in creating the products of tomorrow. It will be a new source of inspiration”, he added.

What products does the future hold?

A vivid imagination was high on the list of criteria for this futuristic project. And why not indeed give free rein to the imagination when the products don’t yet exist. Why not draw inspiration from technologies from other industry sectors. For example, why not control the room and its entertainment features with motion sensors, like the system used in the Microsoft Kinect console? Biolume’s contribution was to think up a whole new lighting system, one that would be of benefit to Alzheimer sufferers in particular. The changing colours of the lighting – cold and blue in the morning, warm and red in the evening – will enable sufferers to compensate for the loss of time markers, since for example, warm soft lighting helps induce sleep. No more on-off switches with no dimmer control! Artificial lighting will be linked to natural lighting and vary in intensity. The cloudy weather in Lille of an early afternoon can sometimes make it feel like nightfall and make some patients feel ready to go to bed. Automatic sensors will compensate for the lack of natural light and turn on the inside lights. This system alone could see hospitals reduce their electricity consumption by 30%.

Comfort and Cocooning

Clinibed’s suggestions will focus on patient comfort, as Yannick Yhuel explains: « We use fabrics and materials that are both comfortable and ecological to recreate that snug and cosy feeling you have at home. It’s vitally important because whilst a patient is in hospital he spends a lot of time thinking about when he might go home.’ Not only do these attractive materials bring added-value, they will also be on average five times more resistant than traditional fabrics, so more economical for in-patient health care. Clinibed has also taken into consideration hospital’s sanitary regimes, a point that Yannick Yhuel was keen to stress: “the bedding that we’re proposing has specially treated coverings that offer unmatched antiseptic and bacterial resistance properties. This way we can help fight hospital-acquired infections, after all we want patients to go home back in full health and not sicker than they were before!"

Thanks to this project, Jean-Luc Claye is confident in the future of the healthcare market in the Nord-Pas de Calais: "It’s a very demanding sector and you often have to find synergies with other companies. It’s an experience that has brought the different players closer together, which is a good, because when there’s two of you, you’re twice as likely to win the tender you were bidding for».

CONSOLIDATED TRANSPORT: rethinking transport networks

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:11:25 GMT

The creation of the platform was the result of an initiative by the « Inter-modality and Freight Transport » programme committee, part of the i-Trans competitiveness cluster. The Nord-Picardy zone was lacking a structure to organise group innovation in the logistics and consolidated freight transport sector. Operating under the aegis of the TTP NF associationthe purpose of the LTM platform, based in Dunkirk, is to reinforce capacities for steering and carrying out research and development: « Our goal is to better exploit existing networks whilst exploring alternative solutions for easier freight forwarding » explained Anna Melsen, the LTM’s project manager. Whether with regard to current practices or technology, innovative strategies will be required to achieve this goal.

A region well served by its transport network

”The Nord–Pas de Calais region already has quite a good consolidated transport network which benefits from a river and rail network, in particular Eurotunnel, as well as maritime links to the ports at Calais and Dunkirk”, Anna Melsen was pleased to report. The challenge we are now facing is to move this existing network forward to embrace a sustainable development ethic.

Three missions

The platform’s role is to support innovative group projects, to set up a consolidated transport observatory and to organise the region’s representation and, where necessary, lobbying. Initially set up for a three year trial period, the platform is already a runaway success: « Our target was to set up three group initiatives per year and steer one project in 2011, two in 2012 and four in 2013. ln 2011 alone we’ve already backed 15 to 20 initiatives » Anna was delighted to add.
LTM generally intervenes in a project management role but can also become more involved as a partner, helping to define objectives, as in the Interreg Weastflows project, involving 23 European organisations. LTM is tasked with sharing northern France’s best practices whilst protecting local activities in this European transport corridor and logistics project.

To find out more: www.i-trans.org

Contact: Anna Melsen

Smart Specialisation is underway

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:25:48 GMT

The European Commission wants to make smart specialisation one of its flagship goals during the next programming period (2014-2020). The concept was the brainchild of Professor Dominique Foray (of Lausanne’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale) and is today at the heart of development strategies.

The goal is to avoid European regions all identifying the same priorities and thus be in a position to strengthen each region’s most buoyant sectors with funding. A European Platform has been set up in Seville to foster peer discussion and knowledge sharing amongst regional development policy making institutions.
From 2014 on, smart specialisation strategies (“S3”) approved by the European Commission will be one of the conditions necessary to obtain grants from the ERDF.

The Know-Hub project is operating from this perspective. The Nord-Pas de Calais region is one of the 11 European partners taking part in the project which aims to drive the smart specialisation mechanism and help each region to enhance its specific advantages. Nord-Pas de Calais will be a driving force in the project since it is the first French and second European region to join the smart specialisation platform. Its goal is to be ready and waiting when smart specialisation is made official in 2014, and to be a “model candidate” for ERDF funding.

Investing in the Future: SATT, a Technology Boost for Three Regions

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:50:50 GMT

The news should delight all the professionals involved in the region’s research and in its promotion and development. Nord de France Valo successfully responded to the PIA’s SATT project tender, and was awarded a 63 million euro grant. Its goal is to help research bodies promote and develop their work and translate it into economic practice. To do this it brings various different promotional structures active in the three regions of Nord–Pas de Calais, Picardy and Champagne-Ardenne together under one umbrella.

Strength in Unity

Since the first quarter of 2012, this innovative inter-regional body has worked closely with the region’s universities - University of Lille Nord’s Research and Higher Education Cluster (PRES), Amiens (UPJV) and Reims (URCA) - as well as the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). The three regions joint collaboration gave the project the sufficient size and stature needed to assert its ambitions. Responsibility for financing and promoting research over a much larger area confers the SATT with a greater technology and knowledge transfer role as well as eligibility for more significant funding.

Together, the company’s engineers, project managers and experts will support intellectual property valorisation, project engineering, and commercial negotiation etc, working within the region’s existing innovation infrastructure towards strengthening the local economy and regional competitivity. The region’s competitiveness clusters will count amongst the SATT’s first co-workers, with five sectors being highlighted as high development potential: physico-chemical materials, biology and health, information and communications technology, agro-environmental sciences and life and social sciences. The SATT initiative joins the region's 16 other projects funded by the PIA in 2011.

To find out more: http://www.norddefrancevalo.fr/

Towards a Europe with a future: ¡Que viva partnerships!

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:35:42 GMT

“Connecting initiatives; that excites me,” asserts Raouti Chehih, director of EuraTechnologies, a pôle d'excellence économique working in information and communication technologies, which has just signed a co-operation agreement with the City of Barcelona’s development agency, Barcelona Activa. Following successful partnerships in the USA, the Middle East and China, EuraTechnologies is now banking on partnership agreements in Europe. “We want to work with players who share our values and who do the same job as we do: supporting innovation,” he continues. Only two hours away by plane from Lille, Barcelona Activa has so much in common with the metropolis’ pôle d'excellence: supporting emerging companies, wanting to build the success stories of tomorrow… all that and an urban redevelopment project in a former textile area. Like EuraTechnologies!

Banking on symmetry

The two organisations have been inspired by the fact they have so much in common and therefore intend to create a perfectly symmetrical partnership. The Catalans help start-ups set themselves up on a long-term basis on the other side of the Pyrenees (the “Do it in Barcelona” programme) and in 2012 Lille will offer Iberian entrepreneurs a warm welcome to the region as part of an “immersion and incubation” programme for international projects. In the same way, sharing experiences will also be encouraged: in 2012, there will be a Barcelona Activa pavilion at the VAD Multichannel Trade Show.

Stronger together

Raouti Chehih is overjoyed by this new partnership: “Our two regions are alike. And to build a unified Europe, you have to put your faith in convergence. Like our region, Barcelona has suffered from de-industrialisation. Today, we are rebuilding based on the technologies of the future. By facing up to challenges, we can be competitive again.”

Click here to find out more :

http://www.euratechnologies.fr

Partnerships : clusters, cooperate!

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:28:48 GMT

Cd2e is developing partnerships with other eco-technology clusters on the international market in order to create a genuine internationalisation strategy. “Everything moves quicker when you work with people who have identical jobs and goals,” explains Hatice Anis, international consultant with Cd2e. Not only does interclustering lead to the lasting internationalisation of regional eco-companies, but it also facilitates an effective system of communication with international partners on best practice, monitoring and innovative technology transfer which consequently adds to the appeal of the regions.

Well, that’s one done

In June 2011, Cd2e’s internationalisation strategy was crowned with success when a French-Quebec partnership agreement was officially signed as part of the France-Quebec Fund for Decentralised Co-operation (FFQCD) between Cd2e, the Technopôle en écologie industrielle (an industrial ecology technology park) and the Centre for Technological Transfer in Industrial Ecology (CTTEI) in Québec. The partnership is already bearing fruit as companies from the Nord – Pas de Calais Region are already setting up in Quebec.

Working towards a global network

Cd2e is pursuing its interclustering strategy with the encouragement of the Nord-Pas de Calais regional economic action department for development and decentralised economic co-operation. Consequently a partnership has also been set up between Cd2e and the PEMM centre for metallurgical and mining excellence (Pôle d’Excellence Métallurgique et Minier) in Minas Gerais, to work on solutions related to promoting the importance of eco-materials and LCA. Cd2e doesn’t intend to stop there: other international agreements are already in the pipeline in Tunisia, Morocco, Japan and the United States for example… Intercluster co-operation has a bright future ahead of it.

Bioluminescence: shedding light on the firefly

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:22:38 GMT

Michel Sliwa, a young researcher with LASIR (the Laboratory of Spectrochemistry, Infrared and Raman, a research unit in CNRS -Lille 1), in collaboration with three other researchers, has been awarded a grant from the Human Frontier Science Program for his project aimed at understanding how fireflies produce light. It’s “a mechanism that no one [as yet] has really understood,” says Dr Sliwa enthusiastically, because even though the phenomenon of bioluminescence in fireflies is known, its precise mechanism still has to be explained in detail.

A world first

Bioluminescence is the emission of light from oxyluciferin molecules, which result from a chemical reaction arising from the interaction between luciferin and the enzyme, luciferase. Dr Sliwa has chosen to observe the activity of these two substances using ultra rapid spectrochemistry, a technique based on femtosecond (fs) light pulses which LASIR specialises in. “The idea is to be able – like during a slow-motion replay in a rugby match – to see the movements of the molecule,” summarises Dr Sliwa. It’s a first for the molecule and the enzyme, which up to now have only been studied separately and in a static state. The research will mean it will be possible to synthesise new molecules which will “copy” the bioluminescence of fireflies.

Sounding the extremes

Dr Sliwa ambitiously imagines a wide variety of applications for his project. In cellular biology, the new synthesised molecules will help in the study of mechanisms such as infection by the HIV virus. Furthermore, the development of a new technique, “femtonanoscopy”, combining nanometric imaging (ultra fine) with fs spectroscopy (ultra rapid), will make it possible to optimise materials like catalysts and photovoltaic cells.

Nuclear safety : Iodine, an object of study at the University of Lille 1

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:10:01 GMT

Disasters such as that witnessed at Fukushima could happen again so Jean-François Pauwels and his research team C3R, Cinétique Chimique, Combustion, Réactivité (Chemical Kinetics, Combustion, Reactivity) at the PC2A (Physicochimie des Processus de Combustion et de l’Atmosphère) physical chemistry laboratory at the University of Lille 1 are concentrating their attention on the health and environmental impacts of a potential nuclear accident. They are studying the behaviour of radioactive materials produced by fission which could be released into the atmosphere should a serious accident occur at a nuclear reactor. The data will then be used to improve nuclear accident simulation models.

Focusing on iodine

When a nuclear reactor overheats, radioactive iodine can be released into the atmosphere. Because this chemical element is exceptionally harmful, particularly to the respiratory tract and the thyroid, it is vital to have accurate information on how it reacts with hydrogen and water vapour in the reactor containment vessel. For the last five years, researchers with C3R have been conducting theoretical and experimental studies on iodine under pressure and temperature conditions close to those of a nuclear accident. However, Jean-François Pauwels makes it clear that they work “under laboratory conditions using non-radioactive iodine”.

Modelling accidents

Thanks to their studies, conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Radiation protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) at Cadarache, it is possible to demonstrate the different stages of the reaction caused by the release of iodine into the atmosphere and to identify the resulting chemical species. The data are then passed on to the researchers at IRSN where they are incorporated into the nuclear accident simulation model.

Click here to find out more : http://pc2a.univ-lille1.fr/

Intelligent and sustainable: the building that has everything going for it

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:59:02 GMT

"Anyone can carry out eco-construction for 4,000 euros/m²,” explains Arnaud Curdy, general manager of the community. “Our objective was to do it for an affordable price, that is about 1,800 euros/m²." And there’s no doubt about it, the bet has paid off.

The PMS, built entirely in wood, has not gone over the original budget and has achieved an exemplary level of energy consumption: only 41 kWh/m² per year, which is below the level needed to obtain the BBC label for low energy buildings. Aside from its thermal performance, this is a building on the Atrébatie territory that is open to the people. One wing houses the area’s community services while the other is put aside to accommodate businesses who can rent office space or conference rooms for example, and finally a space will soon be made available for a day nursery.

The PMS is a genuine showcase for intelligent and sustainable construction that often wins over the local and regional officials who frequently visit the platform, and it inspires them for their own projects.

Looking to the future… Entering the green building era

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:47:27 GMT

"The Grand Stade de Lille will be unique in the world." Bertrand d’Hérouville, Chairman of the firm, Elisa, a subsidiary of Eiffage which is managing the massive project, can’t hide his enthusiasm. And all this in the Nord region! The new stadium won’t just delight football fans but everyone else in the Nord too. Thanks to a unique and innovative system, the building can become an entertainment venue for almost 30,000 spectators in less than 24 hours. 12 enormous hydraulic cylinders can lift the northern half of the football field and move it south to make way for an arena that will host around twenty major events a year, from concerts to sports events. What’s more, the roof opens in an entirely new way, thanks to a new and unique technology. “Many stadiums have a roof of this type, but in general, the horizontal beams, which measure around 200 metres in length, are held up by support posts,” adds Bertrand d’Hérouville. Thanks to a pre-stressing cable system and a revolutionary technology, all of the spectators will be able to see clearly without being bothered by the roof. At the same time, it will optimise the acoustics and prevent cancellations due to bad weather.

Innovation and low energy buildings

Yet the stadium would be nothing without its adjacent village, a project managed by Frédéric Henry, Director of Eiffage Immobilier Nord-Pas de Calais. "During the consultation stage, in 2007, the targets set for the ancillary real estate programme were based on high-performance energy efficiency. Eiffage preferred to jump the environmental gun, though, by adopting a Low Energy Building strategy (LEB)," he announced proudly. With this in mind, the firm opted for thermal solar energy, able to supply the two hotels, built just a few dozen metres from the stadium, with hot water. Extremely well connected by public transport (there are four nearby underground metro stations), the whole site will also have a communal waste management system. And to cut back on costs and time and ensure enhanced quality, Eiffage has opted for the prefabrication of some of the elements – notably the bathrooms.

Eco-friendly renovation and life cycle assessment

These choices will certainly please Christian Traisnel, Head of CD2E, the regional centre set up to foster the development of eco-friendly businesses. At the end of 2011, the structure is opening an eco-materials resource centre, designed for all the sector players. The centre will carry out eco-friendly renovation experiments as it’s crucial to improve the existing building stock. And for this, there’s no lack of materials: “Just imagine, mineral wool will be replaced by insulation made from wood fibre, expanded cork or linen insulation. These are products with thermal or phonic qualities that are at least equivalent, and which often come from recuperation and recycling.” Inspired by Germany and Scandinavia, CD2E works on the emergence of materials of the future and tests them using the full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) process, a technique that analyses CO2 emissions (which gives local businesses an advantage over China, whose materials have a heavy carbon footprint) as well as the impact on health. Obviously, one thinks about asbestos and the consequences linked to its widespread use. “We have to move away from a short-term vision and give this process the importance it deserves. This will certainly help to change the rules of the game.”

Helping builders make the transition

Things are also changing at the level of building professionals in the field. “Building professionals have to change. The age of brick is over; today, it’s all about intelligent buildings,” declares Patrice Le Tellier, in charge of the initiative at the building and civil engineering research centre. And to support the transition, the centre arranges ever more in-the-field training sessions and visits. “We collaborate with professionals to organise discussions about technologies linked to home automation and intelligent homes, for instance. We do this as often as necessary. Similarly, we take Belgian firms around to show them the home automation market.” Many businesses are now joining the movement. “We identify local firms ready to innovate and are always ready to support them. Anyway, legislative pressure will force the players to act.” The centre also focuses on training the builders and engineers of tomorrow. “For a century, electricity involved a copper wire and a switch. Very soon, conduction will be infrared or computerised. We have to pass on these new skills to the professionals of the future,” Patrice Le Tellier continues.

Developing innovation, focusing on the inescapable sustainable development, identifying the environmentally-friendly building materials of the future, supporting the players and networks are just some of the initiatives that reflect the Nord-Pas de Calais’ dynamism and proactiveness in the building and civil engineering sector.

Cross-border : RAPTOR supports the SMEs

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:38:08 GMT

Rapid prototyping technologies are attracting more and more SMEs. With their advanced technologies such as 3D printing and stereolithography, a prototype of often complex products can be developed in record time and the reduced production costs, time savings and the opening up of new possibilities (design or production processes for example) are just some of the reasons that justify the interest for these technologies. However, they still need to be made accessible to companies, particularly SMEs, and that’s exactly the aim of the cooperation between the MAUD hub and the Plastiwin cluster, in the form of the RAPTOR (Rapid Advanced ProTOtypes pRomotion) project. RAPTOR falls within the scope of the “Innovation Express” call for proposals, coordinated in France by OSEO to support international partnerships between pôles and clusters, and as Johanne Liévin, project leader at the MAUD hub, confirms: “We have presented this project together to promote communication and shared needs between SMEs.”

Selective criteria

A total of a dozen businesses, half French, half Walloon, will take part in the RAPTOR project. The number of participants was limited because they wanted to ensure the efficiency of the networking between the companies involved in the project.

A helping hand

The RAPTOR project will be launched at the end of 2011 and concluded one year later. A whole range of activities will be on the agenda, shared out between a technological structure (audit of the technological portfolio, benchmarking, etc) and a partnership structure (workshops, B2B meetings, etc). All of this with one, final objective: to set up partnerships between the participating businesses; because the RAPTOR project is intended to be the first step in creating lasting relationships and exchanges between these SMEs, both at the business level and in terms of R&D.

Click here to find out more :

http://clusters.wallonie.be/plastiwin/fr
http://www.polemaud.com

The CAP’EM Project: Comparing Eco-materials

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:03:31 GMT

The CAP’EM (Cycle Assessment Procedure for Eco-Materials) project to promote the use of eco-materials has drawn together eleven European partners from five different nationalities. After working for over a year, they have succeeded in defining a multicriteria methodology of evaluating eco-materials. The method is based on the principles of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and takes into account all of a material’s impacts, from the raw material used in its manufacture to its delivery on the building site.

Reliability

One of the major concerns of the members of the CAP’EM project was the accuracy of the data obtained using their method to evaluate eco-materials. “It’s vital to us that the figures obtained be accurate,” insisted Jodie Bricout, in charge of the project with CD2E, a centre of expertise working towards the development of eco-technologies and the organization responsible for running the project. Therefore, the methodology used is currently being subjected to a rigorous process of verification, but nevertheless it has already proved its reliability enough to have been the subject of several conferences at Budapest and Berlin, where it grabbed the attention of the participants.

Usefulness

However, producing figures is not the only objective of the CAP’EM project. Above all, its intention is to provide useful information to construction professionals (such as architects) in order to encourage and help them to chose eco-materials in their projects. To that end a database listing the characteristics of about a hundred eco-materials and facilitating comparisons between them will be made available to construction professionals on Internet in early 2012. It will also be possible to evaluate a material according to where they will be used; a detail which means each professional will be able to take advantage of a tailor-made analysis.

Follow the development of the CAP’EM project: http://www.capem.eu/

Grand emprunt: tomorrow’s award-winners

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:52:51 GMT

The PIA, an initiative of the President of France launched on 14 December 2009, aims to prepare the French territories for the key issues they will have to face in the future. The state is investing almost 35 billion euros of a national loan into innovative projects related to higher education, research, industry and SMEs, sustainable development and digital technology; all fields that appear to play to the region’s strengths. Indeed, when the results of the PIA’s first call for projects were announced at the beginning of 2011, 16 proposals were approved in the Nord-Pas de Calais region.

These projects, which will benefit from a substantial grant of several million euros, are the European Genomic Institute for Diabetes (EGID), the Technological Research Institute (IRT), Railenium, which works on railway infrastructure, as well as several Equipex projects, involved in fields such as genomics, cellular imaging, environmental satellite observation. These awards are testimonies to the skills offered by the region in a range of important, high-stakes disciplines including genomics, transport, chemistry, cellular imaging, the Internet of Things, and nanotechnology.

Furthermore, the recent and long-awaited approval of the French Institute for Agrosourced Materials (IFMAS) and the SATT (a company dedicated to accelerating technology transfer) Nord de France Valo has further enhanced the region’s excellence. IFMAS, an Institute of Excellence in Non-Carbon Energies (IEED – Institut d’Excellence en matière d’Energies Décarbonées), will devote its efforts to developing agrosourced plastics, while the objective of the SATT, attached to the PRES, the Pôle de Recherche et d’Enseignement Supérieur (a centre for research and higher education) will notably be to give greater impetus to the detection and development of projects with significant potential in the field of technology and knowledge transfer. Quite an agenda!