Presentation of the institut
Exploring possibilities for a sustainable and economical energy transition
I-Tésé is the CEA's research and study institute for energy economics.
As part of the CEA's Energy Division, our mission is to accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality by identifying sustainable pathways from an economic, environmental and societal perspective. Our team of just over forty researchers is based in Paris Saclay and Grenoble.
I-Tésé combines humanities and social science approaches with engineering science to generate knowledge for public authorities, the CEA and its partners. We work on a project basis across disciplines with other CEA research institutes, as well as through collaborations in France and internationally. Please see our collaboration page for more information.
Our work focuses on four main research themes:
Low-carbon production and storage technologies : We are interested in low-carbon production and storage technologies that could enable to achieve carbon neutrality. These technologies could be mature, such as nuclear power, renewable energy and batteries, or emerging, such as hydrogen, e-fuels and Small Modular Reactors. We are studying how these technologies will fit into the future energy mix, with a particular focus on electricity generation.
- Key resources for the energy transition: we analyse the new dependencies created by the energy transition (e.g. around certain minerals and metals), as well as the opportunities offered by circular economy approaches (nuclear fuel cycle, circular carbon economy).
- Energy demand and consumption patterns: because we believe that achieving carbon neutrality requires more than just addressing supply, we are studying how changes in energy demand and consumption patterns could facilitate this. To this end, we are conducting extensive research on energy efficiency issues.
Market regulation and design: energy demand and the technologies and resources used to meet that demand converge in markets, which can take many different forms. We analyse these markets to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and use this information to formulate proposals for regulatory frameworks.
The results of our work are published in leading academic journals and are available on the Institute's website, as well as being made available to the CEA and its partners.