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 consists of just over forty researchers based in Paris Saclay and Grenoble.
I-Tésé combines approaches from the humanities and social sciences with engineering sciences to produce knowledge for public authorities, the CEA and its partners. We work on a project basis, across disciplines with other CEA research institutes and through collaborations in France and internationally (see how to collaborate with us and who our partners are).
Our work focuses on four main research themes:
- Low-carbon production and storage technologies: we are interested in the various technologies that could enable us to achieve carbon neutrality, whether they are mature (nuclear, renewables, batteries, etc.) or emerging (hydrogen, e-fuels, Small Modular Reactors, etc.). We study how these technologies will fit into the future energy mix, particularly the electricity generation mix.
- 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 are convinced that the energy transition is not just a question of supply, we are studying how changes in energy demand and consumption patterns could facilitate the achievement of carbon neutrality. To this end, we are conducting extensive research on issues related to energy efficiency.
- Market regulation and design: energy demand, technologies and resources to meet that demand ‘come together’ in markets, which can take many different forms and modalities. We analyse these to highlight their strengths and weaknesses in order to formulate proposals for regulatory frameworks.
To carry out its research, the I-Tésé Institute relies on a base of models, data and quantitative approaches developed within the CEA or by partners.
The results of our work are published in leading academic journals, available on the Institute's website or made available to the CEA and its partners.