The Jules Verne Institute of Research and Technology aims to put its resources into the hands of skilled researchers. Herveline Robidou, the Institute’s director of programmes and projects, offers a guide to the work in progress there, and its impact on the sector’s development.
What is the mission of the Jules Verne Institute?
“We are a collaborative research centre that brings companies and academic players together. In the context of the marine renewable energies this means Alstom, STX, DCNS, and some SMEs are joining forces with the École Centrale de Nantes, the University of Nantes, and the CNRS (Centre National de Recherche Scientific, France’s principal science funding body). The Institute instigates and hosts collaborative and multi-sector research projects in key technological areas.”
What projects do you have that are linked to the marine renewable energies?
“We have three hydrodynamic research projects: the objective is to be able to make rapid, reliable measurements of the effects of the marine environment on engineered structures. There are other projects looking at corrosion resistance, the development of components for the marine renewable energies in composite materials, and working on real-time monitoring of the health of these materials to detect any damage to components. Finally, in-depth work is underway in automation and robotics with the aim of optimising manufacturing processes.”
What infrastructure does the Institute offer to researchers?
“The Institute is currently based at the Technocampus composites platform, at Bouguenais, just outside Nantes, but next year we will have the newly built Technocampus Océan at our disposal. The test infrastructure there will be of a much greater scale than existing laboratories, and enable simulations very close to those of actual conditions.”
Further information: www.irt-jules-verne.fr
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