As a global leader in the water and waste management sectors, we have been operating for over 160 years all over the world. We provide essential services to protect the resource and improve quality of life wherever we operate.
Innovation
SUEZ and the CNRS sign a five-year strategic partnership to advance research in sustainable water and waste management
SUEZ and the CNRS have signed a five-year framework agreement to combine their R&D efforts and develop innovative solutions to promote sustainable resource management and new decarbonisation technologies.
We are very pleased to enter into this long-term partnership with the CNRS to advance research in water and waste management. SUEZ is built on 160 years of innovation, through our R&D activities, our faith in science and our industrial capabilities, and will continue to develop new circular solutions for the environment and the preservation of resources.Jérôme Bailly , Senior Vice President, Innovation, Research and Services
"The CNRS is delighted to have signed a framework agreement with SUEZ, combining our scientific excellence with that of a world leader in water and waste management. This agreement is a continuation of the relationship of trust established in recent years between the laboratories under the supervision of the CNRS and SUEZ. We share the same commitment to meet the major environmental challenges our society is facing” says Mehdi Gmar, CNRS Deputy Director for Innovation.
This framework agreement aims to pool together SUEZ’s innovation capabilities and the CNRS’ scientific excellence. The CNRS is one of the world's leading research organisations. It reinforces a fruitful collaboration, marked by more than thirty cooperative projects over the last 10 years, and joint ownership of a portfolio of 14 patents.
Since 2021, SUEZ teams have been working with researchers from the Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry in Bordeaux (Bordeaux INP/CNRS/University of Bordeaux), a CNRS laboratory specialising in supercritical fluids, to develop a unique hydrothermal gasification facility that is now operational. This innovative process makes it possible to recover sewage sludge to produce renewable gas and recover the minerals from the sludge, while destroying micropollutants. Thanks to this process, organic waste is reduced by a factor of 15 to 20.
The SUEZ-CNRS pilot, which processes 5 litres of effluent per hour, was launched in January 2023 and has enabled initial operational tests of the continuous flow process (feed/extraction). This first successful test has led the SUEZ teams to begin construction of an industrial pilot with a treatment capacity of 150 litres of sludge per hour, at its Terre d'Aquitaine site in Saint-Selve (Gironde), with a view to its industrialisation.
Various areas of application in the water, waste and industrial decarbonisation sectors
As part of their partnership, SUEZ and the CNRS will pool their expertise together to address key issues for the future of sewage sludge management, seawater desalination, micropollutant treatment and PFAS (perfluoroalkyl compounds) reduction, while contributing to the decarbonisation of industrial sectors and the improvement of waste management processes via Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, to the dismantling and transformation of materials.
The CNRS scientific teams, recognised for their excellence, will work in close collaboration with SUEZ experts to develop and market cutting-edge technologies, particularly in advanced water treatment and new methods for recycling and reusing materials, in collaboration with the entrepreneurial and start-up ecosystem.
This strategic agreement also places particular emphasis on dismantling ageing infrastructure and reducing the ecological footprint of industrial activities, while promoting solutions for the circular use of resources by all stakeholders.
The signing of the framework agreement between SUEZ and the CNRS took place during the 3rd edition of SUEZ Innovation Day, an international event organised by the Group to share with its stakeholders the major innovations to address the crucial challenges surrounding water and waste.
Scientific excellence and innovation for the environment
This framework agreement aims to pool together SUEZ’s innovation capabilities and the CNRS’ scientific excellence. The CNRS is one of the world's leading research organisations. It reinforces a fruitful collaboration, marked by more than thirty cooperative projects over the last 10 years, and joint ownership of a portfolio of 14 patents.
Since 2021, SUEZ teams have been working with researchers from the Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry in Bordeaux (Bordeaux INP/CNRS/University of Bordeaux), a CNRS laboratory specialising in supercritical fluids, to develop a unique hydrothermal gasification facility that is now operational. This innovative process makes it possible to recover sewage sludge to produce renewable gas and recover the minerals from the sludge, while destroying micropollutants. Thanks to this process, organic waste is reduced by a factor of 15 to 20.
The SUEZ-CNRS pilot, which processes 5 litres of effluent per hour, was launched in January 2023 and has enabled initial operational tests of the continuous flow process (feed/extraction). This first successful test has led the SUEZ teams to begin construction of an industrial pilot with a treatment capacity of 150 litres of sludge per hour, at its Terre d'Aquitaine site in Saint-Selve (Gironde), with a view to its industrialisation.
Various areas of application in the water, waste and industrial decarbonisation sectors
As part of their partnership, SUEZ and the CNRS will pool their expertise together to address key issues for the future of sewage sludge management, seawater desalination, micropollutant treatment and PFAS (perfluoroalkyl compounds) reduction, while contributing to the decarbonisation of industrial sectors and the improvement of waste management processes via Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, to the dismantling and transformation of materials.
The CNRS scientific teams, recognised for their excellence, will work in close collaboration with SUEZ experts to develop and market cutting-edge technologies, particularly in advanced water treatment and new methods for recycling and reusing materials, in collaboration with the entrepreneurial and start-up ecosystem.
This strategic agreement also places particular emphasis on dismantling ageing infrastructure and reducing the ecological footprint of industrial activities, while promoting solutions for the circular use of resources by all stakeholders.
Innovation at the core of SUEZ's activities
The signing of the framework agreement between SUEZ and the CNRS took place during the 3rd edition of SUEZ Innovation Day, an international event organised by the Group to share with its stakeholders the major innovations to address the crucial challenges surrounding water and waste.