Challenges for R&D

Bioenergies

Developing bioenergies means using biomass and its residues to produce energy. Sludge from wastewater treatment plants can be treated and recovered as a significant source of bioenergy. Veolia Environnement is conducting research into processes to convert treatment plant sludge into biogas, heat and motor fuel. The Company is also exploring possibilities for enhancing the efficiency of biomass-fueled boilers and for making biofuels (heating and motor fuels) from household and industrial wastes.

Transportation Systems of the Future

New technology must be applied to provide us with improved travel conditions, while ensuring we are better informed and consuming less. The company’s researchers are looking closely at rationalized bus operation using optical guiding systems, factoring in comfort, safety and fuel consumption. They are also working on reduced consumption and energy recovery for light rail systems. Finally, they are experimenting with e-ticketing solutions and cell phone transportation information services for customers.

Greenhouse gases

Reducing the climate impacts of greenhouse gases is the overriding goal that has prompted the researchers of Veolia Environnement to explore CO2 capture and reuse options. Their work focuses on enhancing the energy efficiency of units and promoting the use of renewable energies based on CO2 capture technologies tailored to the different sizes of facilities managed by the Company. They are also investigating the deployment of CO2 transportation, storage and reuse solutions.

Waste sorting and recovery

Optimizing waste sorting and materials recovery is a source of new resources. For several years now, the Company has been studying processes that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions abatement and the reduction of final wastes. Research teams are working to automate materials recovery facilities by improving the efficiency of optical, aeraulic and other types of sorting machines and developing more reliable tools for detection, extraction and remote operation. At the same time, they are studying solutions for the reuse of secondary raw materials.

Seawater desalination

Within the next half-century, one-fourth of the world’s people may suffer from water shortages. Today, seawater desalination is already helping to supplement freshwater supply. At Veolia Environnement, research focuses essentially on the reverse osmosis, or membrane desalination, process (in which water is filtered through a membrane that rejects salts and microorganisms). Current aims are to optimize filtration efficiency by pretreating the seawater, lower process costs and reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts.

Download transcript

Research Centers

It takes an ongoing effort to improve services and invent new solutions to meet the evolving needs of industry and local authorities while maintaining a focus on technical and environmental excellence and at the same time, driving down costs. The research organization of Veolia Environnement is committed to these aims. Endowed with a budget of nearly €140 million, 400 research scientists and 400 field developers are hard at work in three dedicated research centers: Water, Environmental Services and Energy, and Transport.

Water research center

Protecting water resources, providing universal access to quality drinking water, preventing risks to health and preserving our quality of life all require research to find new solutions. The Water research center, the cradle of research activity at Veolia Environnement, has a staff of 110 research scientists and is involved in a number of programs: stewardship of water resources; optimization of drinking water and wastewater treatment processes; sludge reuse processes, etc.

Environmental services and energy research center

Demographic growth, urban sprawl and rising demand for energy are creating needs for technological innovation in the fields of environmental services and energy. This is the mission of the Research Center. It directs its efforts at improving waste treatment and recovery processes and optimizing energy services: cost control, alternative energies, and mitigation of risks to health and the environment.

Transportation research center

Optimizing urban transportation systems by making them more convenient, less polluting and better matched to demand is a factor in addressing current and future economic, social and environmental challenges. The Research, Development and Innovation subsidiary of Veolia Transport is in charge of pursuing these goals. The aims of some of its key projects include developing new passenger services, clean motor fuels, clean vehicles and new transportation systems, and improving existing rapid transit and infrastructure.

Resources

Focusing on innovation to introduce increasingly efficient services requires considerable human and financial resources. Veolia Environnement has pooled its R&D activities under the Research Division. This entity has a budget of 140 million euros and employs more than 400 researchers and 400 development people working in the field. It has established relations with renowned partners, has correspondents the world over and has access to several hundred industrial-scale prototype units.

Programs

How can we improve environmental services and reduce their costs while protecting the earth and the health of the people who live on it?
Our research programs focus on four themes corresponding to the sustainable development goals common to all the company’s business areas (water, energy, waste management and transportation): to manage and preserve natural resources, limit impacts on the environment, improve living conditions for populations and develop alternative energy sources.