P25 - Electricité de France S.A. (EDF) | France

Electricité de France, EDF, was set up in 1946 out of the desire to have a national electrical utility that could help rebuild the country after the Second World War. Since its creation, the company has had the responsibility for generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity in France. EDF remains one of the European utilities with a significant R&D activity and effort in innovation. Around 2500 people are presently employed at EDF R&D, amongst which, 70% are researchers and executives, 32% women (in majority researchers and executives). The staff members involved in IL TROVATORE belong to EDF R&D’s Material and Mechanics of Components (MMC) Department. MMC’s task is to carry out the investigations required to meet the safety, reliability and productivity requirements of industrial installations, in the fields of materials & thermomechanics. Its activity covers all energy production means (i.e., nuclear power plants, coal-fired power stations, combustion turbines, dams, etc.), the management of nuclear waste (storage, disposal, transmutation), and the support to the business services of the EDF group. 90% of the activity of the Department is oriented towards the nuclear field. MMC is the combination of skills in the fields of Metallurgy, Corrosion, Chemistry, Mechanics and Non-Destructive Evaluation. Its experts form a high-level multidisciplinary team in the field of the behaviour and development of materials, as well as in the fields of mechanics and technology of some components.

In IL TROVATORE, the main technical activities of EDF will be concentrated in WP10, focusing on the development of standard test procedures for ATF cladding material performance assessment, with special focus on SiC/SiC composite clads.