Hydbrid vehicle from Renaut Trucks

Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions reduced by almost 30% for collecting household waste in the Greater Lyon area with the Renault Trucks hybrid vehicle In October 2008, Renault Trucks and SITA (Suez Environnement) will be launching operational trials in the Lyon urban area of the very first RT hybrid truck to be used for collecting the city's household refuse: the premium Distribution Hybrys Tech.Fitted with a hybrid engine which, on its own, reduces CO2 emissions by almost 20%, this dedicated vehicle will also be equipped with an additional battery designed to supply the refuse collector. This battery is recharged during the vehicle's deceleration and braking phases. It will therefore not be relying on a single engine - enabling the total reduction in consumption, and therefore emissions, to reach almost 30%.

The principle of hybrid (or "parallel") technology developed by Renault Trucks is very straightforward: the vehicle's kinetic energy is recovered during braking or deceleration and converted into electricity. Stored in a battery located in the wheelbase, this electricity then supplies the MDS (Motor Drive System) electrical motor which provides power for starting the vehicle, supplying its electrical functions and propulsion up to 20 km/h. This means that the diesel engine is only used for those phases during which it consumes the least, i.e. when travelling. Apart from cutting emissions, the use of an electric motor in hybrid technology also significantly reduces noise levels.Following the tests in Lyon, an initial series of 6 pre-production Renault Trucks hybrid vehicles will be operated by a number of customers to apply this technology to other urban distribution activities.

Source : Renault truck

More information on : www.renault-trucks.com

ROCTOOL Innovative Molding Technologies

Roctool SA is France-based company that is engaged in the research, development and licensing of molding technologies. The Company develops several processing technologies, such as the Cage System, an inductive heating process, which is a patented molding technology that heats tool surface by induction, as well as conventional composite processes, including resin transfer molding (RTM), thermo compression and thermoplastic injection, among others. 

Roctool SA cooperates with a number of manufacturers and material providers from such sectors as automotive, sport and leisure, and aircraft. The Company offers licenses of its patents to companies in many different markets, comprising automotive and transportation, construction and medical equipment. Roctool SA, which is headquartered in Le Bourget du Lac, France, is also present in the United States.

More information : www.roctool.com

Source : Roctool

NEOSENS : Pure Sensor Solutions

Neosens was founded in 2001 in Toulouse, France by Laurent Auret after conducting a successful trial on the use of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) for sensor applications at the ELTA - AREVA Group in partnership with the LAAS-CNRS (Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes).  Since then, Neosens has acquired a unique technology from INRA for the measurement of biofilm to further strengthen its product line. 

Today, based on its expertise in electro-chemistry and microelectronics, Neosens develops and markets a range of innovative sensor solutions based on MEMS technology. The products include, among others, in-situ sensors used to measure dissolved oxygen levels in real-time, and sensors that continuously monitor biofilm and scale formation in heat exchangers and process piping. Neosens, a pioneer in its field, offers a new generation of solutions that enable the continuous monitoring of water quality for industrial applications such as cooling systems, pulp & paper, food & beverage processing, and ultra-pure water. “In the water industry, the monitoring of pollutants, such as micro-organisms and mineral deposits, is paramount. In addition, the consumption of chemicals needed to clean water systems must be reduced to limit the impact on the environment. Neosens has the answer to this problem by continuously monitoring the growth of biofilm and thereby measuring the efficiency of cleaning processes. The Company announced in February  the closing of 2.5M€ in capital funding. The group of investors, led by SOFINNOVA Partners, includes the Belgian fund, Capricorn Cleantech Fund and GALIA Gestion, and the original investors, ICSO Private Equity and IRDI. 

More information on : www.neo-sens.com

Source : Neosens

MHS Equipment : PEM Fuel Cells

MHS industries is a French High Technology group that deals in electronic components and systems as well as equipment for the High Reliability markets such as Space, Avionics and Bionics…

The headquarters are based in Nantes.MHS Industries via its subsidiary MHS Equipment, designs and manufactures UHV thin layer deposition systems. It has finalized a process/equipment combination for producing PEM Fuel Cells Membrane Electrode Assemblies using plasma deposition techniques. MHS Equipment is producing Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) equipment for thin film deposition in the semiconductor and renewable energy areas. Implemented technologies are PLD (pulsed lased deposition), PSD (plasma sputtering deposition), PECVD, and MBE (molecular beam epitaxy). The experience gained from the engineering and fabrication of such advanced systems together with close private-public research cooperations has lead to the development of a new production equipment specifically designed for the elaboration of fuel cell MEAs. With this tool, the whole MEA (incl. membrane and electrodes) is produced in one single machine under UHV conditions with the help of PECVD and PSD technologies.

More information on : www.mhs-equipment.com

Source : MHS industries

Nanorgysol

Nanorgysol project aims to explore a great number of materials and concepts in order to evaluate their potential and to be able to make at the end of this project the strategic choices in term of paths to develop. This project is financed by the National Agency of Research (ANR) within the framework of the “Solar Photovoltaic" Program.

Thus, the results awaited at the end of this project are to obtain with one of the developed concepts: 
      -   a solar efficiency of 5% on 1cm² glass substrate,
      -   the demonstration of a solar efficiency on a surface of 100 cm². 
The lifetime of the most promising cells will be measured. 

These considerations were carried out within the framework of the network NANORGASOL, supported by CNRS, set up in April 2005 and will be relayed by the National Institute for Solar Energy (INES) based in Chambéry, which counts CEA and CNRS as partners.

More information on : www.nanorgysol.cea.fr

Source : CEA 

Bionersis :

A pioneer company in its sector, Bionersis is a global player in the production of renewable energies and the reduction of greenhouse gases. Bionersis recovers the landfill gas generated by household waste sites.
Bionersis designs, installs and exploits installations to:

• Recuperate and eliminate landfill gas,
• Produce and export electricity
• sells the electricity produced from the combustion of the harnessed methane
• sells the carbon credits from the combustion of the methane.

Process : A network of wells (vertical or horizontal) is installed in the landfill site.This network is interconnected and linked by a central collector to an exhaust flare. The exhausting depresses the site and forces the extraction. After being processed once, the landfill gases generated by the landfill waste are eliminated under controlled conditions. This system is more efficient than simple gas vent systems (passive ventilation), which, in the majority of cases encountered in the field, allow, at best, 10 to 15% of the landfill gas generated by the waste to be sent into the atmosphere without being destroyed. During this phase, Bionersis analyses the flows, as well as the characteristics of the gas emissions.An additional installation for processing and cleaning the gas will enable us to produce a gas that can fuel a generator that produces electricity sold directly to the consumer or delivered through the network. 

Bionersis has performed a private investment transaction with qualified investors, in the form of a capital increase which made it possible to raise 15 millions euros

More information on : www.bionersis.com

Source : Bionersis website

Climpact : Climate Information technology

Climpact is a spin off from the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, the leading French research center on climate and is related to several other institutions : CEA, CNRS,Polytechnique, the IRD, the UPMC and the UVSQ.

The Company sell past and forecasted climate indexes to quantify the historical financial impact of climate events on businesses and help decision making by anticipating future events.

The indexes are established by an in house system combining business data with climate observations and forecasts (daily to six month ahead) from several meteorological centres (European and US). Our clients run businesses with high climate exposure and belong to the food and beverage, financial, insurance and re insurance, tourism, and retail sectors. The indexes are available through our web based plateform for an annual fee.

Climpact secures € 1M from Elaia Parnters to reinforce its R&D and Professional Services teams, increase its sales in France and prepare for European deployment. Proceeds from this A round will also allow the extension of Climpact’s offering to the financial sector, with indices targeted for asset managers and financial analysts.

Source : Climpact

More information on : www.climpact.com

Opaly : Active Solar envelope in buildings

OPALY SAS is owned by the family Balduini and Jean Maillard. The family Balduini has also Usiduc, business specialist machining and processing of composite materials. This brings to OPALY its reputation and its know-how. 

The developments OPALY respond to the problems of heating and cooling industrial buildings, commercial and logistics. These products include functions Siding classic (structure and insulation) and functions active (solar thermal…). In addition, eco-design adopted by the company OPALY takes into account environmental constraints related to the product life cycle. 

The principle of frontage, or active solar envelope in buildings, is one of the objectives described in the forward-looking document of the European Technology Platform on solar thermal (ESTTP Solar Vision, in May 2006). It should cover between 50 and 100% of heating needs of buildings, and therefore to develop products combining the functions support, insulation and energy generator.  
OPALY established a real process innovation, with particularly interesting options to meet the standards, such as the choice of materials used or integration of technologies into a building. Thus qu'OPALY based its project: to develop a solar cladding for heating and cooling of buildings, in line with future regulations (RT 2010, RT 2015…). These panels cover aesthetic, colored with the wishes of the client, especially for commercial buildings, and so on. In southern exposure, this facade could recover 50% of solar flux. In a second phase, OPALY plans to incorporate the generation of electricity panels by adding photovoltaic cells.

Source : Oseo

More information on : www.opaly.fr

Solaire Direct

SOLAIRE DIRECT is the first solar electric utility fully dedicated to photovoltaic in France. The company provides solutions and all inclusive services to a range of electrical markets from 4-12 MW large scale PV plants to 2-3 kW commercial and residential integrated solar roofs. The company markets a turn-key solution which involves project development, engineering and operations services. SOLAIRE DIRECT has partnered with the leading solar component and system manufacturers as it builds a portfolio of hundreds of MW of power generation and thousands of customers. They are headquartered in Paris ( France).

Source : Techfund

More information on : http://www.solairedirect.fr/

Skywater

In 2004, Loic Gouzen and Willy Rohdman, both graduates in management information systems, created Skywater to recover rainwater and reuse it for industrial purposes and collective household. This process allows to substitute up to 70% in average water needs for the industry, communities and 53% for individuals. It has developed a patented technology : a valve coupled with "the booster"which helps avoid cuts pressure and flow the water supply switched from the tank. To market its solution, it relies on a network of dealers and has more than 200 references installed. Skywater has finished a first round table of 2M€ to accelerate its development.

Source : Skywater 

More information on : www.skywater.fr