PROCEDES, MATERIAUX ET ENERGIE SOLAIRE

　　PROMES is a Research Unit of CNRS (UPR 8521) belonging to the Institute for Engineering and Systems Sciences (INSIS) under contract with the University of Perpignan (UPVD). The laboratory is located in three sites: Odeillo-Font Romeu (1 MW CNRS Solar furnace), Targasonne (Themis site, 5 MW central receiver solar facility, a site of "Pyrénées Orientales" Council) and Perpignan, Tecnosud. CNRS and UPVD have created the IN’SOL Unit devoted to solar innovations that is supported by PROMES in Tecnosud site that develops the Solar test platform of Perpignan (CESP). PROMES is the leader of the laboratory of excellence SOLSTICE (Solar Energy: Science, Technology and Innovation for Energy Conversion).

　　Gilles Flamant and Laurent Thomas are respectively Director and Deputy Director of PROMES. The laboratory staff is composed of 150 persons from CNRS and UPVD working together on a common subject, solar energy development on all levels. PROMES is then naturally a founding member of the CNRS research federation on solar energy, FédéSol.

　　PROMES is organized in 8 research groups and 5 departments. The main research fields are “materials under extreme conditions” and “conversion, storage and transport of solar energy”.

　　One of the original missions of PROMES is to develop researches with the large scale concentrating facilities of CNRS in Font Romeu (particularly solar furnaces) and of “Pyrénées Orientales” Council in Targasonne (Themis central receiver plant). These researches may be carried up to the demonstrator level as done for the PEGASE project. Moreover, the laboratory is in charge of the development of the National Platform on concentrated solar energy thanks to the “equipment of excellence” SOCRATE project (Concentrated solar energy, advanced researches and energy technologies). It is also very active in the management of the DERBIcompetitiveness cluster. PROMES leads the laboratory of excellence SOLSTICE.

　　Access to the PROMES unique facilities for the European research community is open thanks to the European projectSFERA. More generally, the laboratory is strongly connected to the European research thanks to SOLLAB and projects such as CSP2 and OPTS.

Link：

www.promes.cnrs.fr/