Expertise and focus areas
Inland waters
- Water cycle and water-related hazards and risks
- Water and water use management, management of services and their impacts
- Quality of water systems and ecological restoration
- Biological and ecological responses to contamination of aquatic environments: ecotoxicology and bioindicators
- Risks associated with rapid gravity-driven events, safety and vulnerability of hydraulic infrastructures.
Clean technologies
- Water and waste technology and processes
- Technological innovation for sustainable agriculture and the environment
- Modelling, information systems and sustainable environmental management
- Structures, processes, flows and energy
Land-use planning
- Land-use development and multifunctional agriculture
- Terrestrial ecological systems: dynamics, vulnerability and engineering
- Information and representation systems for integrated environmental management (spatial information)
A strong link between research and the economical sector
The connection between basic research and technological innovation has led to a close partnership with public stakeholders and the economy. Over 25% of the total budget is negotiated income, funded from three main sources: institutional funding bodies (ANR, ADEME, ONEMA, European Commission, etc.), technical ministries and regional authorities, and industry.
As a result, Irstea’s scientific role cannot be separated from its technological contribution to the economy’s environmental performance. Since 2006, it has developed partnerships with over 150 SMEs and with big size companies within the environmental and ecotechnology sector. It has also become involved with ten of the competitiveness clusters.
In brief: 1600 staff including 950 scientists
10 regional locations in France, and 25 research units
In 2011, the institute has been involved in several projects linked with the “Investissements d’avenir” (Investing for the Future) programme.
- It is responsible for coordinating one of the nine Equipex projects, Geosud. The aim of this project is to make available high definition images of the whole country and the relevant analytical software as a tool for management and planning, environmental surveillance and the prevention of natural risks.
- Its Biorare project was one of the successful applicants in the call for proposals in the “Biotechnology and Bioressources” category. It offers new solutions for producing fuel and biomolecules derived from organic waste. The project is based on the technological breakthrough of microbial electrosynthesis. It is run jointly with Suez environnement.
- Irstea is also involved in five Labex projects, in collaboration with Agropolis and the universities of the Auvergne, Bordeaux and Grenoble.
Tools and platforms to meet the needs of companies
A network of seven technology platforms in different fields:
- Energy performance and safety of agricultural equipment (Antony)
- Research laboratory for irrigation material (Aix)
- ReducPol, for the environmental assessment of spraying technologies and applications (Montpellier)
- PEE (Pole Epandange Environnement) – environmentally-friendly spreading centre for inorganic and organic material (Montoldre - Clermont-Ferrand)
- National reference laboratory for geosynthetics trials and research (Antony)
- Geomechanical platform – Soils - risks, stabilisation, erosion, instability and rupture (Aix)
- Structural and metabolic imagery and spectroscopy platform (Rennes)
The Centre for agro-processing equipment engineering (MINEA - Maison de l’Ingénierie des Equipements pour les Agroprocédés), a business development centre offering help and support to start-up businesses.
Other laboratory equipment for large scale experiments related to natural hazards, water quality (chemical and microbiological), cold, equipment off-road vehicle mobility, biodiversity, etc.
Large field equipment for in situ observation and experiments for the study of natural risks, water and river pollution, plant and animal population dynamics, etc.
Digital capacities
Joint structures with other partners
