On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the National Academy of Technologies of France devoted its annual convention to the theme “Making a success of the 2030-2050 transitions “.
The event, held at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris, in association with the media outlet Usbek & Rica, brought together 350 participants from the worlds of education, research, industry, public authorities and the press.
The introduction to the Convention by the President of the Academy, Pascal Viginier, was followed by a speech by Frédérique Vidal, Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, who recalled that the main mission of the National Academy of Technologies is “to enlighten political decision-makers and citizens on the major technological issues facing society”. Valérie Masson-Delmotte then gave the opening lecture on the main conclusions of the IPCC’s work on climate change and insisted on the urgency of acting to limit its effects and to be able to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, in particular the objective of “zero net emissions” of CO2 by 2050.
Three major transitions and their challenges for the 2030-2050-horizon were addressed: the energy transition, the cultural transition in the sense of the relationship between society and technology, and the industrial transition in the sense of the impact of digitalisation on industry and the economy. On these 3 parts, experts of the Academy and invited personalities presented their visions and shared their views with each other and with the audience.
The final session was marked by the intervention of European Commissioner Thierry Breton who expressed his confidence in Europe’s ability to succeed in its ecological transition and to improve its resilience. Europe must rely on disruptive technologies thanks to its recognised scientific, technological and industrial capabilities and its investment choices.
During this afternoon, the Grand Prix 2021 of the National Academy of Technologies and the Science Fiction Short Story Prize were awarded.
The Grands Prix of the National Academy of Technologies are awarded each year to technology start-ups, and for this 2021 edition, the theme was energy transition. The jury chaired by Dominique Vernay, vice-president of the Bational Academie of Technologies, was composed of Charles Dehelly, vice-president of the jury, and Roger Stanchina (Arts et Métiers Foundation), Daniel Iracane (CEA), Emilie Garcia and Massimiliano Picciani (Bpifrance), Julien Villeret (EDF), Bruno Jarry (president of the National Academy of Technologies Foundation), as well as members of the National Academy of Technologies, Claude Nahon, Catherine Langlais, Patrick Ledermann, Isabelle Moretti and Denis Lucquin. The firster prize of €15,000 was awarded to the company EIFHYTEC. The 2 other winning companies, WaterHorizon and BeFC, each received €7,500. The 7 final candidate startups were offered a personalized support by a member of the Academy
The Science Fiction Short Story Prize, launched in partnership with Usbek & Rica and under the patronage of Roland Lehoucq, was awarded to Gaëtan Maran who received €2,000. Grégoire Barrault (2nd prize) and Louise Sbretana (3rd prize) were also rewarded. The jury was chaired by Etienne Klein, member of the Academy, and composed of Roland Lehoucq (CEA and president of Utopiales), Aleth D’Assignies (Usbek & Rica), Jeanne-A Débats (SF author), Jérôme Vincent (Editions ActuSF), as well as 2 members of the National Academy of Technologies, Marie Meynadier and Serge Tisseron.
(Pictures ©Gael Kazaz)