ACADEMY
PUBLICATIONS
24 April 2020
Advisory note from the National Academy of Technologies of France on the presence and activity of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater
Considering: – the COVID-19 pandemic linked to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, – the very low number of published data on its presence in wastewater; information published by a research centre in the Netherlands (www.kwrwater.nl) [1], and based on data described as “preliminary”, mentions the presence of the virus genome in untreated wastewater, information taken up by the World Health Organisation [2]; – the recommendation of the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Sanitary Safety (Anses) [3] followed by the inter-ministerial circular [4] prohibiting the agricultural spreading of sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) which has not been proven to be […]
20 January 2020
Attractiveness of the professions, attractiveness of the territories and challenges for industry
The contribution that the various uses of technology can make to the attractiveness of jobs, companies, training and regions. Technologies, particularly the digital technologies, but also technologies that contribute to the ecological transition and the fight against global warming help to improve the attractiveness of the industry’s trades/professions and territories. The digital technologies reduce the handicaps of small and medium-sized towns and rural territories by reducing distances; they facilitate access to health services, they enable the development of knowledge and skills everywhere, and they contribute to the competitiveness of industrial companies, wherever they are located18. In the medium term, they […]
20 June 2019
For a responsible and rational management of radioactive waste and materials
The Academy of Technology and the Academy of Sciences of France have published a stakeholder statement as part of the public debate on the national plan for the management of radioactive materials and waste. The laws of 1991 (regulating studies and research on the deep geological disposal of long-lived nuclear waste and establishing the National Assessment Commission (NAC)), 2006 (establishing the three-year revision of the National Plan for the Management of Radioactive Materials and Waste (PNGMDR)) and 2016 (specifying the procedures for the creation of a reversible deep geological disposal facility for long-lived high-level and intermediate level radioactive waste (HA and MAVL)) […]
19 June 2019
Nuclear energy and the environment
This report on nuclear energy and the environment is jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Technologies of France and the French Academy of sciences. It is a second collaborative study of the three academies on nuclear energy matters. The first report, issued in August 2017, covered many aspects of nuclear energy and offered joint, mostly technical, recommendations for the direction of nuclear energy in the future. It was an attempt to provide an objective overview of many scientific and technological issues on nuclear energy (its position in the future energy mix, benefits, strengths and […]
29 January 2019
Evolutionary trajectories of the electricity mix 2020-2060
Comments on an ADEME study on the future energy mix published on 10 December 2018 In December 2018, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) widely publicised its assessment of the evolution of the electricity mix until 2060. In essence, it recommends shutting down existing power plants (including the nuclear power plants) before their end of life, replacing them massively with solar and wind power installations (multiplication by more than ten of the current installed capacities), and developing a hydrogen economy with surplus electricity during periods of favourable wind and sunshine. The National Academy of Technologies of France, as […]
21 September 2018
The rise in technological skills of SMEs: the case of industrial companies
On 20 September at Dassault Systèmes Prime Minister Édouard Philippe presented the government’s plan to transform French industry through digital technology, stating that “this new industrial revolution must not remain the prerogative of a few groups”. At approximately the same time, the National Academy of Technologies of France, in a report adopted in plenary session on 12 September, calls for a general and immediate mobilisation to boost the technological skills of industrial SMEs. After the publication of the report “Industry of the future: from the technical system 4.0 to the social system” (2017), the National Academy of Technologies of France […]
06 July 2018
Technology and soft power: the case of the fashion and luxury industry
How can technological changes best benefit the fashion and luxury sector, allow the emergence and diffusion of new skills and amplify France’s Soft Power in the world? Scenarios and recommendations of the National Academy of Technologies of France. Fashion and luxury, like all sectors of industry and the economy in general, are affected by the digital revolution and the technologies related to the industry of the future. The new functionalities that they engender intersect and interact with traditional technologies. The continuous and subtle interplay between reason and emotion, inherent in fashion and luxury, is taking new paths, just as the […]
06 July 2018
Strategy for the use of underground ressources for the French energy transition
The energy transition is an important paradigm shift for many sectors, including the sector for many traditional raw materials (iron, concrete, copper, etc.), but also for materials that have not been used much so far but are nevertheless necessary for technologies, many of which are emerging (rare metals). As a result, tensions are already high and will increase. The French Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Technology of France have decided to set up a joint working group to analyse the potential resources of metals and materials needed for the energy transition, available in the French sub-soil and […]
06 April 2018
Resurgence of artificial intelligence and machine learning
In a report voted in plenary session on 14 March, the NATF deems it necessary to build an “AI plan” at European and national level that will make it possible to reinforce investments in computing resources and technological research. The Academy recommends supporting and encouraging a responsible approach to AI that aims to simultaneously develop the performance and ethical acceptability of intelligent algorithms. Designed to penetrate the majority of practices and environments, in business as in civil society, AI represents a double challenge – competitiveness for our companies and national sovereignty. AI and automatic learning use a wide range of […]
05 April 2018
The transition to industrial scale production of human stem cells for therapeutic use
In a joint report, the two academies outline the state of the art in the use of stem cells in human therapy. They describe in detail the major changes required to move from laboratory work to the industrial stage by complying with European and French regulatory provisions. Finally, they make recommendations to enable France to participate more effectively in ongoing developments in this field, which is currently booming at the international level. The dramatic increase in the results obtained in the use of stem cells in human therapy suggests that it is now possible to use these cells to treat […]