Electricité de France (EDF) was set up in 1946 out of the desire to have a national electrical utility that could help rebuild the country after the Second World War. Since its creation, the company has had the responsibility for generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity in France. Électricité de France (EDF) is the largest producer and provider of electricity in the world. The company remains one of the European utilities with a significant R&D activity and effort on innovation. Around 2,000 people are presently employed at EDF R&D, amongst which 70% are researchers and executives, and 32% are women (in majority researchers and executives).

Department (s) involved in the project

Most of the staff involved in this project belongs to EDF R&D’s Material and Mechanics of Components Department (MMC). MMC’s task is to carry out the investigations required to meet the safety, reliability and productivity requirements of industrial installations, in the fields of materials and thermomechanics. Its activity covers all energy production means (nuclear power plants, coal-fired power stations, combustion turbines, dams,…), the management of nuclear waste (storage, disposal, transmutation), and the support to the business services of the EDF group. 90% of the activity of the department is oriented towards the nuclear field.

MMC is the combination of skills in the fields of metallurgy, corrosion, chemistry, mechanics, civil engineering, and non-destructive evaluation. Its experts form a high level multidisciplinary team in the field of the behaviour and development of materials, as well as in the fields of mechanics and technology of some components. Via the materials aging institute MAI, EDF/MMC also provides a strong vector of dissemination with high visibility.