Activities

Smart Grid

The Smart Grid program focuses on the integration of distributed energy resources (DER) into the power grid. We conduct studies on advanced storage solutions, microgrid, resiliency and their potential applications in supporting various grid use cases. Our research includes developing and evaluating Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) and evaluating the potential benefits of utilizing cloud-based solutions for utilities.

We also support the deployment of GeneSys, an Industrial IoT platform, within EDF R&D North America, for the real-time monitoring and control of renewable energy assets. Additionally, we are actively developing Smart Grid products to support our business units and provide innovative solutions to our customers.

Electric Mobility

US-wide, 27% of CO2 emissions come from the transportation sector. In California, this is even 40%. For deep decarbonization (and air quality), electrification is without any doubt the highest priority for the mobility sector. Electric vehicles, connected cars, trucks and buses, autonomous vehicles are expected to dramatically change the mobility ecosystem and associated industrial landscape within the decades to come. Technological disruption is redefining and reinventing mobility ecosystem. Some EV markets are more mature than others (e.g., California) but the trends are global, driven by both policies and customer demand.

EDF Innovation Lab's E-Mobility activities encompass technology and product analyses, services and infrastructure that support and power electric vehicles, with a particular focus on testing new Smart Charging as a Service for the workplace as a business model to develop charging infrastructure in the US, as well as in Europe.

Energy Markets

Energy markets in North America are evolving rapidly with the transition to a net-zero carbon electric grid and climate events imposing greater market risk. The EDF Innovation Lab energy market team builds models, tools, and develops analyses for use by EDF Business Units to inform future market movements and develop robust roadmaps. The mission of this initiative is to enable EDF BUs to ultimately make strategic decisions towards achieving net-zero carbon portfolios while mitigating market risk.

Customer Solutions

The United States has an important capacity to innovate in all areas, including customer relations and new offers or services. With its presence in California, its location in the heart of the Bay Area's innovation eco-system and its connection with U.S. utilities, the Innovation Lab can understand, analyze and inspire the group's entities on all subjects related to customer solutions.

Digital experiences, Smart-Home and energy management services, 24/7 Carbon Free Energy, industry decarbonization are among the topics of interest.

Digital

Web3, Blockchain and Extended-Reality are among the key enabling technologies driving innovation throughout industry and are widely expected to be as disruptive as the internet. First popularized through projects like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Hyperledger, blockchain is becoming increasingly of interest for enterprise operations and will be part of a decentralized internet. The Innovation Lab is studying use cases that could support EDF business and operations such as Extended-Reality trainings for assets maintenance or traceability of energy using shared ledgers.

Another key topic for the Innovation Lab is quantum computing and its use cases for the energy sector. The electric system is a huge optimization problem from hydraulic assets management to nodal prices constraints calculation. The power of quantum computing can change the way the system is optimized and the Innovation Lab is deeply involved in that area of research.

Net-Zero Carbon Solutions

Reaching Net Zero Emissions by 2050 stands as a pivotal achievement in combating climate change. Attaining this objective demands concerted global action across all sectors of the economy, particularly in those that pose significant challenges to decarbonization.

The EDF Innovation Lab is committed to addressing these challenges head-on, with a specific emphasis on hard-to-abate sectors. Our Net-Zero carbon initiative is dedicated to pioneering innovative solutions within these industries. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies like Hydrogen, E-fuels, and Carbon Capture, we strive to catalyze a transition towards cleaner and more sustainable industrial practices.

Open Innovation

EDF established an Open Innovation Team in 2011. This activity is now represented in seven countries in Europe, North America and Asia. The core focus of the Open Innovation Team is to identify trends and start-ups or compagnies with innovative technologies or business opportunities that could benefit our Business Units – and then working in partnership with the start-ups to evaluate, demonstrate and transfer their solutions into EDF. In the US, the Innovation Lab can leverage its presence in the Silicon Valley to do Deep-Dive analyses and technology scouting activities, including active participation in the innovation ecosystems, developing and participating in demonstration projects.

The EDF Innovation Lab has 6 main fields of expertise