Since 2008, France has embarked on an unprecedented R&D push in the field of Smart Grids, to the point that it has become the European leader in terms of investment. The new sector is at a key stage in its development: the transition to industrial deployment. The innovations from the 108 French demonstrators are gradually evolving into attractive market offers, and some are poised to be deployed on a large scale, globally. A look back at this turning point of the French Smart Grid sector.
Installations Smartgrids – Showroom Nice Grid
With 508 million euros invested, France and the most prominent Smart Grid demonstrators are drawing a great deal of attention. Among the most emblematic are: Nice Grid, Smart Electric Lyon, GreenLys, SoGrid, Smart Grids Vendée, Venteea, Millener, Solenn or Infinidrive. Each demonstrator has allowed the development and implementation in real conditions of innovative Smart Grid solutions to different situations: integration of renewables, management of flexibility, managing the charge levels of electic vehicles, smart metering etc.. The technical design of these solutions having been completed they now need to be marketed in France, Europe and, above all, internationally, notably in emerging countries such as China, India or Brazil that are particularly attractive markets.
To support the development of this young industry, in April last year the French Ministry of Industry in association with the Ministry of Ecology, launch a major call for proposals the aim of which was to select a pilot territory for the large scale deployment of Smart Grid technologies (see the call for projects). Hence, with the support of industrial and academic partners several regions of France have prepared ambitious deployment plans the aims of which are to demonstrate the relevance of Smart Grid solutions on a very large scale, as well as measuring their impact.
The stakes are high since since the prospects for the candidate territories are the development of a local economic ecosystem in a booming sector. In the ministries there is talk of an “Smart Grids Airbus” which suggests the scale of the local economic consequences that such a project could have. More than ever, the French Smart Grid sector is getting itself ready to revolutionise the way Smart Grids function and conquer a market worth over 30 billion euros since 2015 and with the potential to create over 25,000 new jobs in France by 2020. French network operators have played a central role in these plans by adding their support and by means of the programmes for the modernisation of their networks known as “common foundation” (“socle commun”), adapted to each application.
ITEMS International pour Think Smartgrids