Incorporated into the recently enacted French law making a national commitment to the environment (known as the “Grenelle 2” law), IFP’s (Rueil-Malmaison, France; www.ifp.fr) change of name to IFP New Energy has now come into effect. Put forward by the French Ministry for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea (MEEDDM), the new name more closely reflects IFP’s objectives and the very nature of its research programs, with their increasing focus on new energy technologies (NETs). It is also a way for the government authorities to recognize IFP as a major player in the field of renewable and fossil energies.
This name change had been announced by the French President, who indicated on June 9, 2009 in Chambéry that IFP’s name “does not do justice to its contribution to new energies”. Indeed, while IFP’s activities focused mainly on oil and gas in 2000, today 50% of its R&D programs are dedicated to the development of NETs (fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles, biofuels and green chemistry, CO2 capture and storage, and so on).
This shift in strategy at IFP, started in 2003 and incorporated into the 2006-2010 objectives contract, falls neatly in line with the fundamental changes under way in the global energy and environment landscape. In order to take up the dual challenge set by energy (increased world demand, reliance on fossil resources) and climate requirements, steering an energy transition towards a lower-carbon system is now critical. Given the inertia of the energy system (lifetime of industrial facilities, time taken for alternative solutions to reach maturity), a transitional period is necessary before a rebalancing of the respective contributions of fossil and renewable energies can be achieved.
By maintaining the acronym IFP and adding New Energy, the new name will very accurately reflect this position — one of a transition based on an energy mix incorporating both renewable energies and fossil energies. Through its innovative, industry-oriented research work, IFP New Energy will foster the emergence of tomorrow’s “green” technologies, while leveraging its traditional oil and gas-related activities. IFP will harness the advanced expertise it has developed in the oil and gas sector, and which can be redeployed in the NET field, along with its experience in the field of technology transfer and business startups, to foster the development of “green” sectors and approaches.
The new name not only consolidates the development in the scope of IFP New Energy’s activities since 2003, but also further reinforces these changes, in line with the future 2011–2015 objectives contract. As part of this contract, IFP New Energy will continue and step up its work in the NET field, operating in a number of new renewable energy-related sectors, including marine energies, water management and, more generally, eco-industries. The new name also keeps the well-established IFP brand, which enjoys a solid reputation, particularly on the international stage.
IFP New Energy therefore reflects the company’s unwavering commitment to sustainable development, something it has been focusing on for over ten years: a commitment to develop innovative solutions in order to ensure a smooth transition towards a sustainable and lower-carbon energy system.