Industry, research, medicine, training… Two recent studies - one of them by the DRIRE, the other by the CESR - have highlighted Lower Normandy’s potential in the field of nuclear technology and recommend that its associated players join forces to form a regional centre of excellence.

Research is already federating its resources | Nuclear technology: 3 major projects for Lower Normandy | Relais d’sciences : A leading role | Take note

Research is already federating its resources
The manifest desire to create a centre of excellence focusing on nuclear technology in Lower Normandy aims both at federating the sector’s various players and at generating synergies between them. “We need to bring laboratories and industrial players together, in particular SME’s. The good news is that the ball is already rolling: links have been developed between certain of the sector’s players,” notes Daniel Guerreau. Research has already created gateways with industry, medicine and training. GANIL, highly active in the field of fundamental research, also offers industrial partners access to a number of its ion beam hours. “Quertech was consequently able to develop an aluminium hardening process thanks to GANIL beams,” highlights Sydney Gales. A development which has opened new markets for the young company in the plastics, aeronautical and automotive industries. And Cyceron is also developing business partnerships. A radiopharmaceutical production plant, Cyclopharma, will shortly be opening on the Jules Horowitz campus alongside the biomedical platform. This partnership aims at developing radiopharmaceutical products which are used, in particular, to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. And there are many other examples worthy of mention. Such as the Corpuscular Physics Laboratory (LPC - CNRS-ENSICAEN-UCBN laboratory) which recently developed a scintillating dosimeter for radiotherapy in partnership with Eldim, in Hérouville… Concurrently, researchers are also actively involved in nuclear technology training. Cyceron is a fine example for, since last February, it now welcomes Neuroscience and Medical Imaging Professional Master’s Degree students from the UCBN. “Cyceron has accepted to open its platform to 8 groups of four students for a period of 4 weeks,” explains Bernard Mazoyer. “They will cover each aspect of the platform, hence offering them genuine in-house training, quite different from their usual practical work…” Denis Agostini believes that Caen and the surrounding region need to consider “an architectural urban and scientific planning project within the North Caen plateau, reuniting Cyceron, Archade, the future University Department of Medicine, restructured in association with paramedical schools (nursing-radiography) and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The region should be behind the creation of a “nuclear school” reuniting all of the technology’s associated professions and facilitating the emergence of gateways between health professionals, engineers and the University of Caen throughout France. It’s precisely the idea of “LMDisation” advocated by certain health professionals. We have all of the ingredients to create something truly original in Lower Normandy.” Finally, ENSICAEN and the UCBN have, for a long time, been relying on their shared laboratories to enhance their training offer (CIMPA, CRISMAT, GREYC, LPC…). Daniel Guerreau believes that Lower Normandy is already within “a context of strong links between research and training. Links which will prove to be important for the future centre of excellence.” “We have all of the ingredients to create something truly original in Lower Normandy” Photo captions Daniel Guerreau. Sydney Gales. Bernard Mazoyer. Denis Agostini Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is used for medical diagnosis, as illustrated on this cardiac image. GANIL, control room. Since its creation in 1983, the National Heavy Ion Accelerator has contributed considerably to enhancing the scientific community’s knowledge on atomic and nuclear structure.
Daniel Guerreau/Director of ENSICAEN
Tél : 02.31.45.27.95
Site : ENSICAEN
Sydney Gales/Director of GANIL
Tél : 02.31.45.45.61
Site : GANIL
Bernard Mazoyer/Director of Cyceron
Tél : 02.31.47.02.71
Site : Cyceron
Denis Agostini/Nuclear Medicine UCBN and CHU Caen
02.31.06.32.46
Site : CHU

Nuclear technology: 3 major projects for Lower Normandy
1 – Flamanville EPR
The Flamanville site was chosen in 2004 to host France’s first EPR (Evolutionary Power Reactor). The total cost of the project amounts to some 4 billion Euros. This “third generation” reactor relies on the same technology as pressurised water reactors, with the bonus of improved security and energy production. The reactor is scheduled to enter into service in 2012. In due course, the site will employ a staff of 300, added to 150 salaried jobs within subcontracting companies.
2 - Spiral 2
“Spiral 2 will mark a technical evolution, a major turning point,” foretells Sydney Gales, Director of GANIL. “The project is the logical continuation of our research work and will enable us to keep ahead of the scientific race and to maintain our position as one of the world’s leading facilities.” With the forthcoming SPIRAL 2 (Production System of Radioactive Ion and Acceleration On-Line) facility, GANIL will be equipped with a new source of, to date barely accessible, neutrons. The facility, which will involve an investment of no less than 136 million Euros, should consequently attract the scientific community’s leading physicists in the field of fundamental research. The facility should be operational by 2012.
3 - ARCHADE
Hadrontherapy is a new, more efficient and more precise form of radiotherapy for the treatment of certain cancers - the European Hadrontherapy Resource Centre is due to open alongside the GANIL facility by 2013. The project, initiated in partnership with the Belgian group IBA (specialised in the design manufacture and sale of accelerators used in protontherapy) involves the construction and utilisation of a latest generation cyclotron, aimed at developing research and offering appropriate services to hadrontherapy users throughout Europe.

Relais d’sciences : A leading role
A Scientific, Technical and Industrial Culture Centre (CCSTI), Relais d’sciences has, since its creation in 1998, been endeavouring to disseminate scientific culture and to enhance its understanding among the general public. Relais d’sciences consequently has a role to play in Lower Normandy’s centre of nuclear excellence. However, “if the nuclear technology sector is looking to develop a centre of excellence, it will need to create an associated communication department in order to convey its own message to the general public,” warns Bruno Dosseur, director of Relais d’sciences. “As a scientific mediator, our role is to approach topics of scientific interest without preconceived ideas or bias.” Relais d’sciences has already been accompanying players in the nuclear field for a number of years now [EDF, ANDRA (French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management), EAMEA (Cherbourg School of Military Applications for Atomic Energy) GANIL, CYCERON, ENSICAEN, etc.] looking to approach the general public. And the way in which it broaches the subjects it deals with has changed. “Over the past years, we have moved from scientific popularisation to a genuine Science-Society dialogue,” notes Bruno Dosseur. “We are no longer dealing with a unique tool offering a “once and for all” answer to every question, but have evolved towards a context of encounters and peer-to-peer exchange.” Following the CESR report and within the framework of its activities for the 2011-2013 period, Relais d’sciences plans to develop a programme of proposals in the nuclear field, by adopting a vast cultural approach. “There are many ways to broach the subject of nuclear technology that the general public can grasp and appreciate.” By using the collective imagination for example, by observing nuclear science and the atom via the prism of the infinitely small, or by observing time on a human scale. “Another opportunity for Lower Normandy to create an innovative centre of regional excellence, for there is currently no such approach in France.” Website: www.relais-sciences.org

Take note
Lower Normandy’s nuclear industry in a few words:
Industry, with:
• 4 major players: AREVA, EDF, DCNS, GANIL
• 54 subcontracting companies – a turnover of 650 million Euros
• Business associations and groups: AISCO (Intercompany Association of Cotentin-based Subcontractors), SOTRABAN (Association of Lower Normandy-based Subcontractors), APAVE, the Club Sécurité du Cotentin, etc.
Research, with:
• Research laboratories such as GANIL, CIMAP (Centre for Research on Ions, Materials and Photonics), LPC (Corpuscular Physics Laboratory), CRISMAT (Crystallography and Material Science Laboratory), LARIA (Host Laboratory in Radiobiology with Accelerated Ions), CI-NAPS (Centre for Imaging - Neuroscience and Applications in Pathology), GREYC (Caen Research Group in Computer Science, Imaging, Automation and Instrumentation), GRECAN (Regional Cancer Research Group), LUSAC (Cherbourg University Laboratory for Applied Sciences), etc.
• Biomedical imaging platforms: Cyceron, CI-NAPS, GRECAN, etc.
Nuclear Medicine, with:
• Caen University Hospital (CHU): The department of nuclear medicine is equipped, in particular, with a PET-Scan and 3 gamma cameras. In 2007, the department performed a total of 8,000 examinations, including 2,200 cardiac scintigraphies and 2,000 pulmonary scintigraphies.
• The François Baclesse Comprehensive Cancer Centre which, every year, performs: 2,378 external irradiations, 228 brachytherapies, 5,800 scintigraphies, 9,416 CT scans, 1,657 MRI’s… The PET Scanner installed at the CHU enables 2,000 oncological examinations to be performed each year (1,000 for the Cancer Centre and 1,000 for the CHU).
A specific training offer, with:
• ENSICAEN: Nuclear Engineering and Instrumentation course
• University of Caen Lower Normandy:
- Professional Degree in Industrial Production Management, Maintenance in Nuclear Environments (Cherbourg, Department of Science; partner: Lycée Alexis de Tocqueville);
- Master’s Degree in Physics (Department of Science), research specialisation “new states of matter” (jointly dispensed in partnership with ENSICAEN) and professional specialisation “industrial environment control”; - Medical studies: Specialised medical diploma in Nuclear Medicine (Department of Medicine)
. University Diploma: Radioprotection during medical procedures (Department of Medicine).
• Cherbourg Engineering School and UCBN
• EAMEA (School of Military Applications for Atomic Energy) in Cherbourg
• National Institute for Nuclear Science and Techniques in Cherbourg • AFPA in Cherbourg

“Today, we can talk more comfortably about nuclear technology, evoking its medical applications for example,” notes Jacques Pain, Industrial Development Project Coordinator at the DRIRE’s (Regional Directorate for Industry, Research and Environment) Manche subdivision. The 1970’s view, which reduced our nuclear activity to the La Hague nuclear waste reprocessing plant and the Flamanville nuclear power plant, has been superseded by a far vaster view of the subject. Why? Simply because mentalities have changed, as has the global nuclear context. With increasingly rare natural resources, the quest for renewable energies generating no - or at least little - greenhouse gas, “we are now experiencing a sustainable revival of civil nuclear energy across the globe,” notes Jean Callewaert, vice president and secretary of the Lower Normandy CESR - Regional Economic and Social Council. “And nuclear technology is not only limited to nuclear energy, it also offers applications in medicine, research and training. And our region has many an asset in all of these fields.” The DRIRE and the CESR have consequently conducted two studies, in a both joint and complementary manner, on nuclear technology in Lower Normandy. The aim: to compile an inventory of regional resources and to identify our associated strong points. The DRIRE’s analytic report, published in September 2008, focuses first and foremost on industrial applications. “The aim of this study was to provide us with a closer look, over and above key industrial leaders, at subcontracting companies, and to improve our knowledge on their specific skills and activities,” explains Jacques Pain.

10,000 direct jobs

The establishment, in the 1970’s, of the Areva (at the time “Cogema”) nuclear waste reprocessing plant in La Hague, and the subsequent construction of the first two reactors in the Flamanville nuclear power plant ten years later, were to have a sustainable impact on the region’s industry. Sixty-three percent of its subcontracting companies were created in the wake of these two major developments. The four key industrial players (AREVA-NC, EDF, DCNS and GANIL) alone employ some 4,000 salaried workers. However the sector’s 54 subcontracting companies - i.e. those with specific nuclear technology skills - are also behind 5,700 jobs and a total turnover of 650 million Euros. Thus, the nuclear industry has generated around 10,000 direct jobs throughout Lower Normandy. As many as the automotive industry or the ICT sector. It is “just as strong as Lower Normandy’s leading industry sectors,” highlights Jean Callewaert, spokesman for the CESR project. And we can add to these figures, 800 researchers, lecturer-researchers, engineers and technicians and around 150 PhD students… For, as highlighted in the CESR study following a meticulous review of the many fields to which nuclear technology can be applied (energy, research, medical and biomedical applications), the region also holds great scientific potential, of which the GANIL (CEA-CNRS laboratory) is an obvious emblematic figure. Since its creation in 1983, the National Heavy Ion Accelerator has contributed to the scientific community’s research in nuclear physics and has considerably enhanced our knowledge on atomic and nuclear structure. “In terms of research, GANIL is among the world’s four leading laboratories,” recalls the facility’s director Sydney Gales. “Every year, 600 to 700 researchers come to work here, for periods ranging from a week to a month.” And with the SPIRAL 2 project - a superconducting linear accelerator producing the highest intensity of ion beams in the world (see boxed article) - GANIL should be opening new gateways for nuclear physics and astrophysics, and for studies on the effects of irradiation on materials for both the energy and the medical sectors…

Unique research platforms

In the wake of GANIL, other research laboratories were established throughout Lower Normandy. Cyceron is a fine example This medical imaging platform focuses its research on investigating diseases of the central nervous system and cancer, using PET (Positron Emission Tomography) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). “In the early days, Cyceron involved a team of 20,” recalls Bernard Mazoyer, the centre’s director. “The laboratory has since tripled its surface area and, today, 200 people work there.” Cyceron concurrently hosts 10 CI-NAPS (Centre for Imaging, Neuroscience and Applications in Pathology - CEA-CNRS-UCBN-INSERM Paris Descartes Laboratory) research teams, conducting, among others, research into the development of radiopharmaceuticals. Cyceron has consequently become a unique research centre throughout France, “since all of the tools we need to study from the molecule to the patient are available within the same platform.” Among its partner institutions, we can note, in particular, the François Baclesse Comprehensive Cancer Centre and the CHU - Caen University Hospital; two reference centres for cancer treatment. The CHU’s nuclear medicine department is equipped to perform scintigraphies (imaging technique involving the injection of a radioactive contrast agent) in oncology, neurology and cardiology. In 2008, the CHU joined forces with the François Baclesse Comprehensive Cancer Centre to purchase a PET scanner to conduct medical examinations in oncology. “Along with Cyceron’s PET scanner, dedicated to neurology and cardiology, Lower Normandy now has two of France’s most efficient PET cameras” highlights Denis Agostini, a professor in biophysics and nuclear medicine.

Extensive training needs

“MRI, scintigraphy, scanner: medical imaging is decidedly flourishing. And it is consequently generating a genuine need for skilled staff, both on a national and international scale,” warns the physician. The same applies to industry. “Nuclear technology training needs are growing,” adds Daniel Guerreau, director of ENSICAEN (National Graduate School of Engineering) and in charge of the CESR’s higher education and research commission. “Three hundred engineers are currently trained each year, whereas no less than 1,200 are needed to satisfy the sector’s recruitment needs…” But Lower Normandy has wasted no time and has launched, alongside more general training, courses specifically dedicated to nuclear technology and aimed at satisfying associated business needs. For example, Caen University’s Science Department offers a professional degree course in “Nuclear Facility Maintenance”, at the Lycée de Tocqueville in Cherbourg. The course aims at training future executives, capable of designing, organising and conducting maintenance operations in nuclear environments (refer to the course list on page 13). As for ENSICAEN, the school’s Electronics and Applied Physics department now proposes a “Nuclear Engineering and Instrumentation” diploma course The course will be revised before the forthcoming academic year. “The nuclear engineering part of the course will be separated from the instrumentation part, in order to increase our training offer and to supplement course contents,” explains Daniel Guerreau. Concurrently, ENSICAEN contributed towards a study, launched last year, aimed at identifying high level staff and training needs in the nuclear field and leading to a report by the High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, Bernard Bigot.
The latter has validated the creation of a “Pôle Grand Ouest” (Hub for France’s ‘Great West’ region), comprising Lower Normandy’s higher education and research institutions (ENSICAEN and the University of Caen Lower Normandy), together with the Nantes-based Ecoles des Mines and the University of Nantes. Other projects are also emerging. For example the Cherbourg Engineering School’s “SUP’NUC 2009″ project, initiated by the University of Caen and whose vocation is to develop a “Nuclear Operations” engineering training course, specifically designed for the nuclear industry. The course was filed at the Engineering Titles Commission late 2008. A joint study involving the UCBN (Department of Medicine), the GANIL, Cyceron and ENSICAEN is also underway “to develop a European Master’s Degree focusing on nuclear technology professions,” highlights Denis Agostini, first assessor for the Dean of the Department of Medicine, Professor Jean-Louis Gérard. “A further study is also being conducted by the DRASS, considering a partnership with the INSTN (National Institute for Nuclear Science and Techniques) in Saclay which would involve the recruitment of extra radiation physicists within the CHU, Centre François Baclesse, Cycéron and the Archade project: 42 radiation physicists are appointed each year, however twice as many are needed, but training sites associating nuclear medicine, radiology and radiotherapy are unfortunately too scarce.”

“Tremendous potential”

State of the art industries and nationally renowned projects, research centres, healthcare facilities, specialised training courses… “Lower Normandy holds tremendous potential in the field of nuclear technology,” notes Daniel Guerreau. The study conducted by the DRIRE has highlighted three key challenges for the successful development of the region’s nuclear-related businesses. In particular, associated skills need to be developed and fully exploited. “But we need to go even further, if we want Lower Normandy’s players in the nuclear field to jointly develop their image beyond our regional frontiers,” considers Jacques Pain. The conclusions of the CESR report are along the same lines. “The region is already capable of creating its own centre of excellence, relying on the Industry -Training - Research trio, and reuniting all of the associated sectors. All of the ingredients are there; all that needs to be added is overall coherence.” Such cohesion should, in the long run, “satisfy tomorrow’s invitations to tender,” believes Jean Callewaert. The next move is to reunite and federate the region’s nuclear technology players, in order to develop and expose the sector’s strengths beyond our frontiers.

Jacques Pain
Industrial Development Project Coordinator - DRIRE
Tél : 02.33.57.66.68
Site : DRIRE

Jean Callewaert
Spokesman, Vice President and Secretary of the CESR

Philippe Hugo
Project Coordinator at the CESR
Tél : 02 31 06 96 11
Site : CESR Basse-Normandie

For further information on the nuclear industry sector study for Lower Normandy conducted by the DRIRE: www.basse-normandie.drire.gouv.fr
To consult the complete report and conclusions of the CESR study, “Nuclear technology for energy and health: working towards a centre of excellence in Lower Normandy”: http://www.cesr-basse-normandie.fr/publications/185199.html

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