2024 National Engineering Grand Prix winners

It also aims to highlight the essential contribution of intellectual engineering services to the success of major transitions: environmental, industrial and energy in particular. It is organized by the professional engineering federation, Syntec-Ingénierie, in partnership with the General Inspectorate of the Environment and Sustainable Development (IGEDD) of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention; the General Council of the Economy (CGE) of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry, and in association with the Le Moniteur group. The awards echo "Another world is reachable", Syntec-Ingénierie's roadmap.

The winners were revealed on October 29 during Meet'Ingé, the annual engineering event.

The Grand Prize is awarded to the Ingérop teams for the design of the Promenade du Paillon, a sustainable and resilient urban forest

A historic site in the city of Nice, the Promenade du Paillon has gradually become mineralized and transformed into a space dominated by concrete and with very dense car traffic. While it is more than likely that the local climate will become that currently experienced in southern Spain by 2050-2100, the metropolis wanted to anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change. Nice has therefore embarked on an ambitious dynamic of urban transformation and resilience. Among the projects: the transformation of the Promenade du Paillon into a real urban forest and a multifunctional living space so that the people of Nice can reclaim this district and benefit from the positive effects of planted and de-impermeable spaces.

To do this, the city of Nice called on the Ingérop teams. With Actierra, its subsidiary dedicated to sustainable development issues, and its partners including Alexandre Chemetoff & Associés and Carrilho Da Graça Arquitectos, the French engineering and consulting group took on many technical and ecological challenges. The first of these: imagining an urban forest adapted to the climate of Nice today and tomorrow, entirely autonomous in water. Thanks to modeling and recalculation of the vaults covering the Paillon, Ingérop experts were able to precisely determine the plantations to be carried out in order to maximize the beneficial effects. In total, more than 1.500 trees of different species were planted on more than 8 hectares, ultimately making it possible to lower the temperature by a maximum of 7 degrees. A rainwater collection, drainage and storage system was also designed to guarantee the park's water self-sufficiency.

In order for pedestrians to reclaim public space and make it a place to live, a new traffic plan has been developed. The development of a cycle path, a high-level electric bus lane and wide pedestrian paths bordered by plantations have reduced road traffic by 30%, while maintaining sufficient road infrastructure for local traffic for residents. Finally, it should be noted that the work should allow the redevelopment of existing living spaces (parking, library), and the creation of new cultural and sports spaces all along the Promenade.

The “Innovate for energy transitions” prize goes to the Assystem and NAAREA teams for the deployment of the digital twin of NAAREA’s XAMR® Nuclear Micro-generator

Assystem, an international engineering, digital services and project management company, has been supporting the startup NAAREA (Nuclear Abundant Affordable Resourceful Energy for All) since its creation. NAAREA is developing the XAMR® (eXtrasmall Advanced Modular Reactor), an innovative 4th generation nuclear micro-generator with fast neutrons and molten salts, capable of producing electricity and high-temperature heat for industrial needs using the fraction of very long-lived nuclear waste from spent fuel leaving nuclear power plants.

Assystem teams were mandated to orchestrate the deployment of the Digital Twin and ensure its proper implementation, leveraging Dassault Systèmes' advanced technologies. The digital twin is the detailed digital representation of the XAMR, which must bring together all the project data and be shared between all the stakeholders working on its development, in order to accelerate the project and improve its compliance.

To bring this twin to life, the experts of the international engineering group adopted an innovative approach focused on data and models within a single platform. The key innovations? The very large number of different digital models deployed (functional, 3D, requirements, behavioral, etc.), the calculation codes (thermo-hydraulic, neutronic, ensemble simulation), and the creation of specific engineering project methods to meet the requirements of the NAAREA project, which is very product-oriented.

Another major specificity: NAAREA's digital twin was developed in an evolutionary manner. Despite the great complexity, Assystem worked iteratively, in line with the different phases of the project, their objectives and associated challenges. Far from slowing down its execution, this method made it possible to carry out the project in record time and to make the first milestone of the digital twin operational in just 18 months. Today, the project is in a phase of massive deployment of the Digital Twin to be used by all design engineers, while beginning to anticipate new use cases linked to the industrialization phase.

This innovative project, characterized by the integration of various software (3D, simulation, P&ID, functional analysis, requirements management, etc.), merges engineering and digitalization to optimize the overall performance of the project, accelerate the deployment of XAMR and meet the challenges of energy transitions.

The “Decarbonizing Industry” Prize is awarded to Ekium teams for the construction of the first Gigafactories dedicated to the production of low-carbon batteries

Transport is now the second largest cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, which is why engineering companies are working to accelerate and transition towards green, sustainable mobility that is accessible to all. It is in this context that ACC (Automotive Cells Company), specializing in the production of thermal batteries and founded by SAFT, STELLANTIS and MERCEDES, has launched a project to set up three production units for battery cells and modules, located in the heart of the Battery Valley. Called "gigafactories", these units of more than 70.000 m² will produce batteries for electric vehicles.

To design the technical equipment and integrate the necessary adaptations to the production processes of these factories, ACC chose to collaborate with Ekium, an international company specializing in industrial processes, for a Building Project Management for all trades and Utilities. The experts from the engineering company took on many challenges. The first of these consisted of designing and building a gigantic structure in all phases in record time. The 70.000 m2 building was built in just 12 months, the equivalent of the time it takes to build a single-family home. The second block is already scheduled to come into service in early 2025.

Furthermore, Ekium stood out for its ability to work in a circular manner to integrate process adaptations throughout the design and production phases, and to coordinate up to several thousand stakeholders at the peak of the project. The batteries produced on the site are, in fact, designed to be ever more efficient, in a dynamic of perpetual technological innovation.

Ultimately, these three factories will each be capable of producing between 250.000 and 300.000 electric vehicle batteries per year. They will contribute to the energy independence of the European continent and will enable the creation of 1.400 to 2.000 jobs within ten years.