National Strategy for Energy Research

The Stratégie nationale de recherche énergétique (National Strategy for Energy Research) is designed as a strategic framework to guide research and development on alternatives to and recycling of the critical minerals needed for the energy transition. 

The policy was developed under the framework of the Stratégie nationale de recherche (National Research Strategy), which was first established in 2007 and updated in 2016. The initial objective of the National Strategy for Energy Research is to foster research on high-profile energy issues with a strong economic and social impact. The update includes environmental considerations in the research strategy, in line with the 2015 Loi relative à la transition énergétique pour la croissance verte (legislative framework on the Energy transition for green growth). 

The National Strategy for Energy Research highlights the need to foster knowledge and analyses on critical minerals. Their scarcity across the globe, the structure of the supply chain as well as recycling potentials are identified as key research priorities in the first strategic orientation, which aims to “target the central themes and transformative dynamics of the energy transition”. Specifically, the Strategy aims to foster cross-cutting research through specific calls for proposals, and by incorporating the interdisciplinary nature of proposals into eligibility and selection funding criteria. The policy also aims to develop comparative research on the stability of energy systems and the means to increase their resilience. 

Want to know more about this policy ? Learn more (French)