PHY597 - Energies (2023-2024)

Physics Department
François Willaime - CEA Saclay - email: francois.willaime@cea.fr - Tel: 01 64 50 17 88
Sylvain David - Orsay Nuclear Physics Institute - email: sdavid@ipno.in2p3.fr - Tel: 01 69 15 69 52
Pere Roca i Cabarrocas - Ecole Polytechnique - LPICM - email: pere.roca@polytechnique.edu - Tel: 01 69 33 43 14

Mechanics Department
Patrick Le Tallec - Ecole Polytechnique - LMS - email. : patrick.letallec@polytechnique.edu - Tel: 01 69 33 57 85

PA internship - 21th century's energies:

The aim of the internship is to introduce the students to research in the energy sector as it is used in the French or foreign laboratories of physics, energy, mechanics, or within national or international companies.

The supervisors of the option can share internship opportunities and they are at your disposal to guide you in your internship search and to advise you on subjects of internship that you can find on your own. In order to get the most of it, students can also gather in duos to carry out the internships.

According to the necessary time, it is important to choose you subject and discuss it with your internship director in advance. You must think of the topic before the beginning of the internship, particularly for internship abroad.

For your information, here are fields of activity in which internships done in previous years:

• simulation of nuclear fuel cycle
• steel corrosion in the secondary circuit of nuclear power plants
• thermonuclear fusion
• photovoltaics
• solar therma
• hydrogen production by electrolysis of water
• biogas
• wave energy recovery systems
• CO2 emissions, mesuring or storage
• modeling the fracking
• changes of heating consumption pattern
• electrification of a big city in 100% renewable
• energy storage: sustainability and reliability of lithium-ion batteries
• integration of renewable energies in network
• electrical car perspectives
• high-fidelity LES
• high-temperature-resistant materials
• dimensioning and vibration of offshore operating systems

This is a very wide range of subjects, even in each field. They can be theorical, digital or experimental and are mostly carried out in academic research laboratories in France or abroad. A klarge number of internships () take place in companies , but all have a major research and development sector in the energy field. The Chair in Energy can bring a financial support, capped at 2000€ per internship, to cover abroad ().

We insist on the scientifical nature of the internship. It cannot be reduced to studies of software comparison, to techno-economic compilations or small autonomous models not referring to a global scientific approach.

The option is animated by four professors that you can freely consult and they have, in particular, privileged perspectives on the following topics:

• Sylvain David: nuclear reactor and nuclear fuel cycle physics, energy physics, ...
• Patrick Le Tallec: mechanics and materials for energy, technological research
• Pere Roca: solar energy photovoltaics, electronics for energy
• François Willaime: fission & fusion nuclear, sustainable energies, material physics for energy, digital simulation

Course language: Franch or English