Research & Innovation
at Veolia
A team at
the service of
the Group's strategy
Innovating to resource the world
To support the Group's ambition to “resource the world”,
Research & Innovation of Veolia develops innovative solutions
that are in line with the expectations of its industrial and municipal clients.

Veolia Group is the global leader in optimized resource management.

With operations in all five continents, and over 163,000 employees, the Group designs and provides solutions for water, waste and energy management, which contribute to the sustainable development of cities and industries.

Through its three complementary businesses, Veolia contributes to the development of access to resources, as well as preserving and renewing available resources.

Research & Innovation is a growth driver
for Veolia
, enabling it to take
advantage of growth opportunities
and to anticipate future challenges.
R&I missions
In line with the Group's strategy,
Research & Innovation of Veolia draws on the scientific
excellence found in its research program
to:
contribute
to Veolia's growth
improve
the performance
and productivity
of its activities
anticipate
the needs
of tomorrow
R&I in figures
R&I locations
The Research & Innovation acts both nationally
and internationally through 4 research centers and 3 test platforms.
Research programs in line with Group strategy
Research programs are structured according to the Group's priority
growth sectors and performance objectives. They develop high-added-value
innovative solutions and services for industrial and municipal clients:
Industries:
Oil and gas,
mining, solutions
to complex challenges SEE ACHIEVEMENTS
Industries:
Food & Beverage
pharmaceutical,
cosmetics SEE ACHIEVEMENTS
Industries:
Circular
economy,
dismantling SEE ACHIEVEMENTS
Smart
cities SEE ACHIEVEMENTS
Sustainable
cities SEE ACHIEVEMENTS
Cities: Traditional
solutions SEE ACHIEVEMENTS
Performance:
Waste
management SEE ACHIEVEMENTS
Performance:
Water
and energy management,
health and safety SEE ACHIEVEMENTS
Incubator:
Integration
of breakthrough
technologies SEE ACHIEVEMENTS

Industries: Oil and gas, mining, solutions to complex challenges

Industries: Food and Beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics

Industries: Circular economy, dismantling

Smart cities

Sustainable cities

Cities: Traditional solutions

Performance: Waste management

Performance: Water and energy management, health and safety

Incubator: Integration of breakthrough technologies

The Innovation ecosystem
To meet the needs of its clients, Veolia's Research & Innovation
has been developed according to three approaches :
An internal
research
structure
An internal
network
as a catalyst
for innovation
An open
innovation
approach
Missions
> Project implementation: from the project specifications stage to the commercial production of the innovation
> Development of skills networks
Five scientific departments group together the various skills and expertise of the Research & Innovation:
  • Biosystems & Biotechnology
  • Environment & Health
  • Process Engineering
  • Modeling & Information Technologies
  • Industrial Technologies Support
Driven by the R&I, the VIBE (Veolia Innovation BoostEr) network enables all Veolia employees to propose innovation ideas and to share initiatives and local best practices.

It draws on:
  • 20 Innovation managers in contact with Veolia country zones
  • a virtual community of innovators
  • an online idea management platform
  • an annual global challenge that rewards three innovation projects proposed by Veolia employees
Coordinated by the R&I, the Open Innovation approach detects innovations with a high technology readiness level from start-ups, SMEs or universities. Using the VIA platform, it boosts the Group's innovative capacity and sows the seeds for new business opportunities.

Since 2013:
  • 13 collaboration agreements have been signed with start-ups
  • over 600 start-ups and SMEs have been spotted and assessed
The R&I partner network
Over 200
academic, industrial
and institutional partners
to develop complementary expertise

and invent new collaboration modes,
in order to provide answers
to Veolia's main research issues.
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National museum of natural history and École Polytechnique

École polytechnique, École Polytechnique Foundation, the National Museum of Natural History and Veolia are partners in the "Mathematical and Biodiversity Modeling" teaching and research Chair. Inaugurated in 2009, this Chair aims to harness the original synergy between applied mathematics, ecology, biodiversity and evolution from a global perspective of training and research.
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Danone

Danone and Veolia have signed a strategic and innovative partnership regarding the water cycle, waste management, sustainable farming and energy efficiency, in order to meet the challenges of climate change. This is an unprecedented global alliance that will create economic, social and environmental value. It is in line with the climate policy announced by Danone that calls for a zero net carbon footprint by 2050 for sites under the company’s expanded scope of responsibility, both direct and shared.
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INRA

Veolia has conducted several research projects with the French Agricultural Research Institute (INRA) at Grignon, and in particular the QualiAgro program, which has made it possible to characterize the agronomic value of urban composts and their environmental impacts, based on long-term field tests and lab testing.