IBM and EDF Combine R&D Skills to Further Energy Sustainability

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a collaboration with EDF, the leading electricity producer in Europe, on an ambitious project to explore key aspects of the energy systems that are important in EDF operations, in an effort to further energy sustainability. EDF and IBM will work together to develop high performance computing solutions which can significantly advance the operation and optimization of the complex systems and processes involved in electricity production and power management.

"Research at its best is what is needed to tackle the daunting energy challenges that the world is facing today. EDF R&D is teaming with leading organizations in the world to bring innovative solutions and to accelerate progress in sustainable energy solutions. This move brings together top energy and computer research skills that will pave a high-end new path on those urgent issues," said Yves Bamberger, EDF vice-president for research.

"Unlocking the answers to sustainable energy will require extensive collaboration between the scientific and business communities, and new approaches in technology," said John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM Research. "This ambitious initiative between EDF and IBM brings together the right expertise and will explore how to apply technologies with new intelligence to seek significant improvements in energy efficiency and alternative energy."

Together, the companies will develop and validate sophisticated computational solutions to model a number of complex processes critical to EDF activities. EDF expects that this common initiative will increase its ability to further advance the efficiency of its power plants.

IBM expects that its work with EDF will help advance IBM's systems, software, middleware and applications capabilities in its Power Generation, Intelligent Utility Network and Advanced Water Management solutions, as well as many other industrial, environmental and research activities and lead to improved computer systems and applications designs in the future.

EDF, the leading utility for CO2-free electricity production, has been investing for many years in research and numerical simulation to support efficient and sustainable use of power production. Its R&D teams have developed an extensive set of highly validated numerical codes and simulation platforms that play a key role in optimizing plant operation. It has recently acquired one the most powerful supercomputers in the world, IBM Blue Gene/P, that will allow the researchers to bring those computational solutions to unprecedented levels of performance and relevance for the most complex phenomena encountered in the operation field.

IBM, the worldwide leader in high performance computation, offers EDF its knowledge in terms of computational technologies, in software development and management, in algorithm development and in industry solutions enablement in Energy & Utilities and in environment and climate change.

For more details about IBM Research, please visit: http://www.research.ibm.com/.