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Gaz de France (GDF)
| Gaz de France (GDF), with 26000 employees, is one of the world largest public service utilities. Gaz de France is responsible for assuring France’s long term supply of natural gas. It is a major world importer of natural gas and is highly active in transport, storage, distribution and marketing. GAZ DE FRANCE Research Centre employs about 800 engineers and technicians with the purpose to develop safe, environmentally sound and reliable natural gas technologies. Research and development is being done in order to develop innovative techniques for the entire natural gas chain. GAZ DE FRANCE was in the past (between 1960 and 1974) very active in the Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell R&D. This activity was stopped when the choice of centralised power generation through nuclear technology was made in France. Activities in the fuel cell technologies started again in 1993 when results of a market study showed opportunities for the natural gas industry in gas fuel cells in France. A Fuel Cell project was created with major objective to promote the use of natural gas fuel cells. GAZ DE FRANCE has been involved in two EU Joule projects on MCFCs, one EU Joule project on SOFCs, one Brite/Euram project on SOFCs and is presently involved in three FP5 projects on SOFCs. |
