Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique / Laboratoire de Réactivité et de Chimie des Solides

Contact: Dr Charles Delacourt

The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) is a government-funded science and technology institution, which is operated by the French ministry of research. It employs about 25,000 people. The objectives of CNRS are to assess and carry out research from which the country can benefit in terms of scientific, economic, social, and cultural aspects.

The Laboratoire de Réactivité et de Chimie des Solides is a research lab located in Amiens, France, and is operated jointly by the University of Picardie Jules Verne and the CNRS. The lab employs about 70 scientists and there are six different research themes, most of them being related to electrochemical energy storage and conversion: Materials synthesis, cristallochemistry, electrochemical sensors, hydrogen storage, electrochromism, and lithium-ion batteries. A lab-renowned expertise is the development of in depth characterisation tools/fixtures to study new materials (e.g., insitu XRD, NMR, or SEM/TEM during lithium insertion/de-insertion in active material) or to study degradation phenomena of existing materials/electrochemical systems (e.g., analysis of the LiB electrolyte using HRMS, GC/MS, and FTIR).

About five years ago, a new expertise on modeling has been initiated. Ab initio techniques based on DFT helps material scientists in the search of new materials and in understanding material stability or properties. Besides, continuum modeling is implemented to understand limiting phenomena and degradation in current and future generations of batteries.

The LRCS is involved in several projects including regional (Région Picardie), national (ANR), and European (e.g., SUPERLION, HELIOS, EUROLION, INNOSHADE) ones. Beside, the LRCS coordinates the European consortium Alistore-ERI that gathers 22 research labs on energy storage throughout the EU. Recently, the French RS2E energy hub was created and is also coordinated by the LRCS. It gathers 12 French research labs on energy storage.