18 octobre 1945
Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (France ; 1945-…)
Le Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) est un établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial (EPIC) placé sous la triple tutelle du ministère de l’Écologie, du ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur et du ministère des Armées. Le CEA est un organisme de recherche spécialisé dans les domaines des énergies nucléaires et renouvelables (bas carbone), de la défense et de la sécurité, de la recherche technologique pour l’industrie et de la recherche fondamentale (sciences de la matière, sciences de la vie et santé).
L’idée de créer un organisme de recherche dédié à l’énergie atomique voit le jour dans l’esprit du général de Gaulle en 1945 suite à l’explosion des deux bombes atomiques américaines à Hiroshima et Nagasaki. Il confie cette mission à Frédéric Joliot-Curie, directeur du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, et à Raoul Dautry, ministre de la Reconstruction et de l’Urbanisme. Le CEA est ainsi créé le 18 octobre 1945 et le général de Gaulle nomme Frédéric Joliot-Curie haut-commissaire à l’énergie atomique et Raoul Dautry, administrateur général. Placé sous l’autorité directe de la présidence du Conseil, cet organisme a vocation à mener des recherches scientifiques et techniques en vue de l’utilisation de l’énergie nucléaire dans les domaines de la science (applications médicales), de l’industrie (électricité) et de la défense nationale. En janvier 1946, les premiers membres du CEA sont désignés. À ce premier groupe formé de Pierre Auger (1899-1993), Irène Curie (1897-1956), Francis Perrin (1901-1992) et du général Paul Dassault (1882-1969), viennent se joindre, quelques mois plus tard, Lew Kowarski (1907-1979), Bertrand Goldschmidt (1912-2002), Jules Guéron (1907-1990) et Pierre Biquard (1901-1992). En juillet 1946, le CEA s’installe au Fort de Châtillon à Fontenay-aux-Roses et investit également l’enclave de la poudrerie du Bouchet, située à Vert-le-Petit dans l’Essonne, pour effectuer le traitement de minerai d’uranium, le raffinage et la conversion de l’uranium, ainsi que le traitement du combustible nucléaire usé. Dans un premier temps, l’usine du Bouchet fournit le combustible nécessaire pour la pile atomique Zoé et traite le combustible irradié de la pile pour en extraire du plutonium. À partir des années 1950, l’usine du Bouchet produit du combustible pour tous les réacteurs français, avant de développer, au cours des années 1960, de nouveaux procédés chimiques de traitement de l’uranium. Le site est fermé en 1971, puis démantelé de 1971 à 1979. Dès 1947, le CEA développe dans le Fort de Châtillon la première pile atomique française à l’eau lourde. Baptisée pile Zoé (pour Zéro énergie, Oxyde d’uranium et Eau lourde), elle fonctionne pour la première fois le 15 décembre 1948 et initie la filière française des réacteurs à eau lourde refroidis au gaz.
Le 19 mars 1950, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, qui est membre du Parti communiste français (PCF), lance l’appel de Stockholm contre l’armement nucléaire. Il est aussitôt destitué de ses fonctions de haut-commissaire par Georges Bidault, alors président du Conseil. Francis Perrin est nommé à la tête du CEA. Sur son impulsion, les recherches sur les applications militaires et civiles de l’énergie atomique s’intensifient. Bien que le gouvernement n’a pas encore pris de décision officielle, tout est mis en œuvre pour doter la France d’armes nucléaires. En 1958, le président du Conseil, Félix Gaillard, prend la décision de fixer le premier essai nucléaire à 1960.
En 1952, un nouveau centre d’études nucléaires voit le jour à Saclay. Cette même année, une deuxième pile à eau lourde, EL2, et le premier accélérateur de particule du CEA sont mis en service sur ce site.
Sur le site de Marcoule, sont implanté les réacteurs G1 (1956), G2 (1959) et G3 (1960) de type Uranium Naturel-Graphite-Gaz (UNGG). Une usine d’extraction du plutonium du combustible usagé y est aussi construite et fonctionne à partir de 1958.
En parallèle, le CEA lance la construction de l’usine de raffinage de l’uranium de Malvési à Narbonne et de l’usine militaire de Pierrelatte dédiées à l’enrichissement de l’uranium nécessaire à la fabrication de la bombe atomique.
Le CEA réalise son premier essai nucléaire dans le Sahara en 1960. L’opération baptisée « Gerboise bleue » a lieu le 13 février 1960 dans la région de Reggane (Algérie actuelle).
Dès les années 1960, le CEA participe au développement des applications civiles de ses recherches. Dans ce cadre, le CEA collabore avec EDF à la construction des premiers réacteurs nucléaires à l’uranium naturel graphite gaz (UNGG) à Chinon entre 1962 et 1967. Mais le CEA et EDF s’opposent sur les filières de réacteur : le premier défend la filière française uranium naturel graphite gaz tandis que le second est partisan de la filière des réacteurs à eau pressurisée développée par le constructeur américain Westinghouse Electric Company. En novembre 1969, le gouvernement Jacques Chaban-Delmas tranche en faveur d’EDF et décide la construction d’une centrale à eau pressurisée à Fessenheim.
En 1973, la première centrale prototype réacteur nucléaire à neutrons rapides et à caloporteur sodium Phénix est mise en service à Marcoule. Le gouvernement Chirac passe commande du surgénérateur Superphénix en 1976.
En février 1979, l’usine Georges-Besse implantée dans le site nucléaire du Tricastin à Pierrelatte est mise en service afin d’enrichir l’uranium nécessaire à la production de combustible pour les réacteurs électro-nucléaires.
En 1983, le gouvernement Mauroy crée la « société des participations industrielles du commissariat à l’énergie atomique » qui a pour vocation de gérer les participations et les filiales du CEA (Cogema, TechnicAtome, Eurodif, etc.).
L’année 1985 marque la fermeture de la centrale nucléaire de Brennilis, prototype modéré par l’eau lourde, tandis que le réacteur à neutrons rapides Superphénix est mis en service après dix années de construction. Superphénix est finalement abandonné en juin 1997 sous le gouvernement Jospin.
En 2001, la filiale CEA Industrie, Framatome et la Cogema fusionnent au sein d’Areva. En 2007, le Genoscope et le Centre national de génotypage rejoignent le CEA au sein d’un nouvel institut dénommé « Institut de génomique ». En 2010, le CEA change de nom pour intégrer les énergies alternatives, tout en conservant son sigle d’origine.
Le CEA est dirigé par un haut-commissaire à l’énergie atomique auquel s’adjoignent un administrateur général, le comité de l’énergie atomique, le conseil scientifique qui définit le programme de recherche, de fabrication et de travaux du CEA, et le visiting committee composé d’experts internationalement reconnus chargés de fournir un point de vue sur les stratégies et les orientations de recherche du CEA.
L’organisation du CEA s’articule autour de directions opérationnelles et de directions fonctionnelles. Les quatre grandes directions opérationnelles sont les suivantes :
• Direction des énergies (DES)
• Direction des applications militaires (DAM)
• Direction de la Recherche technologique (DRT)
• Direction de la Recherche fondamentale (DRF)
Le CEA est constitué de neuf centres de recherche :
• Le centre CEA Paris-Saclay est principalement localisé à Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses et Évry. Il comprend également des unités implantées à Orsay, Paris, Caen et Jouy-en-Josas. C’est au sein de ce centre que sont développées la majeure partie des activités civiles du CEA relatives aux énergies bas carbone, au climat et à l’environnement, aux sciences de la matière, aux sciences du vivant, à la santé et à la recherche technologique.
• Le CEA de Grenoble consacre l’essentiel de son activité au développement des nouvelles technologies dans les domaines de l’énergie, de la santé, de l’information et de la communication.
• Les recherches du CEA de Marcoule sont centrées autour des techniques de préparation de l’uranium, du traitement des combustibles nucléaires usés, des techniques d’assainissement et de démantèlement des installations nucléaires en fin de vie et de la gestion des déchets radioactifs.
• Le CEA DAM (direction des applications militaires) Île-de-France, situé sur la commune de Bruyères-le-Châtel, a pour mission de concevoir et de garantir le fonctionnement et la sûreté des armes nucléaires françaises en s’appuyant sur la simulation.
• Le CEA de Cadarache est implanté sur la commune de Saint-Paul-lès-Durance dans les Bouches-du-Rhône. Ses recherches sont centrées sur les nouvelles technologies pour l’énergie, l’écophysiologie végétale et la microbiologie.
• Le CEA de Valduc, situé à Salives en Côte-d’Or, est un site de recherche et de production d’armes nucléaires dépendant de la direction des applications militaires.
• Le CESTA (Centre d’Études Scientifiques et Techniques d’Aquitaine), implanté sur la commune du Barp en Gironde, a pour mission d’assurer l’architecture industrielle des armes de la force de dissuasion.
• Le centre d’études de Gramat (Lot), autrefois rattaché à la Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), a rejoint le CEA en 2010. C’est un centre d’expertise pour l’évaluation des vulnérabilités des systèmes d’armes aux agressions des armes nucléaires et conventionnelles.
• Le centre du Ripault, situé sur la commune de Monts (Indre-et-Loire), réalise la mise au point de nouveaux matériaux, depuis leur conception jusqu’à leur fabrication et leur caractérisation.
En 2019, le CEA emploie 20 181 salariés et figure au 1er rang des organismes de recherche déposant de brevets en France et en Europe.
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