Workshop: Bio-based and geo-based materials: contributions to the energy transition

A call for contributions is open until 26 March for this workshop organised by DIM MaTerRE on 9 June 2026 at ENS Paris-Saclay.

Bio-based and geo-based materials, and more broadly eco-materials, derived from renewable or local resources, represent a strategic lever for designing low-carbon systems.

Their potential extends beyond the building sector: these materials are now used in a variety of applications in sustainable mobility, energy storage and conversion, urban and landscape planning, heritage renovation, design and applied arts. Their remarkable properties – biogenic carbon storage capacity, thermal and hygrothermal performance, modularity and compatibility with the circular economy – open up major multidisciplinary prospects for rethinking the design, manufacture and use of material systems.

In this context, this workshop organised by DIM MaTerRE aims to:

• Bring together the scientific, technical and industrial community around the challenges of characterising, modelling and implementing these materials.
• Identify the scientific, technological and regulatory barriers that need to be overcome to promote their deployment.
• Promote interdisciplinary synergies between researchers, engineers, energy experts, industrialists and decision-makers.
• Discuss approaches to environmental assessment, sustainability and the structuring of local and circular sectors.

MAIN CONFERENCES

Patrick Perré – Bio-based materials for construction: resources, advantages and combination with geo-based materials.

Bio-based materials have many qualities: carbon footprint, thermal insulation, tensile strength, water regulation, thermal inertia through phase change, etc. However, as they are perishable materials, they are more difficult to use than mineral materials. Furthermore, they are produced by ecosystems, which are both solutions to climate change and the first victims of climate change.

After an introduction on current and projected renewable carbon production, the conference will attempt to provide a fairly comprehensive overview of the advantages and disadvantages of bio-based materials and the benefits of combining them with geo-based materials. The aim is to show how these materials can offer solutions to construction challenges, particularly in response to climate change, both in renovation and new construction. Indeed, after talking at length about energy-inefficient buildings, the media are now talking a lot about boilers during heatwaves: our societies have finally realised the need to work on thermal comfort in summer.

Biography: A specialist in wood and bio-based materials and an expert in coupled heat and mass transfer in porous media, Patrick Perré now also works on bioactive systems and biotechnologies, particularly the biodegradation and bio-manufacturing of bio-based materials. Initially a research fellow at the CNRS, then a professor at AgroParisTech Nancy, where he headed an INRAe joint research unit, he joined CentraleSupélec in 2011 to restructure a 70-person laboratory (LGPM) focused on renewable resources. Since 2015, he has headed the CentraleSupélec Chair in Biotechnology. With an annual budget of over €3 million, this group of more than 40 people applies the concept of digital twins to the sustainable production of materials, energy and molecules. Author or co-author of more than 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals (h-factor: WoS = 43, Google Scholar = 56), Patrick Perré has received three international awards and has numerous international collaborations.

Nicolas Vernoux-Thélot – Information to come

Philippe Coussot – Information to come