DIM MaTerRE Presentation

MaTerRE is one of the nine Major Research and Innovation Fields (DIM) labelled by the Île-de-France Region for the period 2022-2026. It brings together researchers from various disciplines around advanced eco-responsible materials.

What is a DIM ?

A DIM (Major Research and Innovation Field) is a research network, selected by the Region’s Scientific Committee for its structuring, multidisciplinary and unifying nature. For the period 2022-2026, nine DIM were selected:

  • Advanced  Eco-responsible Materials (DIM MaTerRe), led by ESPCI Paris
  • Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence in Île-de-France (DIM AI4IDF), led by the INRIA Center in Paris
  • BioConvergence for Health (DIM BioConvS), led by Université Paris Cité
  • Cognition and Brain Revolutions Artificial Intelligence, Neurogenomuics and Society (DIM C-Brains), porté par l’Inserm
  • One Health 2.0 (DIM DOH 2.0), led by Inserm
  • Immunotherapies, autoimmunity and cancer (DIM ITAC), porté led by the Gustave Roussy Institute
  • Origines (DIM Origines), led by the Paris Observatory – PSL
  • Heritage and ancient materials (DIM PAMIR), led by CNRS
  • Quantum Technologies in Paris Region (DIM QuanTiP), led by CNRS

With a budget of around €12.5 million over five years, the objectives of a DIM are plural:

  • Establishing in Île-de-France a research and innovation network with emerging topics and very strong scientific and economic potential.
  • Strengthening the attractiveness of laboratories in the Ile-de-France region through the provision of scientific and technological skills and state-of-the-art equipment.
  • Improving the visibility of Paris research teams in Europe and abroad.
  • Promoting the exploitation of knowledge and dissemination of research results, including to the general public and young people.
  • Strengthening links between research and the economy by promoting technology transfer and innovation.

Stakes

The 21st century is a world in transition. Accelerating climate change, aging population, pandemics, the depletion of natural resources and biodiversity: the planet is experiencing rapid, profound and systemic changes. Appropriate, global and rapid responses are essential to many transitions: environmental, energy, urban, demographic. Each of these transitions needs new technologies, new materials and therefore new methods to develop them.

The challenge is huge. To address this, future disruptive technological solutions must be both efficient and biocompatible, but also socially acceptable and economically viable.

Objectives

The main objective of the DIM MaTerRE is the development of tools and methods for the accelerated discovery of advanced materials for sustainable development and new energies.

It is indeed urgent to find the best technological solutions allowing for example a strong reduction of CO2 emissions, a thoughtful use of building materials of our habitats, a true management of our increasingly scarce energy resources and the establishment of a virtuous life cycle for our waste.

Modular, multifunctional and efficient, the advanced materials developed as part of MaTerRE will have to be produced by environmentally friendly processes and will thus contribute fully to address several key societal issues: transport, housing, energy, recycling…

Thematic axes

The research and projects that will be carried out as part of the the DIM MaTerRe are divided into four research themes:

Production, upgrading and management of strategic gases

The challenges related to strategic molecules, such as hydrogen and CO2, from their production, capture, purification, storage and transport, to their transformation, are at the heart of MaTerRE’s priorities. On the one hand, decarbonization of industrial processes will only be achieved through the use of energy-intensive energy carriers such as hydrogen. […]
Axis managers :
Thibault Cantat
Researcher
Emmanuel Nicolas
Engineer – Researcher
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New eco-compatible energy recovery and storage methods

The energy transition in transport will largely be in favour of electric vehicles based on the progress of Li-ion batteries. More efficient storage solutions for electricity produced by intermittent sources are needed to regulate the electricity grid and to meet the time-lagged demand of generation. This requires specific specifications, cost […]
Axis manager :
Christel Laberty-Robert
Professor
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Building Materials

On a global scale, the construction and building sectors are responsible for about 10% to 28% of greenhouse gas emissions, and about 5% to 30% of final energy consumption. The construction footprint is mainly attributed to concrete, which heavily uses carbonates and releases the residual CO2 into the atmosphere. That […]
Axis manager :
Laurent Brochard
Researcher
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Recycling, Urban Mines and Eco-design

Raw materials and recycling are key issues in the ecological transition. The development of the circular economy to counter the excessive use of materials at all levels is essential. The objective of the DIM is to contribute to the emergence of technologies necessary for life cycles of materials that respect the […]
Axis managers :
Cédric Boissière
Research director
Benoit Couturaud
Associate professor
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Methodological axes

In order to accelerate the development of these new materials and devices, five transversal methodological axes reinforce the thematic axes:

High throughput synthesis and characterization

Microfluidics or high-throughput synthesis is a technique for automating experiments, increasing their throughput and performing chemical reaction combinatorics, while maintaining excellent control and reducing costs. It must make it possible to move towards scientific breaks by generating large quantities of data and thus supplying the most accurate and complete models […]
Axis managers :
Annie Colin
Professor
Stéphanie Descroix
Research Director
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Intensive numerical techniques

Today, digital technology is an essential part of materials research – and research in general. It provides a better understanding of the phenomena and properties of materials related to their structure while reducing the costs of designing new materials, thanks to high-throughput calculation for example.  Developing intensive numerical methods to […]
Axis manager :
Rodolphe Vuilleumier
Professor
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Architecture engineering of materials at different scales

In order to optimize the performance and functionality of materials, the study of the architecture of materials on several scales is essential. From the molecular scale to the scale of the object, the design and multi-scale study of materials is a promising field, but which now encounters an obstacle: to […]
Axis managers :
Cyrille Sollogoub
Associate professor and researcher
Justin Dirrenberger
Researcher, Associate professor
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Advanced characterization techniques

Many advanced characterization platforms already exist in Île-de-France. One of MaTerRE’s challenges is to participate in the optimization, improvement and development of techniques for advanced characterization or coupling techniques, in order to optimize speed and spatial resolution. This will include accelerating the study of solids at different scales, understanding the […]
Axis managers :
Gilles Patriarche
Researcher
Dominique Thiaudière
Research engineer
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Economic study of the ecological transition

The ecological transition is not just a technical challenge. It implies changing our production and consumption patterns and this requires societal, political and economic changes. Current production models generally involve extracting, processing, exporting and discarding resources. However, these models can no longer be sustained: resources are not unlimited. It is […]
Axis manager :
Marc Fleurbaey
Researcher
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Key numbers

2.5
Million €
/ year.
90
Affiliated labs
400
Member researchers
28
Financed projects
9
Supported events
4
Organised events

Organisation

Instances