Atos has inaugurated its new Iseran campus in Echirolles, near Grenoble, France. The new centre brings together three areas of expertise; energy, high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Yannick Tricaud, CEO Southern Europe, Atos commented: "The Iseran campus is part of the GrandAlpe project and the revitalisation of the south of Grenoble, to which we are contributing with this site marked by innovation and technological expertise. Now the Group's second largest site in France, it is proof of Atos' commitment to the region and the metropole. Our 1,000 employees are at the heart of French sovereignty issues, both economic and industrial, by developing the technologies of tomorrow in the energy, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence sectors. These fast-growing sectors are a lever for economic development and international influence for Atos, the Region and the Metropole."
An Artificial Intelligence Skills Center
With this new campus, Atos plans to reinforce its strategy as the new European R&D centre will promote excellence worldwide. Funded by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, this centre and its 300 employees are mainly focused on Artificial Intelligence.
Atos’ teams have already partnered with the MIAI@Grenoble Alpes program from the Grenoble Interdisciplinary Institute of Artificial Intelligence (3IA), which has received government support.
Through its design and the work of its R&D centre, the site plays an active role in the Group's CSR and decarbonisation strategy. The building has been awarded the EFFINERGIE 2013+ label and meets all the latest insulation standards. It also has nearly 500 square meters of photovoltaic panels and reuses heat from the servers.
The R&D centre is already working on several projects to reduce energy consumption, including projects to aggregate the building's data to improve the site's energy consumption, and to supervise and reduce its IT carbon footprint using AI and low-tech.
Expertise to serve International Customers
Atos Worldgrid, an international subsidiary of Atos, has activities which address energy operators in water, wind, electricity, oil and gas, with solutions ranging from critical infrastructure maintenance to real-time operation of distributed smart grids.
The site's HPC and AI teams work on critical issues regarding national sovereignty in the current race for computing power, as well as the development of AI algorithms and the energy optimisation of these technologies.
The site also includes teams specialising in cloud and cybersecurity, as well as the Technical Services unit, which supports the digital transformation of manufacturers and organisations in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Atos management reiterated its regional roots and commitment at the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by Catherine Staron, Vice President of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, responsible for higher education, research and innovation; Guy Jullien, Vice President of Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, in charge of the economy, industry and economic resilience; Renzo Sulli, Mayor of Echirolles and Steven Perron, Founding President of Foncière Magellan.
Catherine Staron, Vice President of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, said: "Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the leading industrial region in France and one of the most successful in Europe in terms of research and innovation. The Atos Iseran campus is the Group's Center of Excellence for research, particularly in artificial intelligence. By supporting it, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region is helping to strengthen the regional ecosystem and the company's links with our academic players. It is therefore a major asset, which contributes greatly to the policy sealed with the President of the Region Laurent Wauquiez in terms of relocation, reindustrialisation and technological and economic sovereignty."
