On Tuesday October 24, 2023, Dominique Mockly, Chairman and CEO of Teréga, and Laurent Bordes, President of the Université of Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA), formally renewed the agreement that unites the two organizations.

The two long-standing partners have a strong track record of partnership initiatives in the fields of education, research and innovation, boosted by UPPA's I-SITE ("Science Innovation Territories Economy Initiative") "Energy and Environment Solutions" (E2S) national excellence label. Their ambition is to ensure that the synergies generated by this partnership continue to flourish.

A long-term partnership reflecting a shared commitment to innovation

For almost 20 years, Teréga has been a partner of UPPA through various endeavors. Numerous projects have been launched with UPPA on general topics relating to gas and trace compound analysis, the development of geochemical tools, steel corrosion, the impact of new gas storage on the subsoil, the optimization of multi-energy systems, and legal issues relating to the energy transition.

Teréga and UPPA have built up their partnership through:

• The creation of a joint research laboratory dedicated to the study of geological storage of decarbonated gases, SEnGA (Stockage des Énergies Gaz en Aquifère) laboratory. This structure is an innovative and competitive tool in the field of energy transition linked to gas storage in geological reservoirs.

• Teréga’s participation in the E2S MOVE partnership research chair run by UPPA’s Energy and Environmental Transitions (TREE) social sciences laboratory. This partnership chair, set up in January 2020 for a period of five years, aims to structure a scientific research team whose mission is to understand the legal issues of sustainable mobility, within the framework of the energy transition.

• The IMPULSE 2025 project, in association with UPPA’s Laboratoire de Thermique, Énergétique et Procédés (LaTEP), aims to develop an innovative digital foundation based on new simulation tools. LaTEP's expertise in this area is essential to Teréga’s development of simulation and dynamic optimization of multi-energy systems.

UPPA teacher-researchers Isabelle Le Hécho (deputy director of research and innovation at the STEE college), Pierre Cézac (director of the ISIFoR Carnot institute), Guillaume Galliero (deputy director of the Laboratory of Complex Fluids and Reservoirs (LFCR) and director of the GREEN university research school), Xavier Arnauld de Sartre (director of the TREE human and social sciences research laboratory on energy and environmental transitions).

UPPA’s rise to prominence supported by Teréga

Terega supported UPPA as part of the government’s I-SITE label for its Energy and Environment Solutions (E2S) project back in 2017, and whose continuation obtained in March 2022 was a mark of national recognition.

Teréga had taken the measure of UPPA’s rise to prominence and thus supported numerous initiatives:

• The European Doctoral Programme in Energy and Environment (EDENE) cofund in 2019 to benefit from European financial aid aimed at boosting doctoral training towards industry and its international outreach.

• UNITA Universitas Montium in 2020: as part of the creation of an alliance of European universities which, in addition to UPPA, will initially include the universities of Turin (Italy, coordinator), Savoie Mont Blanc (Chambéry, France), Beira Interior in Covilhã (Portugal), West Timisoara (Romania) and Zaragoza (Spain), representing a total of over 165,000 students and 13,000 staff. This future European university currently includes 10 members and two associate universities.
  
  This initiative is very important for Teréga, as it is in line with the perspective of strengthening cross-border connections in the field of energy (in particular hydrogen infrastructure projects), and developing strong links based on UNITA’s strategic focus on renewable energies and the circular economy.

• University Cluster for Innovation (Pôle Universitaire d'Innovation) in 2023: Terega, as a partner, supported UPPA’s application, enabling it to be laureate with its “Sud-Aquitaine Innovation” project.

New areas of collaboration for a more sustainable future

In view of some of these actions, Teréga and UPPA signed an initial framework agreement in 2016 to structure this collaboration. Today, both parties wish to maintain this fruitful partnership.

New initiatives will focus on the following areas:

• Continuation of joint research initiatives (ongoing collaborations, joint laboratory) and identification of potential new subjects for research collaboration;
• Teréga’s involvement in one-off classes, seminars and case studies;
• Support for student training in the form of internships, sandwich courses or, where appropriate, scholarships;
• Inviting students and/or professors to seminars and/or conferences organized by Teréga;
• The development of partnerships with UPPA for the continuing education of Teréga employees;
• Inviting Teréga employees to seminars and/or conferences organized by UPPA;
• Teréga's participation in job fairs organized by UPPA;
• Visits to UPPA or Teréga sites and laboratories;
• Participation, at UPPA's invitation, of Terega in UPPA governance bodies (academic council commissions, development councils, component councils, etc.).

Laurent Bordes and Dominique Mockly

“Our partnership with UPPA is highly promising, and fits in perfectly with our desire to raise the profile of the area and benefit from the recognized expertise of this university cluster. In addition to the R&D advantages it brings to Teréga, we also benefit from a real pool of talent that will help us shape a sustainable future for the Pays de l’Adour. We’re delighted to be renewing our partnership, which demonstrates our shared determination to forge ahead with the goal of decarbonizing energy use.”
Dominique Mockly - Chairman and CEO of Teréga

“For UPPA, this partnership with Teréga provides our students and researchers with a life-sized field of practice. Together, we’re working to build a sustainable future for our territory. We share a common vision of excellence and of the energy challenges that the Pays de l’Adour will have to face.”
Laurent Bordes - President of the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (UPPA)