years

of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Innovation is not just about having a great idea. An idea, no matter how great, is merely the starting point of a journey towards innovation. At Altran, innovation is our “raison d’être” but more importantly, it is how we bring excellence to life. It is the reason why we are innovation makers.

2/3 Who invented what?

4/9 Key dates

10/11 Who said what?

12/23 Transport Revolution

24/25 Cambridge Consultants: over 50 years of innovative product development

26/27 When was it invented?

28/35 Reinventing Energy

36/37 Tomorrow’s innovations will have to be responsible

38/39 True or false?

40/45 Healthcare: the New Challenges

46/47 The Altran Foundation: innovative support to innovation

48/53 From Telephone to Telecoms: the ICT Revolution

54/55 Users and designer at the core of the innovation process

56/57 Dreams for the future

58/59 A joint interview of Philippe Salle and Alexis Kniazeff

years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

iWhile Innovation helps shed light on the future, Altran’s 30-year anniversaryis an opportunity for us to look back with pride on our past achievements.Looking forward and looking back are in fact two sides of the same coin.Indeed, as the aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, “the past paves theway for the future”; it is a reminder of where we come from and the road wehave travelled and keeps us in touch with the heritage left by those who camebefore. This book has been written so that we can share our passion for innovation,honour those who helped build Altran’s reputation and international stature,and reminds us that it is up to us to write the next chapters of the story. As we do so, we must be fully alert to the challenges ahead –the proliferationof mega-cities, the rolling-out of networks connecting things and people, theneed to innovate responsibly and sustainably – to manage complexity andprepare our societies for the post-oil era. The list is far from complete, andcovers only a few of the many fields that Altran’s teams work in to serve ourclients.These are the people I think of when I open this book. Without the creativityand expertise of our consultants and engineers and the trust and daring ofour clients, this story could never have been told. We are not merely heirs toa legacy but also active participants.Innovation: we create it, we develop it, we live it. We are “Innovation Makers”!

Philippe SalleChairman and Chief Executive of the Altran Group

1

nnovationMakers

Whoinvented

The Egyptians learned how to numb pain around2000 BC.Egyptian doctors compressed both carotid arteriesat the same time, causing patients to loseconsciousness as the brain was deprived of itsnormal flow of blood.

Scottish businessman Robert Anderson made thefirst electric car in 1834.Other people including Davenport and Davidsondeveloped similar models around 1842. In 1881,the Parisian engineer Charles Jeantaud equippeda horse-drawn carriage with an electric motor. However, the first fully electric vehicle wasGeneral Motors’ EV1 built in 1996.

The French chemist Georges Claude discovered thenoble gases (helium, argon, krypton, xenon, radonand neon) in the course of his experiments. He ranelectric currents through tubes containing noblegases at low pressure and in 1920 discovered thatneon produced an intense orange glow when a weakcurrent was passed through it. Later, advertising agent Jacques Fonsèque (France)understood the potential of the discovery and he andGeorges Claude used the new lights for signage.

AnaestheticsThe electric car The neon light

The microscope

Spectacles with magnifying lenses were being usedto correct poor vision as early as the late 13thcentury. Since the art of cutting and polishinglenses was already known, this paved the way for theinvention of the telescope and microscope. Around 1590, Dutch lens makers Zacharias Jansenand his father Hans experimented using combinationsof several lenses. From then on, microscopes used twolenses. Later on, Galileo (Italy) was to perfect thedevice by adding a focusing system.what

The idea of the “black box” was the brainchild ofAustralian aeronautics researcher David Warren,in 1953.He was given the job of studying the crash of thefirst jet engine passenger plane and was convincedthat recording flight data during the minutesbefore a crash would provide crucial informationand so make it possible to prevent future crashes.

The German engine designer Karl Benz was thefirst to add a second gear to his car, and, upon asuggestion from his wife, invented the lever forchanging gear in 1889.This enabled Benz to improve both the speed andefficiency of the car.

Suspension bridges built of vegetable fibre havebeen used for thousands of years in Asia, Africaand South America. The Chinese are thought tohave been the first to replace these fragilematerials with iron chains, around 100 AD.Today, cables are used instead of chains. The firstsuspension bridge built using this method was theSaint-Antoine bridge in Geneva in 1823.

The German physicist Röntgen discovered that X-rays, which have a very short wavelength (10-11 mto 10-8m), were able to pass through materialssuch as paper, cardboard and fabrics, and producea fluroescence that could form images on specialplates. He then experimented with human tissuesand realised that the rays could pass through skinand muscle, but not bone.Röntgen was awarded the Nobel Prize for physicsin 1901.

A composite is an assembly of at least two differentmaterials that do not mix but do adhere togethervery strongly, to form a new material with propertiesthat neither of its constituent materials possesses.Among the first composites were the bows used by the Mongols around 2000 BC. Much later, in 1823,the Scottish scientist Charles Macintosh createdwaterproof cloth by coating a cotton fabric withrubber. In 1892, the French engineer, FrançoisHennebique patented reinforced concrete, using steelto strengthen the concrete moulded around it.

The gear box The suspension bridge

X-ray imaging Composite materials The black box

In 1952, while John W. Hetrick (USA) was drivingin Pennsylvania with his wife and daughter sittingnext to him in the front, he was forced to brakesuddenly to avoid an obstacle. Both he and his wifeinstinctively put out their arms to protect the child.This incident inspired the invention of the airbag.

The airbag

4 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

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30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Altran develops functionalities for the Airbus A320 that rapidly become essentialAltran designs and develops pilot assistance data display functions for the A320cockpit. The heart of the project involved highly complex on-board computersproviding pilots with functions that were to become indispensable in the event of an accident, in particular an automatic pilot, fuel injection, engine management, and in-flight maintenance.

82

In 1982, Alexis Kniazeff and Hubert Martigny,experts in high-profile recruitment, createCGS Informatique, the forerunner of the AltranGroup and introduce “technology consulting”,a new concept which was to expand throughtime. The idea was to supply industry withhigh-profile engineers and consultants skilledin new technologies. Success was immediate,initially in the space industry. At the time,there was a general shortage of experiencedengineers who could meet the needs of thevast amount of major new programmes bothin civilian segments (Ariane 5, Airbus A320,the Atlantic high-speed train, Meteor, the firstmobile phones, D2Mac Packets, GSM SuperPhoenix, MOX, nuclear waste processing), and the military sector (the Leclerc tank, nuclear aircraft carriers, anti-aircraft frigates,the European combat aircraft). The companycontinued to grow at an average of 30% a yearover the next 20 years. 19

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Railways: the communication network for high-speed trainsAltran developed the local on-board network forhigh-speed trains, enabling the link-up betweenFrance’s high-speed rail system with otherEuropean networks and systems.In addition, Altran helped define the architecturefor the first on-board computer system for the Atlantic high-speed train, providing the driver with real-time monitoring of anydisruption that may occur along the route.

Acquisition of Ségur Informatique (computer simulation and structure for the Aerospace sector) and first growthoperations in France.

Automotive: Altran makes electric cars smarterAltran designed the central control unit for an electric vehicle, providing the driverwith information on the vehicle’s autonomy,heating control and instant power shut-down in the event of a violent impact, and so on. The same year, Altran optimised the energy and acoustic performances of GT car engines.

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20 October 1987: CGS Informatique becomesAltran Technologies and is admitted to theunlisted securities market on the Paris stockexchange. Positioned as a technology consultingfirm, Altran clearly distinguishes itself fromIT service suppliers. In 1988 alone, Altrangrew by 68%, and in the five-year period from1985 to 1990, it expanded tenfold. Between1990 and 1991, the Gulf War provoked adownturn in the global economy, shrinkingAltran’s growth to 4% in 1992. To withstandthe crisis, Altran diversified by developingnew business lines in industries such as automotive, aeronautics, and energy, often byintroducing technologies developed for thespace sector.19

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“Our aim was to create a services company that operated like theInternet with non-stopinterconnection and cross-fertilising links between companies to build a permanentnetwork for people,projects and skills.”Hubert MartignyCo-founder of Altran

The Gulf War Altran managed to hold on to itsmarket share in the defence sector,consolidate its work with the Frenchatomic energy authority (CEA), and winseveral aeronautics contracts, includingthe certification of the CFM 56-5engine for the Boeing 737 (lifespan,manufacturing process control, designtools and maintenance).

6 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

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Creation of Altran Conseil Working directly with the chiefexecutives and seniormanagement of its clients, Altran Conseil carried out severalmissions notably in automotivecomponents, nuclear technologyand consumer electronics.

92

“Altran Conseil wasthe SOS emergencyservice for technologycompanies – the‘Red Adair’ of complextechnologicalsituations. We had a real commandomind-set and neverturned down anyrequest.”Pierre DreuxFounder of Altran Conseil

The beginning of European expansion Belgium (1993), Spain (1994),Italy, Sweden and Switzerland(1995), Germany and the UK(1996). By 1997, Altran was doingbusiness in ten countries.

93 Transport: door-to-door precision for the Paris Meteor metro Altran developed the servo control andpositioning functions for the Meteor’s on-board autopilot, ensuring that the driverless Parisian metro train stopped at the right spot in each station.

Space: Altran develops the attitude control system(ACS) for Ariane 5 This system optimised the flight positionof satellites on launch vehicles,particularly their tilt relative to Earth. The aim was to carry the heaviest possibleloads as far as possible into space.

95Creation of the Altran Management Institute (IMA) The IMA provided Altran with astructure where it could formaliseand share its innovative practices.It also acts as a laboratory forexploring new managementconcepts.

Creation of the AltranFoundation for InnovationYear after year, the Foundation’swork demonstrates that technologyis indeed for the benefit of all.

96

Europe becomes a single market and Altransets up its first operations abroad. Positionedas a supplier of the finest engineers across abroad range of technologies, Altran enablescompanies to rise to the challenge in domainsthat were previously outsourced to consultingfirms. Growth gathers pace: 16% in 1993, almost doubling to 28% in 1994 then rising to 36% in1995, with sales of over one billion French Francs(€150M). The company’s share price quadrupledbetween 1994 and 1998, and then tripled injust one year. In 2000, growth stood at 40%and Altran gained a foothold in the USA andBrazil.

2002

7

05Energy: Altran gives coala new lease of life Altran created a model of a pulverised-coalpower plant, comprising heat exchangers,boiler, steam turbine, feedwater system, andcontrol mechanisms. The aim was to findout how the unit behaved during transitoryoperating situations such as start-up, loadfluctuation and equipment breakdown.

Altran begins expansion in North and South America

99

2000

Telecoms: Altran builds a network in Portugal Altran brought together a Franco-Portuguese team of architects andengineers to locate, negotiate anddesign 400 sites to house transmissionrelays for a new dual GSM/DCS 1800network for a Portuguese operator.

Altran is listed on themonthly settlement marketAltran then had 6,118 consultantsworking for 70 different companies in 12 countries.

98

The explosion of the dot-com bubble in2001, together with the 9/11 terroristattacks and Enron’s November 2001 collapse – the biggest corporate failurein American history, sent the global eco-nomy into a tailspin. As of April 2002,the Altran share started to slide and thefinancial sector expressed doubt aboutwhether Altran could honour its pur-chasing contracts. The acquisition ofArthur D. Little in 2002 only added tothese concerns.20

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The acquisition of Cambridge Consultants Ltd from Arthur D. Little added a new centre of excellencespecialised in product development, patent leverage, and start-up creation.

Partnership with Renault F1 lasted eight years, during which Renault F1 won both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ FIA world championshiptitles in 2005 and 2006. In 2010, Renault Sport F1 built anengine that helped the Red Bull Racing team win the worldchampionship.

Altran joins forces with Harvard Shool of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor David Edwards to design a teaching course on creativity, engineering and innovation. The course was delivered in 2003-2004 at the Plateau de Saclay (France) technology cluster, with the support of Paris-Île-de-France Capitale économique.

02

“Altran is a school of entrepreneurship.

The managers are businessleaders who oversee

the entire value chain.”Alexis Kniazeff

Co-founder of Altran

8 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

2006

Altran joins the SolarImpulse project

03

...

First developments in Asia

Creation of Altran Pr[i]me, which specialises in managing and supervisinglarge-scale innovation projects.

Energy: international benchmarkfor power grids Following the 14 August 2003 blackout that hit some 50 million people in the North-eastern region of the US and inCanada, Con Edison New York commissionedAltran to oversee the setting up of aninternational benchmark for electricity grids in high-density cities.

Creation of the Altran Innovation Awards, an in-house competition to honour excellenceand reward Altran’s consultants.

04

Information technology: all PCfunctions soon on a single chipAltran advised an optics manufacturer on theviability of chemical etching on sensitive resinsusing ultra-violet light. The process delivered a50 nanometre level of detail, compared to the130 level with the first prototypes. This meantit could produce even smaller integratedcircuits. In the future, chips would be able to house a complete system – processor,memory, modem and cards – in one square cm.

05

12

Altran reorganises and restructures, taking stockof existing offerings, rationalising the brand portfolio, and rebuilding its business into fivemain industries (Automotive, Infrastructure andTransportation; Aeronautics, Space, Defence andRail; Energy, Industry and Life Sciences; FinancialServices and Public Sector; Telecoms and Media)and four transversal solutions (Product LifecycleManagement (PLM); Embedded and Critical Systems (ECS); Mechanical Engineering (ME); andInformation Systems (IS)). This new organisationaddressed the need to create structures that encouraged interaction and sharing right across the Altran Group. Altran gains footholdsin China and Korea.20

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>>> 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

9

“As global leader in innovation and high‐tech engineering consulting,Altran accompanies its clients in the creation and development of their new products and services. We invent solutions to complexproblems, bring our clients’ projects to life, and enhance their performancethrough technology and innovation.”Philippe SalleChairman and Chief Executive of the Altran Group

Creation of Altran Research to strengthen the Group’s positioning inInnovation Consulting. Altran Researchfocuses on three areas that are crucial foraddressing complexity: designing tools toassess the sustainability of solutions;discovering and demonstrating innovativeconcepts; and conducting methodologicalresearch on innovative organisations andpractices and improving theirperformance.

09Automotive: strategic partner of PSA Peugeot Citroën As part of its 2012 Performance Plan, PSAPeugeot Citroën selected Altran as its strategicpartner for product and process design. The car manufacturer is looking to Altran to provide comprehensive engineering solutionsthat go far beyond the scope of conventionaloutsourcing contracts. This partnership is partof a strategy for enhanced operationalefficiency, international growth, faster innovationand responsible development.

12

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Who said what

05 Greatness is a road leading to the unknown

03 If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants

02 We must dare or else resign to everything

04 To create is to live twice

06 The value of an idea lies in the using of it

07 If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse

11 Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. But make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice

09 Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower

08 It is not about predicting the future but making it possible

10 It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change

“?

“01 Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new

12 In this unstable, turbulent environment, one thing remains constant: change

Steve JOBS (a)

Charles de GAULLE (b)

Isaac NEWTON (c)

Albert CAMUS (d)

TITE-LIvE (e)

Thomas EDISON (f)

Henry FORD (g)

Antoine de SAINT-EXUPéRY (h)

Albert EINSTEIN (i)

Charles DARWIN (j)

Akio MORITA (k)

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01i • 02e • 03c • 04d • 05b • 06f • 07g • 08h • 09a • 10j• 11k • 12l

12 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

The automobile enters a new era

Aircraft: the transportchampion in a globalised world

The space industry at a key moment in its development

The train: a key playerin intra-Europeantransport

In partnership withQuimera, Altran takesthe brakes off electrictravel and transport

RevolutionTransport

13

Mobility is a crucial concern in the global economy, both forthe individual driver and for people using collective transport(rail and air travel). Although these modes of transport may bein competition, they are all cogs in the same intermodalsystem. The goal is to interconnect these modes of transportto make travel easy, fluid, seamless and safe, while payingattention to economic and environmental issues.

From an economic viewpoint, all transport-related industriesare confronted with the same issues and challenges related to globalisation, privatisation and the growing importance ofemerging countries. Altran helps them to position themselvesalong the new global value chain and offer innovative productstailored to the budgetary constraints and needs of new markets.

Environmentally speaking, they must reduce their carbonfootprint and improve their energy efficiency to stay aheadof dwindling fuel resources. This means they have to innovatein such areas as energy sources and management (biofuelselectric aircraft and hybrid trains), engines and materials(composites) and in the way their structures are designed.

Ultimately, the critical focus for the transport industry ispassenger comfort and safety, not only on planes and intrains, but also in space, a new tourist market set to developin the upcoming years.

To meet these challenges, Altran’s teams offer players in the transportation industry a fresh and creativeperspective, cultivated from the group’s expertise in awide range of technologies and ability to interconnectthem. Altran helps its clients address the challenges theyface and, together, build a connected world both onEarth and in the skies above.

14 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Revolution

Altran combines satellite and telecom technologies to solve F1 problems When Renault F1 director Christian Contzen set out to try to model the performance of an F1 engine in 2002 by acquiring data about the car’s racing performance and then developing test benches to assess its reliability, he was aware that the automotive industry couldnot provide him with the answers. However, he also knew that the space, oil and telecommunications sectors were encountering the same problems. Altran proved him right.

Indeed, Altran met the first challenge by applying its expertise in modelling the thermal performance of electric motors for satellites to F1 engines. When it came to acquiring data faster, one of our telecoms engineers came up with the solution, and our expertise in aeronautics led to the development of a dedicated test bench for F1 engines.

This eight-year partnership saw two successive triumphs with Renaultwinning the manufacturer’s and the driver’s FIA world championshiptitles in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel. In 2010, Renault Sport F1 helped the Red Bull Racing team build their engine to win the world championship.

*

Once regarded as an iconic symbol of our consumer society and a “vehicle” for demonstrating power and individual freedom, the car started undergoing a transformation in the 1980s due to the convergenceof four distinct factors.

Firstly, with the raising of awareness to the environment and climatechange, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the Kyoto Protocol,signed in 1997 and applied in 2005, resulted in the creation of an inter-national regulatory body for the market. The second factor concerns thesustained rise in petrol prices driven by the oil crisis and declining reserves. In addition, regarding the subject of demographics, with increasedurbanisation commuters are spending more time in their cars. Finally,growing demand to meet individual needs has given rise to increasedmarket segmentation, a greater choice of models and personalised vehicles offering connectivity and a wide range of services.

These factors have prompted innovation in three areas, namely: fuelconsumption – optimising engine performance and developing “clean”electric and hybrid cars; enhancing assisted driving – by usingintegrated radar and cameras; and connectivity – growing access to Blue-tooth, GPS, and the Internet, makes it possible to drive and stay in touch. In this, connectivity is as much about telecommunications, asit is about cars.

The automobile enters a new era

2002-2010

The long period of association between Altranand the Renault F1 team was hallmarked byconsiderable success, beginning off the trackand culminated on it. As a significant partner to the team, Altran provided a complete range of engineering services, from onsite support forthe design and engineering offices to offsiteanalytical consultancy across a broad range ofengineering disciplines. Altran was a greatpartner to work with and its engineers andconsultants became an integral and vital part of the team.”

Bob Bell, Technical Director of the Renault F1 teamfrom 2003 to 2010

“

Transport

15

Reducing energy consumptionFollowing two oil crises, the electric car received a lot of attention in the early 1980s, particularly from EDF and Ademe, France’s energymanagement and environment agency. Although, at that time, the futurelooked bright for the fuel-cell automobile, externally charged electric carshave now become the leading solution. Moreover, hybrids have developedrapidly since Toyota took a gamble on this technology when it launched the Prius around 2005. Altran has also contributed through its involvementin designing brake energy recovery and automatic “stop and start” systems. A kinetic energy recovery system known as KERS has also been installed in Formula 1 cars to recover energy released by braking for later use underacceleration. This system minimises energy consumption and as suchpolluting emissions.

How does Altran run a project?The savoir-faire of our consultants is automatically enhanced with eachproject. Technology and our methodology form a tandem that moves freelybetween the different sectors. Altran’s ability to capitalise on itstechnological expertise enables it to gradually acquire complete commandof a subject and begin to take responsibility for major projects in thatparticular field. For Claude-Emmanuel Boisson, the Group’s former ScientificDirector, and Jean-Luc Hozé, Executive Director of the PLM solution: “Our leading projects in the automobile industry (Just 2, F1, etc.) arepowerful motivators inspiring all of our consultants to give their best”.

*“JUST”… a dreamcome true Developed by Altran Pr[i]me,JUST is a concept car thatfocuses on the functions driversneed, and which make the carboth environmentally and userfriendly. In line with Altran’smulti-sectorial positioning,JUST drew on the constructionindustry as a source ofinspiration for its insulationsystem and seats, the sportssector for its technical fabricsand the fencer-maskwindscreen, and the SolarImpulse project for its powersupply systems.

A second version of JUST,designed for dynamiccarpooling, features embeddedsystems, and a dedicatedarchitecture (three diagonally-positioned seats). It has a bamboo-basedbiomaterial structure and anelectric powertrain. In addition,connectivity gives driversaccess to carpoolingcommunities and the possibilityof seeing the vehicles availablein augmented reality.

And tom

orr

ow…

16 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Aircraft: the transportationchampion in a globalised world

Revolution

Despite safety constraints and environmental consi-derations, the aviation industry is doing extremelywell. In the next 20 years, 20,000 new aircraft willcome into service, doubling the size of the world’sfleet, and some 200 new airports will be built.

Helping Asia build up its marketMoving into the 21st century signified a major change for the aviationindustry. Once centred on Europe and the USA, the market has now takenon a global dimension, driven largelyby the fast-growing economies of Asiaand the Gulf countries. Fifteen yearsfrom now, these regions will be on a par with Europe and the US in terms of air traffic numbers.

The first challenge is geographical, as an entire supply chain needs to be established in Asia, requiringaerostructures, equipment and engineson the one hand, and airportinfrastructure and maintenance centreson the other. Altran has fixed a targetto employ 2,000 engineers in India and 1,000 in China by 2015 to supportgrowth in all sectors in these countries.

There is also a second commercialchallenge involved since establishingan aeronautics business in Asia willinvolve technology transfers. Moreover,there is the possibility that further out,new players will emerge to challengethe current duopoly held by the two major airplane makers.

*

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The third challenge is both environmental and economic.Although, according to Globometer, aviation accounts foronly 8% of today’s world oil consumption, the drive to reducethe impact and cost of fuel is stimulating innovation in fourdirections, namely to improve engine yield, as with the A320Neo which cuts fuel consumption by 15%; to reduce aircraftweight by increasing the use of composite materials (the

Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner); to increaseaircraft capacity to reduce consumption per passenger mile(as with the A380, which carries twice as many passengers asthe A340 for roughly the same fuel consumption); and tomeet the tighter safety constraints that higher passengernumbers impose.

A380, A350: Altran and Airbus look aheadAs an Airbus partner since the construction of the A320, which first took to the skies in1987, Altran has helped the European aircraftmanufacturer rise to the challenge of the high-capacity A380 and provided supportfor all of its flight programmes. Altran wasinvolved at an early stage in defining the aircraft’s flight physics and performance(design, weight, mass distribution andaerodynamics), and also participated in designing the aerostructures, as well as the navigation, oxygen and powergeneration systems, and the landing gear. In addition, the company helped Airbus’suppliers reach the technological maturityrequired to certify their processes andproducts, notably with regard to developingcomposite materials. Altran was also involvedin production engineering.

Altran is currently involved in Airbus’programme for its future medium-capacity,long-haul A350 eXtra Wide Body aircraft, whichwill use composites for some components. In addition, since 2009, Altran has been in charge of two programmes for Aerolia, a 100% subsidiary of EADS and France’sleading aerostructure manufacturer; one asresearch subcontractor in charge of the designand sizing of the nose, and the other to develop the water circuit and fire extinctionand cooling systems for the on-board kitchenfacilities. Entrusted to Altran Germany, the latter programme ranges from 3D designto installation plans and production of the certification application files.

* iFacts: a new tool for safe airspace over BritainAltran is helping the British air traffic control authority NATS to modernise its air trafficmanagement (ATM) system. Rocketing air traffic levels are raising issues concerning safetyand environmental protection, and it is essential to cut waiting time to ensure thesustainable management of airport approach areas. During the 2012 summer OlympicGames, the iFacts project provided NATS with an automatic control system which includesmany new parameters, and updates data every two minutes. The iFacts project lasted three years and involved around one hundred consultants.

*Reducing the environmental footprint per passenger mile

*The connected aircraft: an economic and technicalchallengeAirplanes are currently one of the few places in the world where it is difficult to stay connected to the Internet. Yet connectivity facilitates real-time communicationbetween plane and ground, optimises synergies, enables the automation ofmaintenance procedures, and can also provide new passenger services. Although thisis all possible from a technical point of view, communication is still very costly. Realpractical solutions now exist for more efficient satellite-relay management, as well asWimax WiFi relays in the cabin and on the ground. Other low-cost technologies suchas long-distance Bluetooth, loss-free data compression and alternative technologiesare opening up new service opportunities. All of these options will offer new businessopportunities for operators, improved passenger services (vOD, e-commerce, HD Internet) and better decision tools for pilots and ground staff.

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18 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Revolution

Targeting low-cost access to space

Although the European space industry has long beenprotected against shrinking budgets, it is now exposed tobudget tightening trends as well as cost-cutting pressurenotably from Russia, China and India. For these majoremerging countries, having a presence in the spaceindustry is not only important for image and tradepurposes but also serves as a military deterrent. Pressureto cut costs is also being exerted by NASA which hasoutsourced the design of new launch systems capable ofsubstantially reducing satellite-launching costs to privatefirms such as SpaceX. However, cutting costs by 30% willrequire ground-breaking technological innovation andadopting a new business model in the satellite launchmarket.

In 1960, President Kennedy referred to a “New Frontier”, beyond which lie “uncharted areas of science and space”. In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, and, in 1973,the European Space Agency initiated the Ariane programme. Altran soon became involved and playeda key role in the Ariane 5 launch vehicle, which was sent into orbit for the first time in 1996.

The space industry at a keymoment in its development

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New offerings for new markets

In addition, demand is slowing in the Telecoms and Defencesectors – the industry’s core markets in the developedcountries. This means that the space sector needs todiversify both its business and its markets. Although spacetourism is still in its infancy, there is interest from othermarkets: the insurance industry for land data analysis, and major municipalities for security management purposes.Altran’s role is to help the sector create intelligible offeringsfor these potential new customers by enhancing theirtraditional product offering with the addition of a servicescomponent that incorporates new technology solutions.

*

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y 1990s.

Inventing new productsThe space industry also relies on its core business to develop new products and services. For example, given its expertise in the field of composite materials, the space industry is involved in the production of blades for giant wind turbines.Drawing on its knowledge of military nuclear science and its expertise in complex-project management, the space industryis also involved in nuclear power plant decommissioning. There are numerous applications available since the conquest ofspace has been an extraordinary driving force for research and development. Such factors as vacuum constraints (extremetemperature fluctuation, as well as radiation, shock and high speed exposure) and the need to achieve full-proof reliabilityhave served to stimulate the imagination of engineers.

Towards sustainable space managementThe space industry has also become eco-aware. After decades of unlimited expansion, the time hascome to focus on sustainable space-management,recovering faulty and obsolete satellites, and cleaningup the 180 tonnes of litter scattered throughout space(including 2,500 dead satellites and the upper stagesof 1,900 launch vehicles, according to the NGO “Robin des Bois”). The key issue here is safety, both for satellites in orbit that could be hit by flyingdebris, and for the Earth which is exposed to the riskof falling space debris that is not only uncontrollablebut sometimes radioactive.

Altran, a key player in the Ariane 5 programmeAltran has played a central role in the Ariane programmesince the early 1990s, providing a number of keytechnological skills to the main partners, includingArianespace, Aerospatiale, the European Space Agency(ESA), and the French Space Agency (CNES). Altran hasbeen involved in developing the on-board satelliteguidance and attitude control systems; simulating theoverall performance of the launcher; computing thethermal and vibrational aspects of the main cryotechnicstage and developing the forward skirt of the launcher.The Group also supplied ESA with project managementservices to monitor the use of government funds. Altran continues to provide assistance to the Ariane 5programme, which completed its 48th consecutivesuccessful launch in May 2012.

Making work outsidethe international space station saferThe European Space Agency(ESA) launched the Eurobotproject to reduce the risksthat astronauts have to facewhen carrying out extra-vehicular activities (EVA)around the internationalspace station (ISS). Altranis involved in developing the control system that willenable the Eurobot to moveautomatically within itsenvironment.

* *Space janitorAltran designs and assesses softwareintelligence, system architecture and mechanical architecture in relation to environmental issues for cars, tanks and rockets. The nextstep is to apply these methods to a device capable of cleaning upspace debris and protecting satellites.This is well within reach particularlygiven Altran’s expertise in trajectorycomputing and navigational guidance,plus its solid experience dealing with devices subjected to extremeconditions.

And tom

orr

ow…

20

Revolution

Slower than aircraft and less flexible than the automobile, the train could, at one time, have beenrelegated to the museum of obsolete innovations. This seemed inevitable in the 1990s when themarket share of the railways sector was shrinking and rail companies were accumulating debtsand operating losses.

However, this crisis prompted Europe to develop an integration strategy: thanks to this and the develop-ment of high-speed rail networks both in France in1981 and at the international level with the Eurostarin 1994 and Thalys in 1996, the train has since regainedits place as a major transportation player.

Increased urbanisation and the emergence of mega-cities have created several major advantages for therailways industry: short and medium journeys arecheaper and less environmentally damaging than airtransport. Moreover, rail transport is nine times saferthan road travel and is not perturbed by traffic conditions.

The train: a key playerin intra-European

transport

2006: Altran finalises the Christian Lacroix seat incompliance with economic and environmental constraintsAltran Pr[i]me helped a railway equipment supplier to finalise production of the Christian Lacroix eco-design passenger seat, developed specifically forhigh-speed trains and whose structure was applied to all travel classes. Basingits approach on its corporate vision and the key differentiating factors thecompany has defined for itself, Altran sought technological solutions outsidethe rail sector. Creative brainstorming sessions involving all the concernedparties produced an innovative concept for a platform on a curved wood base.This can be completely dismantled thus lightening the structure by 30% andoptimising logistics as well as the number of parts.

To consolidate its position, however, the train mustmeet three challenges. The first of these concernsincreased rail traffic flows; with the help of connectivityand innovative infrastructures, trains must provideseamless travelling solutions by guaranteeingpassengers fluidity and regular connections. Passengerrights regarding information on delays and claims mustbe improved. Safety is another key challenge with theincreasing number of intra-European lines. The thirdchallenge is competition from other transport modesand emerging countries.

These challenges call for technological breakthroughs in energy sources and management (hybrid propulsion),materials (composites) and train structures. The railsector will also have to provide an innovative servicesoffering, for travel preparation as well as the journeyitself. It will have to incorporate communication-basedcontrol systems for local lines and European rail trafficmanagement systems (ERTMS) for trunk lines.Ultimately, only standardised industrial processes willbe able to meet the challenge of competition fromemerging countries.

*The train of the future – more frequent, safer and better integrated into passengers’ daily lives

30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Transport

21

Maintaining speed whatever the weatherAltran is taking part in research to improve the reliabilityand performance consistency of high-speed trains, notablyin extreme weather conditions. The company has carriedout studies to model the complex phenomenon of wet snowaccumulation in the bogies; trolleys under trains that holdthe axles in place. After analysing the phenomenon, a simulation tool was built. Further research carried out witha technology centre resulted in the correlation of computersimulations based on results from bench tests and actualrail trials. The equipment thus developed will reduce thesnow-accumulation phenomenon and improve the train’sability to run on schedule in bad weather conditions.

*The Train of the futureis on the wayFaster, safer, quieter, less polluting and lessexpensive, the train of the future will be able toaddress all market challenges. The first objectivewill be to meet customer demand in terms of comfort and safety. To achieve this, it willrequire innovative technologies ensuring highperformance and minimal costs. Inspired byJapan’s Maglev magnetic levitation technology,the train of tomorrow could achieve runningspeeds of over 500km/h. Altran has indeed a full and active role to play in the design of the train of the future.

And tom

orr

ow…

Altran, co-creator of multimedia services for French state-owned rail company, SNCFAltran Pr[i]me played a key role in defining a cluster ofmultimedia services for travellers using the French regionalrail network (TER). After identifying 1,300 ideas anddesigning a services scenario capable of meeting demandfrom customers and transport authorities alike, AltranPr[i]me defined five innovative concepts: CommunauTER, the equivalent of the iDTGV high-speed train communityconcept for TER travellers; MooviTER, a carriage providingWi-Fi access, LCD display, accessible electronic gamestablets, pivoting seats, a lounge, a well-being “discovery”area, and a children’s play area, etc.; Agenda 2.0, whichsynchronises SNCF information with Outlook, Yahoo andGoogle agendas so that passengers can plan the optimaldoor-to-door itinerary by combining several modes oftransportation; Find Your Way, a concept for people withreduced mobility which has been taken up by the SNCF’sR&D department; and Access IT, a train-to-landcommunication system for on-board Internet access.

22 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

In partnership with Quimera,Altran takes the brakes offelectric travel and transport

Although electric cars have been receiving subsidies from the European Association for Battery,Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (AVERE) since its creation in 1978, progress has been relatively limited. The reasons for this are not only related to the multitude of technical problemsthat have to be solved to make EVs roadworthy. There are also psychological obstacles associatedwith the very image of the electric car.

Overcoming these obstacles is one of the two goals of the AEGT (All Electric GT car) project launched by Quimera, an international R&D consortium focused on renewable energy comprisingcompanies, universities and technology consulting companies such as Altran. Quimera is exploringnew, viable and affordable electric travel solutions.

Revolution

An electric racing car to win public trust

The main thrust of Quimera’s work is to develop sustainabilityprogrammes for urban environments. The consortium believesthat market scepticism is responsible for low demand for electricvehicles. According to Quimera chairman, Javier de Rocafort,“This is why we must first win the trust of the public by creatingnot just a concept but a high-performance car that is in syncwith the original idea of motor racing.”

This challenge has now been addressed with the AEGT-Evo1,which was launched on the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain in August 2011. Equipped with three UQM electric motors for a total energy power of 700hp, the AEGT-Evo1 is the mostpowerful electric car ever built. In its current configuration itcan accelerate up to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds, with a top speedof 300km/h. Its latest-generation EIG lithium polymer batteries,made in South Korea, guarantee around half an hour of autonomy.

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Transport

23

Life-size lab Psychological hurdles apart, there are plenty of technical challenges, notably battery weight,integration and monitoring, electric-motormanagement and aerodynamic optimisation. The AEGT-Evo1 is a life-size laboratory designed tosolve these problems. While the first prototype wasintended to validate design concepts and test thevehicle’s main performance objectives, the secondprototype, the AEGT-Evo2, has been designedspecifically for competition purposes.

Altran, world technical partnerof the Quimera consortium since 2010According to Altran Spain’s COO Alfonso Martinez, “Altran has acted as technical adviser and supervisorthroughout the process and is currently preparing the next version of the car, for which we will bein charge of the design and engineering of the electricaltransmission system. This notably concerns the batteries,engines, gear box as well as integrating the entiretransmission system, and making necessary chassischanges.”

More than just a car The AEGT-Evo1 prototype is currently being developed with a view to creating a small racing-car series, for which Altran will be in charge of the engineering and developmentprocess. Quimera is also developing several other futuristic transport solutions: the Electric KTM X-Bow roadster for which Altran is developing the electric transmissionsystem; the Electro-Solar Motorbike clad in photovoltaic cells; and the Electric Commercial Van,the first industry-compliant electric utility vehicle.

In addition, Quimera is developing a vertical-axis Urban Wind Turbine (UWT) for small and medium-sized private and commercial buildings, designed

to reduce costs and save energy. This revolutionary wind turbine has adopted the principle of the bladeless turbine invented

by Nicolas Tesla back in 1913, which is indeed proof that the innovation process has deep roots in the technological culture of the past.

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New product development and innovation consulting

With 330 engineers in the UK and 20 in the US (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Cambridge Consultants combines expertise in

cutting-edge technology expertise with commercial insight tocreate new growth opportunities for a clientele consisting

mainly of major international corporations. For example,Philips has been a customer for over 30 years and IridiumSatellites for more than 12. Nearly 95% of its projectsconcern new-product development.

Patent licensing

In addition, Cambridge Consultants has built upa portfolio of patents which the company exploitsthrough licensing, and by creating spin-off companies. 20 spin-offs have been created todate, employing 5,000 people altogether and

with a total market capitalisation of €2 billion.The largest of these is Cambridge Silicon Radio

(CSR). Specialised in Bluetooth chip production, thiscompany was founded in 1998 with a staff of ten.

Listed on the stock exchange in 2004, CSR nowemploys 2,500 people and boasts a market capitali-

sation of €1 billion.

24 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Cambridge Consultants: over 50 years of innovative product

Cambridge Consultants was founded in 1960 by two Cambridge graduates – Tim Eiloart andDavid Southward – to “Put the brains of Cambridge University at the disposal of the problemsof British industry”. Since the outset, the company has been a catalyst for what is indisputablythe leading technology cluster in the UK and in Europe. Known as the “Cambridge Phenomenon”, the platform comprises some 1,000 firms which, directly and indirectly, promote the scientific, technological and human potential of the University, and combinesthis rich source of talents and skills with the experience and business acumen of entrepreneurs.Part of the Altran group since 2002, Cambridge Consultants has remained an independent andhighly productive company and has its own business model.

25

development

October 2011,Cambridge Consultants spins out Aveillant to get wind farms turningAround 40 wind farm projects – with a potential out-put of nearly 6GW of renewable energy – are currently frozen in the UK for aviation safety reasons. Becauseturbine blades create surrounding interference ofnearly 7km it is almost impossible to detect an aircraftand track its path with the necessary degree of certainty. Air traffic control primary radars cannot distinguish between the plane and the turbine bladesbecause the sampling period is too short and theblade-rotation interval too long.

With over 30 years’ experience in radar sensors, Cambridge Consultants has developed an effective solution based on its own holographic radartechnology. On-site Holographic Radar Infill™ sensorscan easily identify the different behaviour patterns

of aircraft and turbine blades and are thus able to distinguish between air-traffic and turbine activity.More importantly, by plugging the sensors into a primary radar system it is possible to see if the targetturns, circles, hovers or lands within the vicinity of the wind farm. This provides air traffic controllers witha degree of accuracy that neither scanning radar norpredictive mitigation strategies can offer.

In October 2011, Cambridge Consultants created the Aveillant spin off with venture capital from DFJ Esprit and Aviation Investment Fund Co ltd, to provideairports with the Holographic Radar Infill™ for elimi-nating wind-farm interference and the subsequent riskto air-traffic safety and surveillance.

Prism 200 wins the Queen’s Awardfor Innovation

In 2011, Cambridge Consultants won the UK Queen’sAward for Innovation, its second in three years, forits ground-breaking through-wall radar, Prism 200.This compact and portable piece of equipment usesadvanced signal processing to distinguish movingpeople and objects in cluttered environments, aswell as through doors, brick, blocks of stone andconcrete walls. Prism 200 has been designed for delicate operations (notably anti-terrorist) wheresuccess requires having an extremely clear view of thesituation. It has been deployed in over 67 countriesaround the world.

The world’s first wireless cardiacstimulation system (WiCS)

Cambridge Consultants has collaborated withstart-up company EBR Systems to define the system architecture of the world’s first wireless pacing system: a pulse generator transmits an ultrasonic pulse to the implanted receiver, whichconverts the sonic energy into electrical energy to pace the left ventricle in synchronicity with the right. By eliminating the lead in the left side ofthe heart, the WiCS significantly reduces the timetaken to carry out the complicated procedure andovercomes chances of lead failure and infection.

3

4

5

1

When was it

invented?2

The first remote surgical operation

The first consumer GPS

France’s first commercial high-speed train

The first mobile phone

The walkman

1 /////////In 1979, Sony chairman Akio Morita (Japan), a golfer and a musiclover, asked his engineers to devise a small cassette player equipped withheadphones. Six months later, on 1 July 1979, Sony rolled out its firstWalkman, the TPS-L2.

2 ///////// France’s first high-speed (TGV) train, which ran between Paris andLyon, was inaugurated on 22 September 1981. The famous orange trainclocked up a speed of 260km/h.

3 ///////// Motorola brought out the first mobile phone in 1983. The DynaTAC8000 X sold for $4000, weighed 793.8g and had a battery with 30-minutecalling autonomy.

4 ///////// GPS was launched as a US Army project in the 1960s. It was notuntil 1993 that the US government decided to put it on the market. At thetime, the system was based on images from 28 earth-orbiting satellites.

5 /////////The first remote operation ever performed was the Lindberghoperation on 7 September 2001 (named after aviator Charles Lindbergh, thefirst man to fly solo across the Atlantic). A surgical team based in New York(USA) successfully removed the gall bladder of a 68-year-old patient inStrasbourg (France), 6,000 kms away.

6 ///////// At the end of the last century, the most widely used mobile datastorage device was the floppy disk, with a storage capacity of 1.44 Mo.In the early 2000s, two companies brought out versions of a new devicebased on rewritable flash memory: the USB flash drive; Singapore-based Trek Technology with its ThumbDrive and IBM with the DiskOnKey in December 2000. With capacity rising from 8 Mo to 16 and then 32, the ThumbDrive weighed12g and had a storage capacity equivalent to 5, then 10, then 20 floppy disks.

7 /////////The 802.11 (wavelength) standard was finalised in 1998 and in1998, the name Wi-Fi was adopted.WiFi was first used by Apple under the name of Airport. Its use began tospread in June 2000 when a group in Seattle (USA) launched the first freecommunity of computers communicating via Wi-Fi.

8 ///////// Shortly before the invention of the DVD, the CD was in its heyday.The first high-capacity CD models were marketed in 1993. However,companies were looking for a more efficient model. Sony and Philipsintroduced the MMCD format while Toshiba, Masushita and Time Warnerpromoted the SD. In 1995, they pooled their efforts, created the DVD anddeveloped it through a consortium of ten corporations.

9///////// Ferdinand Porsche (Bohemia) designed the first hybrid car in 1900.The idea did not catch on, however, until much later when Toyota built its firsthybrid in 1996, commercialising it as the Prius in 1997. In 2011, 821,100 Prius cars were sold worldwide. Dealers are expecting a60% increase in sales for 2012.

10///////// Launched in 2012, “BlindSpot” is a white cane for the visuallyimpaired which has revolutionary digital functions including sensors to locateobstacles, not only at ground level but also at human height. It can also locateits owner’s friends at a distance. Anyone wanting to be identified by a friendwho is visually impaired can download a special application which warnsthose who are visually impaired that a friend is nearby.The BlindSpot was invented by Selene Chew, a student at the NationalUniversity of Singapore.

6

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The USB flash drive

Wi-Fi

The DvD

The hybrid car

The smart cane for the blind

28 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Safe, efficient power generation

Altran meets renewableenergy challenges

Solar Impulse: Altransupports the Icarus ofthe 21st century

ReinventingEnergy

29

When Altran invented innovation consulting in1982, the second oil crisis had already put anend to the age of innocence in the energy sectorand launched the war on waste. Inconceivableas it may have seemed a few years earlier,energy was no longer cheap, and the mainfocus was now on energy savings.

However, a major step still has to be taken toensure tight management of spiralling energycosts to maintain the balance of payments onthe one hand and the urgent need to combatglobal warming on the other. It was not until1997 that the participating countries at theKyoto conference eventually managed toagree upon a plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For the developedcountries, however, the Kyoto Protocol istoo restrictive, whereas the emergingcountries see it as an unacceptable brake ontheir development. The voluntary reductionof GHG emissions, therefore, still seems a distant goal. Nevertheless, the inevitabledepletion of oil reserves is a very real stimulus to find alternative energysources, in particular nuclear sources andrenewable energies: notably wind, marinecurrent power, photovoltaic, biomass,geothermal and hydraulic power.

30 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Safe, efficient power generation

Forty years after the first oil crisis, we are still producing most of our power in the same way,with the same problems regarding plant safety, geopolitical security for facilities, pipelines andgrids; waste processing and nuclear plant decommissioning. However, new challenges with respect to energy efficiency are emerging requiring more efficient electricity transmission via smart grids, and the optimisation of energy usage with thedevelopment of cost-effective products and evaluation tools to assess performances of capitalgoods and homes.

Altran ensures the reliability of gas networks

Thousands of kilometres of buried gas pipes laid in the1970s must now be inspected and upgraded to preventleaks, without, however, shutting down the entiresystem. Altran has an exclusive technology for this typeof work, developed originally for the most aggressiveenvironment of all – nuclear power stations. This two-pronged solution involves robots that travelthrough the pipes to detect leaks and a polymer which,when applied to the pipe wall, becomes rock-hard as it cools. Using this method, Altran can extend the lifespan of a network by several decades.

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ReinventingEnergy

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Cutting-edge expertise for nuclear power plant safety

Altran was commissioned to re-design to cost the pool storage of fuelrods at the La Hague plant in France. It also played a part in designing the Chernobyl (Ukraine) sarcophagus. Today, Altran sends experts inautomation management & control and operation systems on missions to AREVA, EDF and the CEA. The Chinese authorities also called in Altranto check the control and operation systems at six Chinese nuclear powerplants and to take part in the qualification of the Taishan (China) EPR(European Pressurised Reactor). The Group has also been commissionedto provide safety solutions for the planned EPR in the United Kingdom.

In 2012, Altran has 2,500 consultants working in the energy sector (thermal, nuclear, wind,oil and gas, etc.) for 300 clients worldwide.

Assessing plant decommissioning costs

Decommissioning nuclear plants at the end of their useful life is one of the industry’s keyeconomic challenges. When the French governmentcommissioned Altran to validate the amount setaside for decommissioning by the main operators,the Group proposed simulation and design-to-costsolutions. This mission called on the company’sexpertise in dealing with complex projects and itsability to factor in all relevant parameters. Altran put together a team of its own systemsengineers, mathematicians, nuclear computingengineers and decommissioning and wasteprocessing experts to work on the project. The same methods, based on systems engineeringand computation, serve to assess how far a powerplant’s lifespan can be extended.

*Nuclear powerbeneath thewaves?Altran is involved in validation studies for arevolutionary project concerning a small underseanuclear power plant, a type of plant that rates veryhighly in terms of safety and acceptability. Altran’s main role will be in underwater acoustics,a field in which it has cutting-edge expertise.

And tom

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Flamanville EPR: Altran coordinates upstream and down

For the past four years, Altran has been working on the FlamanvilleEPR, the new-generation French nuclear reactor. EDF commissionedAltran to set up the “research-site liaison” unit to handlecoordination between the prime contractor’s design office and all the trades on the site. The aim is to solve any problems arisingon site as quickly as possible, in conjunction with EDF’s network of engineering and expertise centres. Altran also checks that all alterations to procedures or methods comply with the requirements of the nuclear safety authority.

ITER, one of the new century’s most innovative research projects

A pioneer of tomorrow’s technologies, Altran is assisting in projectmanagement at ITER, the experimental reactor now being built at the Cadarache (France) facility to develop power generation by nuclearfusion.

Forty industrial buildings are under construction at the site and ITEROrganisation has commissioned Altran to supervise and validate eachstage of the project, analyse requests for technical and contractualchanges, manage the programme and consolidate monitoring indicators.This project calls on Altran’s international expertise in complex projectmanagement, technical and contractual management and qualitymanagement in all the technical fields concerned (electricity, civil engineering, nuclear engineering, mechanics, the environment and safety).

32 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Altran meets renewableenergy challenges

Renewable energy offers obvious advantages.Because it is based on renewable natural resources, it ensures reliable energy flows favouring energy self-sufficiency, decentralisedand clean production plants; assets whichmake this form of energy environmentallyfriendly.

But what is the opinion of the million peoplewho were forced to leave their homes to makeway for the Three Gorges dam on the YangtzeRiver (China)? What do people living neargiant wind farms think? And what about theimpact of biofuels on food production?

Renewable energy must rise to many challengesbefore becoming an economically viable andsocially acceptable resource. Some forms ofenergy are structural – for example wind andsolar energy are intermittent by nature. Others

are of a more cyclical nature – which meansthat yields are still low and costs high. The development of integrated distribution is stillin the early stages, and there are technical difficulties in connecting remote, decentralisedproduction units to national grids that need tobe solved.

Solutions must also be found for problemsrelated to the construction and maintenance ofoffshore wind farms and solar farms in thedesert. In addition, renewable energy facilitiesinvolve a number of different risks, such asaccidents, the negative impact of wind turbinesand recycling photovoltaic cells at the end oftheir useful lifespans. Making renewable energypossible – in other words feasible, desirable andin the public interest – is one of the major challenges that Altran is addressing today.

Calculating loads on wind turbines

Gamesa, Europe’s second-largest wind turbine manufacturer,commissioned Altran to calculate its wind-turbine loads. The entireturbine structure operates under pressures that vary according to windspeed and the position of the blades. To predict the behaviour of thestructure, it is necessary to assess the forces that will be applied to eachcomponent. Altran Spain has allocated an entire team to work on this mission for Gamesa.

ReinventingEnergy

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*The righttime foroffshorewind powerThe next few years will see the emergence of offshore windturbines with a rotor diameterlarger than that of an A380. They will be designed to run for 20 years in a highly aggressiveenvironment. This will require an enormous effort in terms of research and development,considerable investment,extensive changes in electricalinfrastructure and unflagginggovernment support. Altran plansto provide the offshore windturbine project with a dedicatedinternational structure to addressrisk management and productioncost optimisation.

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Supplying support for new supplierin the wind power sector

The questions facing large companies trying to break into the wind power market are: whichproducts for which clients using which businessplan? Only a consulting firm like Altran, with the ability to combine strategy and technology,can answer these questions. Altran advised thecompany to position itself on a single strategicwind-turbine component and to targetcustomers worldwide. Altran was subsequentlycommissioned to conduct sales negotiations,supervise prototype, plant and tool production,as well as transport and construction, and to draw up a provisional business plan.

Cluster of renewable energysources for Dutch island

The objective here was to produce energywithout generating any greenhouse gas emissions for 1,200 people in 500 households and 85 business premises.After analysing and modelling wind, wave,tide, biomass, photovoltaic and geothermalsystems, Altran came up with a cluster ofsolutions producing 10GWh, by differentmeans depending on the application thatwould meet the domestic and professionalneeds of the islanders. Technologicalenergy-saving solutions were also proposed.

PhotoV: towards genuinely sustainable photovoltaics

Photovoltaic can be renewed indefinitely, at least on a human scale. The fact that solar energy ispresent in virtually unlimited quantities, produces no CO2 or waste during its lifetime, suggeststhat it is the ultimate sustainable energy.

To prove this hypothesis, however, it will be necessary to study the impact of solar panelsthroughout their lifecycle, taking into account all relevant criteria: toxicity, recyclability, energyefficiency, etc. – and all stakeholders involved, from solar-panel manufacturers to end-users,including people living near solar-panel installations.

However, there is no assessment tool that incorporates all these criteria for the time being. To address this problem, Altran is developing evaluation tools that factor in economic criteria(energy efficiency during use, investment costs, etc.), ecological criteria (recyclability at end-of-lifeand GHG emissions) and social criteria (acceptability, job creation, etc.). For each criterion at eachstage of the lifecycle, Altran is developing an assessment model and weighting each criterionaccording to the stakeholders concerned. The aim is to achieve multi-criteria optimisationenabling the development of a relevant, sustainable assessment solution for the sector.

34 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Bertrand Piccard’s dream to create an aircraft capableof flying day and night on solar energy alone hasbecome a collective human and technological adventure in which Altran has participated as officialengineering partner since 2004. Today the wager iswell on the way to being won.

to be continued…Solar Impulse: Altran supports the Icarus of the 21st century

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Bertrand Piccard comes from a long line ofscientific adventurers. In 1931, his grandfatherAuguste Piccard was the first man to reach the stratosphere, and in 1960, Bertrand’s father,Jacques, descended more than 10,000 metres in a bathyscaphe, thus setting the all-time record for manned diving. An adventurer like his fathersbefore him, Bertrand completed a non-stop,round-the-world balloon flight in 1999, then wenton to launch the incredible Solar Impulse projectwith the goal of making a round-the-world flightin a fuel-free aircraft. For Bertrand Piccard,“Life becomes exciting when you step beyond the things you know and break with habit andlearn to play with uncertainty and the unknown.”

A human and technological adventure

Although the origins of the Solar-Impulse project lie in the ancient Promethean myth, the ambitious goal of this modern-day Icarus is firmly rooted in the 21st century. The aircraft is designed to fly without fossil fuel, and withoutemitting greenhouse gases. “The aim of Solar Impulse is to demonstrate the importance of the new technologies for sustainable development and to bring emotion andimagination back to the heart of the scientific adventure,” says Bertrand Piccard. This is what attracted businessman and pilot André Borschberg to the project: “Innovation has alwaysappealed to me. I’m a businessman and set up companies but I’m also passionate about flying. With the project,I can combine both of my passions in the quest to find a newway of flying and consuming energy. When Bertrand suggestedsetting up a feasibility team, I said yes straight away.”

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ReinventingEnergy

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Altran totally committed

With its exceptional scope of activities and skills and ability to go beyond what is possible and transform dreams into reality, Altran joined the adventure as official engineering partner in 2003. This project embodies the dream of a greatmany people; a dream shared by all the nationalteams involved on it in Switzerland, Spain, Italy,France and the UK,” says Christian Le Liepvre, headof the Solar Impulse partnership at Altran. “It’s alsoa multi-disciplinary project involving expertise in a number of different fields from advancedmathematics, modelling, and systems engineeringto energy architecture, specialist mechanics, andaeronautical equipment development.”

Solar Impulse: some key dates

In 2003, the EPFL, the Swiss écolePolytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne,deemed the project feasible. Sevenyears later in 2010, the HB-SIAprototype completed its one-hourmaiden flight on 7 April and its firstnight flight on 8 July: after flying 26 hours, André Borschberg landedthe plane with enough power left in the batteries for another 24-hourflight. More recently, on 6 June 2012,the HB-SIA made its firstintercontinental flight from Madridto Rabat.

*From Solar Impulseto sustainableaviationAs a member of a consortium of 19 industrial partners,Altran is taking part in the SWAFEA study, launched by the European Commission in late 2009 to pursue a “sustainable solution for alternative fuel and energyin aviation”. Altran is responsible for assessing the economic viability of alternative fuels and forsupporting on-board alternative energy production:batteries, solar cells and low energy-source recovery.According to Pascal Brier, Altran Executive vice-President for Major Accounts and BusinessDevelopment: “In a world where science needs dreamsthat can come true, the Solar Impulse project, with innovation as its key component, is drivingprogress in tomorrow’s technologies.”

And tom

orr

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Solar Impulse Partners (project backed by the European Commission since 2008)Main partners: Solvay, Omega, Deutsche Bank and Schindler Official partners: Altran, Bayer Material Sciences

Official scientific advisor: École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Aeronautics consultant: Dassault Aviation

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Feasibility demonstrator

Only when tested against future real-world con-ditions can innovation get to grips with complexity.Only then can it take into account the variouspractical, technical and commercial constraints ofstakeholders in order to pull down technologicaland organisational barriers and validate the pro-spective solutions. Demonstrator programmesseem more than ever to be a key stage betweenresearch and industrialisation, as illustrated bythe PICADo project.

Tomorrow’s innovations will

Innovation is complex both in its goals, with stakeholders’ demands, which can sometimes be conflicting, andin its means of implementation involving a mix of technologies and collaboration between private enterpriseand government. Selecting innovative solutions has become a particularly delicate process, requiring a demonstration of both feasibility and value.

36 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Value demonstrators

However, not all technically possible innovations are desirable. To ensure thatinnovation does not mean irresponsibleconsumption, a selection of genuinely sustainable innovative solutions must beavailable. Sustainability is often seen simply in terms of energy consumptionand CO2 emissions, but Altran Researchtakes the broader three-pronged approachcovering environmental, economic and social responsibility.

How can we assess whether a new gene-ration of a product is more sustainablethan its predecessor? Developing methodsand models to assess sustainability valueis a research activity in its own right.

This “pre-normative” research differsfrom technological research and mustbe organised in such a way as to com-plement it. Altran Research conductspre-normative research through its Sustainability Engineering and Assessmentprogramme, via a four-step approach.Firstly, by defining the system to be assessed; secondly, by establishing therelevant assessment criteria; thirdly, bydesigning evaluation models for eachcriterion; and finally, by optimising the multi-criteria assessment system.Pre-normative research projects havebeen launched in a number of fields in-cluding photovoltaics (PhotoV project)and recycling (RPM project).

Research will justify its importance provided it can select the best possibleinnovative solutions. According to Altran Research Director, Dr Valérie Archambault: “Given the complexity of the questions raised and the varietyof possible solutions, we consider demonstrator programmes and pre-normative research to be mandatorysteps. This efficient and responsibleapproach to research will provide a decisive competitive tool for the optimumuse of public or private investment.”

have to be responsible

37

PICADo, demonstratorprogramme for smart homecare

With the ageing population, demandfor medical care and health-systemfunding are challenges that smart homecare could help address. However,developing such a system is more complexthan it seems. How can medical andnon-medical systems be interconnected?What role can family and friends play?How is follow-up to be provided? Howcan treatment compliance be ensured?

The PICADo project aims to design,develop, test and assess the first ope-rational smart home-care system to covera range of diseases (cancer, neuro-degenerative diseases, and diabetes) andmaintain patient autonomy at home.

Backed by the French Academy ofTechnologies, the project involves anumber of health research players inboth the public sector – INSERM (FrenchNational Institute of Health and MedicalResearch), the Universities of Reims andChampagne-Ardenne, and the TroyesUniversity of Technology – and the privatesector (Altran, Axon, Bluelinea, FSI, Voluntis). Altran is responsible for theoverall coordination and systems engi-neering via Altran Research.

RPM: are all recycling channels sustainable?

Is green chemistry always green? Is recycling always betterfor the environment than landfill or incineration? What arethe best recycling solutions? There are no obvious answersto these questions and Altran Research is developing objectivemethodologies to answer them case by case.

The RPM project (Recycled Petroleum-based Materials)is being conducted in partnership with the INP-CNRS

chemical engineering laboratory in Toulouse. Theaim is to define the optimum recycling chain for

PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles andidentify the impact of recycling them in closedloops, according to three criteria: acidification,resource depletion and CO2 emissions.

The method involved gathering the physicaldata for each process - incineration, thermo-chemical energy recovery, chemical recyclingand mechanical recycling. Once the data isput into comparable form, a mathematicalmodel was used to objectify the best possiblecompromise.

This was the first time this problem-solvingmethod had been applied to a sustainability

issue. Altran Research is now using it to studyrecycling of the CFRP composite (carbon fibre

and epoxy resin) used in aeronautics.

True or false?In the Near Future…

Planes will be quieter for passengersTrue ■ False ■

TRUEResearchers at Cambridge University (UK) and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) have produced aprototype plane in the shape of a single wing, with the engineat the back to reduce noise in the cabin.

Fabric will be made usingan aerosol sprayTrue ■ False ■

TRUEThis invention was developed by Spanish fashion designerManuel Torres. It consists in mixing textile fibres with apolymer and a solvent, and spraying the mixture onto asurface. As the mixture dries the solvent evaporates, leavinga genuine reusable fabric.

Gadgets won’t need batteriesTrue ■ False ■

FALSEWe will still need batteries but they will be no thicker than a

sheet of paper. The product already exists but is not inwidespread use. It is a very thin sheet made up of sevenlayers, including two layers of electrodes that set up a

chemical reaction similar to that in a conventional battery.

Radars will see through wallsTrue ■ False ■

TRUEPrism 200 is a radar technology developed by Cambridge Consultants (UK), an AltranR&D subsidiary based in Cambridge (UK) and Boston (USA). Designed for police andanti-terrorist units, the system detects the presence and location of people inside

buildings or under rubble.

Children will enjoy being vaccinatedTrue ■ False ■

TRUEToday’s jabs will be replaced by yoghourt! Researchers at the Feinberg School of Medicine (USA)have made a modified yoghourt that expresses the antigens found on the surface of a virus and

prompts the body to produce antibodies against the virus.

In a multi-connected world there will be networks absolutely everywhereTrue ■ False ■

FALSEAnyone will be able to create their own network-free space. French

researchers at the Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble (Grenoble INP) andthe Centre Technique du Papier have designed a wallpaper that acts as aselective filter to block the wavelengths used by Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5.5GHz)

and GSM (0.9, 1.8 and 2.1GHz). They have called it “Métapapier”.In hospitals, donors’ bloodwill be suitable for all blood

typesTrue ■ False ■

TRUEThe US company Zymequest and researchers at the University of Aix-Marseille (France) have identified two families of enzymes that canmodify molecules on the surface of red blood cells, making it possible to make blood cells suitable for all blood types.

TRUEProfessor Tomoshiro Ochiai at Toyama PrefecturalUniversity (Japan) has presented a cylinder madeof a “metamaterial” with a negative refractiveindex. Light waves go round the cylinder withoutbeing reflected from it, potentially making aperson or object invisible. Metamaterials of thiskind are of extreme interest to the military. ThePentagon’s research agency DARPA is alreadybacking a UK research team to develop an“invisibility cloak” for soldiers and has given theteam three years to accomplish the mission.

Cars will be powered by samphireTrue ■ False ■

TRUESamphire or glasswort is an oil-rich aquatic plant destined to become one

of the new biofuels. The world’s first samphire farm has started up in the United Arab Emirates.

We will have shape-shiftingtelephonesTrue ■ False ■

Clothing will carry out health checksTrue ■ False ■

We will be able to make ourselvesinvisible

True ■ False ■

TRUENokia and Cambridge University (UK) have dreamed up a telephone thatcan change shape depending on its use. With a flexible screen, a liquidbattery and a flexible, sensitive casing, it can take the shape of a CD, a keyboard or a watch as required. This is possible with miniscule

components produced using nanotechnology.TRUEHypochondriacs will love it. Their clothes will soon bemonitoring their health by means of electronic sensorshidden in the fibres, measuring heart rate, respiratorycapacity and temperature.VivoMetrics in California (USA) has already sold the USArmy the LifeShirt, which monitors 30 vital functions.

40 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

the New Challenges

New technologies in the healthcareindustry

The implantable artificial heart willsave lives

The AltranFoundation: innovative support for innovation

Healthcare:

41

Healthcare needs in developed countries have changed dramatically over the past few decades. Chronic diseases suchas diabetes, heart conditions, as well as cancer and respiratoryconditions represent a large proportion of cases today, yetthe healthcare system is still designed primarily to treatacute ailments.

The first challenge therefore concerns public health, interms of prevention and follow-up. For several reasons,including the fall in medical demography, which istransforming some zones into “medical deserts”, thischange requires the development of telemedicine whichAltran is helping to roll out, notably with regard to patientsupport and medicine in the home.

Telemedicine is also a response to the second challenge,i.e. balancing the public finances. Indeed, patients withlong-term diseases are proving to be a heavy cost item indeveloping countries. According to a CNAM reportpublished in 2010, there are around nine million suchpatients in France, representing two thirds of nationalhealth insurance costs.

Furthermore, the financial challenge is promptinggovernments to regulate medical practices and activelypromote the adoption of generic medicine. As a result,pharmaceutical company margins fall as soon as theirblockbusters patents expire and when the researchsegment encounters a crisis in terms of efficiency andprofitability.

The solution clearly requires efforts to improve R&Dand especially enhance productivity of researchmethodology. The need to find a solution has alsoprompted laboratories to reallocate investment infavour of rare diseases. Indeed, the demand for majormedical-service investment is greater where notreatment is available. It also entails developingcomplementary services in addition to the drug itself,such as diagnostic efficiency tests, a medicaladministration device, patient support and therapeuticpatient education.

42 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

the New Challenges

What is unique about Altran’s positioning in the healthcare sector??

New technologies in the healthcare industryInformation-systems development and integration are the basic elements of tele-medicine in all its forms, includingchronic disease support, medical data transmission and rapid expert diagnosis. All these solutions improve preventionand treatment quality, and contribute towards meeting the challenges facing public health and its funding. Altranhelps health institutions to acquire these new technologies which will radically transform the medical landscape ofthe future.

Healthcare:

Remote support reduces risk of diabetesworsening

The concept of chronic disease management (diabetes,and cardiac, respiratory and coronary insufficiency, etc.)originated in the 1990s in the USA. Remote support, whichprovides telephone follow-up via a specialist call centre,aims to improve how patients manage their illness through a structured programme involving experts from a widerange of fields. It is also designed to encourage lifestylechanges and ensure prescription compliance. It promotesco-ordinated treatment and may, in some cases, act as an early warning system.

According to a French report published in 2006, this systemof providing chronic disease support has a positive impactboth at the medical and economic levels since the programme avoids costly hospital costs and fees. Also developed in the UK and Germany, it has been tested,within the context of the “Sofia” programme, by the FrenchNational Health Insurance Fund (CNAMTS) on diabetics in eleven departments in France.

Following this trial, the CNAMTS selected Altran and its US partner Healthways (specialised in chronic-diseasesupport programmes), to deploy the Sofia programmethroughout France and extend it to other medicalconditions. Altran’s role is to adapt and integrateHealthways’ solution into the CNAMTS system, and to helpthe French National Health Insurance Fund adopt a new approach by deploying new support centres and implementing good practices for disease management.

43

Towards a tailored chrono-chemotherapy approach

Enabling patients to follow a course of injectable chemotherapy at home, at times best suited to their own biorhythms, involves settingup an intermediary telemedicine platform between patients andhealthcare professionals to consolidate process and consult patientdata. Altran is working on this home-based treatment approach as the main contractor of the Champagne-Ardenne (France) domo-medicine intermediation platform (PICADo). This co-operativeproject is mainly supported by the Single Interministerial Fund (FUI),Champagne-Ardenne (France) regional council and Paris Town Hall. Its primary objective is to enable a tailored chrono-chemotherapyapproach, which, until now, has only been carried out at the statisticallevel. It also aims to ensure the economic viability of the platform by extending it to the elderly to enable them to continue living at home.

Altran rewards healthcare qualityinnovation

Created out of the partnership between Altran and the Cercle Santé Société (CSS) – a forum for healthcarespecialists, sociologists and economists – the TreatmentInnovation and Quality prize is backed by the Altran Foundation for Innovation. The goal of thisaward is to support practical innovations in the areas of prevention, treatment, patient follow-up andinformation.

In 2010, the university hospitals of Rennes and Brestwere awarded the prize for a tele-expertise tool givingradiologists a neuroradiological opinion in under 15 minutes. This tool, which is particularly suitable in the event of emergencies, is designed to poolexpertise and provide remote access across any given area.

In 2011, the award, re-baptised the “Altran – CHAM(Convention on Health Analysis and Management) Prize”,was won by the R&D team of the Lyon Hospices Civils(France) teaching hospital, for an application enablinghealth carers to enter patient data in situ on an iPodTouch®. The winning team duly received technicalsupport from Altran consultants to optimise this application.

*Towards thesmart pillbox:the medicationcompliancemonitor In France, almost 13 million patients, includinga high proportion of elderly people, consume

around six medicines every day. Whatcan be done not only to help themmanage this and, more importantly,

to inform healthcare professionals, such as doctors and pharmacists, whether

the treatment is being followed correctly?Altran, in partnership with the start-up

Inlab, has been working on this totallyinnovative device since 2010, alongside Sanofiand the CEA’s electronics and informationtechnology laboratory (LETI). Disdeo is an intelligent medication-monitoring andcompliance-assistance device that will be fittedwith a closure capable of “seeing” when it isopened, and an integrated circuit weavingprocess developed by LETI. A transmitter in the base will send the information to healthcare professionals or to the patient’srelatives via a telephone or modem.

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44 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

The implantable artificial heart will save lives

to b

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ntinued

…the New ChallengesHealthcare:

45

The main causes of cardiac insufficiency are coronary heartdisease and high blood pressure. More than 15 millionEuropeans and 6 million Americans suffer from thiscondition and, according to the American Heart Association,this figure is set to grow by 25% between now and 2030. At the same time, direct costs (drug treatments, hospitaladmissions and surgery) will triple.

As things stand, treatments are mainly palliative and areineffective in cases of advanced cardiac insufficiency, wherea transplant is the only option. However, fewer than 4,000hearts become available worldwide each year and morethan 100,000 patients are on the transplant waiting list.

French Professor of Cardiology Alain Carpentier’simplantable artificial heart is one answer to this medical and financial challenge. It could be beating away in thechests of thousands of heart patients tomorrow just like a normal healthy heart, costing roughly the same as a traditional transplant.

This artificial heart is equipped with algorithms and sensorsthat enable the heart to respond to the body’s needsdepending on its level of activity. It is haemocompatible,which means that the heart’s materials, shape andfunctioning do not cause clots. It has a similar weight,size and capacity as a biological heart, and is sufficientlyautonomous to allow its user to live a normal life. The fuelcells currently being developed will soon be able to ensuremore than 12 hours of autonomy for a power supply systemweighing less than 3kg.

In addition to the prosthetic heart, the system also requiresexternal components. At the hospital, a console suppliespower for the heart and enables doctors to monitorphysiological parameters and check that the prosthesis isfunctioning accurately. At home, a data box will displayinformation to the patient and relay remote diagnostic datato the hospital.

It took Professor Carpentier’s team, together with engineersfrom the MATRA aeronautics and space group, 15 years of research to pull off this technological feat and initiate the prototype production phase. Since 2009, Altran hasbeen providing technical support in several fields, including:

systems engineering, scheduling the design and follow-upof the specification documentation for Oseo, a Frenchorganisation which is involved in financing innovation,and for the French national drug and health devices safetyagency (ANSM);

the choice and approval of biocompatible materials suchas glues;

test benches (functional endurance benches and thehaemodynamic bench), which are particularly importantfor this active device.

Since 2010, Altran has also been responsible for developingthe software for the power supply, communication anddoctor interface console, in compliance with the strictEuropean Directives concerning active implantable medicaldevices.

Patients will soon be able to benefit from this innovation.Clinical trials will be carried out in two phases: the first to verify the safety of the prosthesis in four to six patientsand the second to test aspects relating to the quality of the artificial heart in around twenty patients with cardiacinsufficiency. Once the clinical data have been collected, the application for marketing authorisation will besubmitted to the official assessment bodies.

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46 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Altran brings its expertise to winning projects

What makes this prize so unique is Altran’sskill-based sponsoring approach. Once theproject has been audited in detail, an actionplan is drawn up and targets defined.

Altran’s role is to help achieve these goals.Support from Altran staff will depend on whatis actually needed: project management, tech-nological development, production, patent expertise, cost optimisation, partner sourcing,design, marketing or communication.

Technology innovation servingthe public interest

Over the years, this competition has success-fully supported projects in the fields of health,the environment and social inclusion. Examplesinclude an artificial retina for blind people, anallergy diagnosis patch for new-born babiesand young children, coal production from biomass, soil decontamination through microorganisms, a communication device forpeople suffering from locked-in syndrome,and a desalination system to improve access todrinking water in developing countries.

2012: the Foundation innovatesyet again

Altran is making changes in 2012 to increasethe number of projects receiving support. Thefirst phase takes place at national level. Eachparticipating country chooses an innovationtheme and nominates a winner who receivessupport from Altran’s experts for six months.In phase two, the national winners compete to win the top international prize and receiveadditional support.

The Altran Foundation: inno

In 2006The Fondation de France awarded the Altran Foundation its ADMICAL prize in 2006, for the originality and longevity of itsproject selection method. Founded in 1979 to promote corporate philanthropy, ADMICAL has over 180 members today.

Altran set up the Foundation for Innovation in 1996 with the intention to reverse the negative image of technology by raising greater public interest to science and technology. The Foundation’s stated aim is to encourage technological innovationsthat benefit the public interest. This is achieved by fostering creative ideas, supporting their development and rapidly trans-forming them into industrial reality. The Altran Foundation thus organises competitions for innovative projects and the initiator of the winning project, selected by an international panel, then receives support from Altran for one year.

By reaffirming its commitment in 2012 in a completelyinnovative international competition, Altran considers that localexisting technologies will pave the way for the future.Instead of inventing a solution to issue a product for commongood, we are now asking to the innovators starting from theirown know-how and skills, how do they intend to use theirexpertise to serve as many people as possible.” Frédéric Fougerat, Executive vice-President of the Altran Foundation for Innovation

“

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47

vative support to innovation

Controlling a computer with the mind using the brain-machine Interface

The brain-computer interface is capable of recording the brainwaves on the surface of the skull anddecoding them to move a cursor on a computer screen, dictate text and even control a robotic arm.Invented by Professor Jonathan Wolpaw, this amazing machine was at the prototype stage when itwon the Foundation prize in 2005. Altran helped to develop the equipment, measure the brain’selectromagnetic waves and carry out the market research. Within a year, the prototype had becomea viable device, as illustrated by a patient who managed to send an e-mail alone.

Altran’s support was extremely valuable in helping us turn this project into reality.” Professor Jonathan Wolpaw, USA (2005 prizewinner)

Miniature electrodes to restore sightto blind people

The objective of Professor José Sahel’s retinal implant,which won the Altran Foundation Award in 2007, isto replace defective photoreceptors in the eye. Theimplant picks up light signals, stimulates the neuralnetwork and restores the ability to send signals tothe brain. The artificial retina represents a significantbreakthrough in the field of prosthetics. Altran’sconsultants supported the project through to theproduction stage. They modelled the system, determined the optimal shape of the implant and tested the first configurations. They were also involved in the experiments on retinal samples.

From the prototype through to production,Altran’s support enabled the development of a high performance retinal prosthesis and increased our global competitive edge.”Professor José Sahel, France (2007 prizewinner)

Diallertest: a quick, simple and reliable allergy test

The aim of the project, selected in 2003, was to enable the quick,simple and reliable diagnosis of allergies in young children to cow’smilk. This technology has made it possible to store cow’s milk allergenson a glue and solvent-free patch and to read the result on the patient’s skin within 48 hours of application. DVB Technologies, theproject initiator, received support from Altran throughout the lifecycle of the project, notably in production start-up, industrial pilottesting, quality and performance optimisation, industrial-partnersourcing, the analysis of patent-related issues, as well as applicatorand visual-identity design. In the space of a year, the Diallertest projectwas transformed into a product available in pharmacies and thus received the ANVAR special mention at the 2005 Observeur du Design.

We would never have achieved such ambitious objectives in such a short space of time without Altran’s massivesupport.”Dr. Pierre-Henri Benhamou, France (2003 prizewinner)

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48 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

the ICT Revolution

Servicing all players in the telecoms chain

The airport of the future: child of the imagination and technology

Users and designers at the core of theinnovation process

From Telephone

49

Until the late 1980s, technology and infrastructures wereat the core of a unique challenge: to make the telephoneaccessible to everyone. Infrastructure then caught upwith demand and new technologies began to revolutionisetelephone usage. The Minitel, a French innovationintroduced in 1982, paved the way for the Internet. In nthe mid-90s, the World Wide Web propelled us suddenlyfrom the age of the telephone into the age oftelecommunications. Mobile telephony arrived in Francein 1991 with the Bi-Bop phone, and spread throughout Europe via the GSM standard in the mid-90s. Mobiletelephony and Internet were combined into thesmartphone which was first marketed by the Taiwanesecompany HTC in Europe in 2002.

With six billion mobile telephone subscribers at end-2011, the new challenge for the operatorsshaping the value chain was no longer to connect justpeople, but also objects and offer innovative services.Mobiles will be able to capture and process dataassociated with these objects, creating a seamlesslink between the physical and virtual worlds. Oneexample of this is the “green watch”, a sensor thatmeasures ambient air and sound pollution andtransmits the data by mobile phone to the Citypulseplatform developed by Altran, which stores,processes and publishes the data. Developmentslike this open up the prospect of a gigantic networkin which the real challenge will be to process thehuge volumes of data vital for managing energy,transport, etc.

For operators, the challenge will be mostly financial.With revenue from voice phone declining, they willneed a new business model to finance theconstruction and operation of the infrastructuresunderpinning these new uses. Part of the solutionwill come from innovative services such asconnected Tv, managing cloud computing, anddelivering added-value services related to theInternet of objects.

to Telecoms:

Servicing all playersin the telecoms chainBy addressing technological and economic issues alike, Altran is a core player in the telecoms revolution providing supportto all parties involved, from operators, content editors and aggregators to hardware and parts manufacturers. Altran offerssolutions to strategic problems related to defining new services, managing the increasingly complex and interoperable mixof technologies, and running an efficient organisation.

New generation decoderfor a pay-TV broadcaster

This decoder not only provides access to programmes but also video-on-demand, catch-up TV, 80-hour recording storage capacity,access to previews of TV series, and remotecontrol from an iPad or iPhone. Altran played a strategic part in creating the system, validatingnot only the decoder as such but also theconnected video-on-demand applications.

Test platform for new broadband services, with System@tic Paris Région

Since 2009, Altran has been running the Neptune openparticipative innovation project, approved by the System@tic ParisRégion competitiveness cluster. Neptune is an experimental fourth-generation (LTE) network for testing technologies, services andground-breaking uses for very-high-speed broadband wirelessnetworks. It is deployed at the Plateau de Saclay science andtechnology centre in the Paris region, in partnership with thetelecoms majors, the site’s education facilities, and someinnovative small to medium-sized firms. Altran’smission is notably to manage the overallproject and promote the Neptuneplatform to make it asustainable, independentand economically viableentity.

50 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

the ICT revolutionFrom telephone to telecoms:

*The Internet of objects: a connected car demonstratorAccording to a Gartner Group survey, “one third of drivers aged 18 to 34 in the United States and one quarter inGermany would rather go without their car than their Internet access”. However, developing on-board telematicstechnology in vehicles is a complex matter. It raises road safety and data protection issues and must be integrated into the vehicle’s electronic processes. This involves both carmakers and telecoms operators. vehicles must be equipped with embedded systems and computer architecture to manage the services. To address thesechallenges, Altran is partnering Intel on a project to develop a prototype with an ecosystem capable of offering driversconnected infotainment services (e.g. digital radio via the Internet) and geolocation, as well as supplying applicationssuch as eco-driving assistance via the vehicle’s interface.

And tom

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A European first in connected TV,for TNT

Altran is a partner of the “Associationprofessionnelle pour le développement de la télévision interactive”, a French businessassociation for the development of interactiveTV. In this capacity, in March 2012, Altranpresented an experimental interactive servicesportal, Mes Services TV, on TNT. For this, Altran fulfilled two key missions: the construction, management andmaintenance of the technical platform hostingthe portal, and providing support to contenteditors to help them become familiar with thetechnology, develop applications, and set upnew services.

Network investment management tool for an internationaloperator

Altran was commissioned to model the topographies of a telecoms network, and simulate overload situations and their impact on service quality. For this, Altran mobilised all its skills in complex network architecture and in modellingnetworks with thousands of nodes and using several hundred different types ofhardware. Leveraging its expertise in statistics, Altran defined a set of service-qualityindicators which were then translated into scorecards to help general managementanticipate the risk of non-quality and optimise their investments in relation to their degree of efficiency.

Mobile-phone payment platform for emerging markets

In emerging countries, where mobile phones are sometimes more widespread thanbank cards, operators are developing platforms to enable payment via mobile phone.Altran has been commissioned by one of these operators to provide support (fromdesign to deployment) throughout the entire lifecycle of its platform developmentproject. Altran collaborated on the architecture of the service platforms and isincorporating enablers into the platform and the operator’s operating system. Altran is also providing all the client’s subsidiaries with level 2 and 3 support as well as technical expertise on the product.

51

The airport of the future:child of the imagination and technology

The European Commission’s Flightpath 2050 – Europe’s Vision for Aviation roadmap sets the ambitious goal of enabling 90% of travellers in Europe to reach their destination, door to door, inless than four hours. This means optimising passenger access to planes, and connecting airportswith other modes of transport to provide passengers with the seamless journey.

Telecoms, a central part of the Friendlean Airport of the FutureThe outcome of their work was the “Friendlean”Airport of the Future: a lean, user-friendly,ergonomic airport. At present it is embodied in three concepts: Eye to the Sky, Passenger AirportShuttles, and the Extended Airport. The commonfactor in all of these is the central role played by telecoms networks for passenger comfort, fluid circulation and transport security.

to be continued…

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52 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

Absorb the increase in traffic and improve passenger comfort

While the goal is ambitious in itself, it comes at a timewhen air traffic is increasing exponentially, with anexpected rise from the current level of 6.5 millionpassengers a day worldwide to 44 million by 2050.How can user-friendliness, comfort, security andfluidity be improved in airports that will be dealingwith hundreds of thousands of people passing througheach day?

Innovative Methodology

In their search for an answer, Altran and EADS Innovation Works (IW) organised workshops with people from a wide range of backgrounds, including airport representatives (Paris Airport and Paris Airport /Innovation - ADP/I), air traffic managers,mobility experts, travel agencies, as well as travellers and future engineers from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chausséesin France and the Hasso Plattner Institute (University of Potsdam, Germany). To establish a vision of the ideal airport, the workgroup applied the Design Thinking methodology to the problems starting from the users’ actual experiencesand incorporating constraints and challenges.

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the ICT revolution

With regard to technologies, the scope of possibilities is immense; the importantthing is how and why these technologies willbe integrated. Our client-centred innovationapproach is designed to stimulate creativityand turn dreams into reality.”Corinne Jouanny, Managing Director Altran Pr[i]me“

From telephone to telecoms:

The “Eye to the Sky” concept: a revolution in airportarchitectureThis concept organises airport space into vertical layers. Arriving at the ground level,passengers use spiral ramps that take them up to check-in and shopping areas, andthen to the boarding area on the top floor. The airport will guide passengers usingextended connectivity and ensure security via biometric checks.

Automated circulation withpassenger airport shuttles(PAS)Taking a more horizontal view of theairport, Passenger Airport Shuttles (PAS)offers passengers an automated transportsystem that takes them from the airport hub to the boarding “bubbles” in underseven minutes. The shuttle is equipped withan identification system that recognisespassengers and their flight data as soon as they enter the vehicle and drops them attheir “skygate” where they check in beforeboarding.

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The Extended Airportconcept: making air transport a door-to-door serviceThe Extended Airport conceptintegrates air transport withother transport modes. An online applicationintegrates all logisticsresources into a single process offeringpassengers a set of door-to-door services fromthe home or workplaceto the aircraft door.

Enhancing the imaginationthrough technologyTo implement these concepts,Altran and its partners are developing thetechnological solutions to translate ideasto reality, notably regarding connectivity,with JCDecaux; security, incorporatingfilters that are “transparent” to thepassenger, with Safran Morpho Systèmes;luggage logistics, with EADS IW;architecture, with ADP/I; and integratedtransport solutions, including radio-frequency passenger and luggageidentification (RFID) and monitoring.

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Design thinking: the Altran approach

Working with an interdisciplinary, cross-sector agenda issecond nature to Altran. The Group was among the firstto incorporate design into its innovation cycle. As early as2001, a team of engineer-designers were working togetherin the automotive, telecoms and healthcare industries.This team helped bring the Diallertest allergy diagnosistest to market in 2003. The creation of Altran Pr[i]me in2004 embodied the Group’s drive to becomean idea generator by creating innova-tions jointly with its customers.Altran Pr[i]me still acts as a

powerful force in the development of new methodologies usingopen innovation, as illustrated by the creation of Open Trade forOrange Business Services. This combined data and telephony instrument is used by traders on the market, and received theFrench “Janus de l'Industrie” Award in 2010.

Users and designers at the core

Since the turn of the century, innovation management has undergone a profound change. While the old paradigm wasanalytical, linear and above all technological, with innovation being measured by the number of patents filed, today’s is auser-centred approach with the focus on developing new uses that meet consumer demand. Apple’s approach with thelaunch of the Macintosh 128 in 1984 is an early example, and marked the first success for a computer using technologythat Xerox had invented years earlier - the mouse and the graphical user interface (GUI).

54 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

This new approach was formulated by Peter Rowe who christened it “design thinking”in 1987, then by Tim Brown, CEO of the design agency Ideo (USA) in his book,Change by Design which describes the collaborative process that uses design methods to provide technically feasible andeconomically viable solutions. Design thinkingis a global, systemic method that takes intoaccount the product’s ecosystem, and whichputs the user at the centre. The idea is tobring designers, engineers and users together,calling on the social sciences for inspiration.This process can turn concepts rapidly intophysical reality so as to test them in a seriesof iterative loops.

Open Innovation: “Club Innovation Banque Finance Assurance”

Club Innovation Banque Finance Assurance brings together innovation managers from the leading French banks and insurancecompanies with academics and innovation experts. It was set up in 2010 with active help from Altran as an observatory unit totrack trends and uses, and as a laboratory for co-opetitive projects. In January 2011, it launched the FIDJI project (Finance Design& Joie d’Innover), which aims to apply design thinking to the creation of innovative financial products and services.

of the innovation process

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With Essilor, Altran Pr[i]me imagines the future of glass packing

Contracted in 2004 to develop a scratch-resistant packagingsolution for shipping glass, Altran Pr[i]me applied the “designthinking” approach to address the issue notably taking inspiration from solutions developed for other sectors. Altran Pr[i]me subsequently accompanied the selected conceptthroughout the entire industrialisation process. In 2007, Essilor hired Altran Pr[i]me to reflect upon the future ofpackaging, incorporating the needs of in-house users.“We had never conducted such a wide-reaching study in the field of packaging,” declared Mr Schott, head ofEssilor’s three-year technology plan. “This has provideda pool of concepts we can dip into whenever a majoraccount asks us to meet a particular packaging need.”In 2012, Essilor consulted Altran Pr[i]me again on anoperational issue. “The world is moving fast and Altran,with its skills in listening, technology watch and creativity,has helped us to keep pace,” concluded Mr Schott.

Altran organises an international club aroundConsolidated Edison, Inc.

The massive power cut that paralysed the North Americangrid in August 2003 prompted Consolidated Edison, Inc.,one of the United States’ energy majors to consider installinga third-generation “smart” grid. Altran persuaded the com-pany to take a collective innovative approach with the help ofan International Utilities Working Group (IUWG) comprisingelectricity providers from Paris, Rome, London, New York andTokyo. Today a development plan for a third-generationpower grid for New York (USA) is in the pipeline. In addition,the IUWG now includes Shanghai (China), still meets everysix months, and has extended the scope of its discussionsfrom technology to strategy.

*iModal, a systemicapproach tooptimisingtransportAccredited by the Advancity sustainable-citycompetitiveness cluster in April 2010, the iModalproject comprises an interoperable softwareplatform that gathers and aggregates data on all types of transport. This data is fed into a management-assistance module designed for transport authorities, and another module that compiles multimodal itineraries for end users.

As a systemic approach to optimising transport,iModal will be tested at the Plateau de Saclaytechnology cluster located in the Paris region(France).

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In 20 years’ time, in an overpopulatedworld, human relations will be virtual. We’ll be living in a world of bits and bytes,constantly connected to our mobile phonesto access information instantly.

Emmanuel, Arts et Métiers ParisTech(France)

The internal combustion engine will be a distant memory: all cars will run on electricity, and airplanes will be usingthird-generation aviation biofuel.

Pierre, Faculté Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris (France)

With progress in regenerative medicine andchanges in regulations, we will be able tocure functional diseases and reconstruct

tissues with anyone’s stem cells.

Anne, Télécom ParisTech (France)

Tomorrow’s cities will be equipped withdecentralised energy production and intelligent meters, making it possible to create energy-positive districts that produce more energy thanthey consume.

Michael, Cambridge University (United Kingdom)

Everyone in cities will travel by publictransport and self-service bike and electric vehicle hire. Nobody will own a personal car.

Renaud, CentraleLille (France)

Everyone will produceand store their ownenergy close to home. No morepower stations orhigh voltage lines.

Chih-Nii, Shandong University (China)

In 20 years’ time we’ll beconnected non-stop, athome, at work and whentravelling by car, train or plane.

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Leonie and Nele, Technische Universität München

(Germany)

In 20 years’ time, there won’t be any cars in Berlin at all, and there’ll be

magnetic-levitation trains throughout Germany.

Tom, Stanford(USA)

Tomorrow, we will besafely producingnuclear fusion energy.

Marie, ESIGELEC andClément, ISEP(France)

A highly competitiveelectric car and ampleenergy storage thanksto the invention of a high-performance battery. These are the real innovations for tomorrow.

Aurélien, EIGSI and Hugo, Centrale Marseille (France)

In 20 years’ time, the world will lookroughly the same as it did

in 1992-2012. The real change willbe in our attitudes towards the planet

and the invention of a fuel process based on biomass.

Arthur, ESIGELEC(France)

The cloud is the future.We’re heading for aworld that will be moredigital, virtual and immediate. Google’saugmented-reality goggles are a foretaste.

Charles, ESIGELEC and Alice, UTT(France)

In 20 years’ time, we’llbe living in a muchmore automated androbot-assisted world.That will be a help ofcourse but the challengewill be controlling allthe robots.

Mathieu, ENSTA ParisTech (France)

Quantum computing will revolutionisethe power and memory capacity of computers built into mobilephones, making it possible forusers to customise the way they consume.

Paolo, Politecnico di Milano(Italy)

In 20 years’ time, space will be a touristdestination, and spending time in spacewill be accessible andaffordable for everyone.

Adamo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid(Spain)

In the future, we’ll be able to visit a museum while dining in a restaurant.

The tables will be on a travelator that moves through the museum

throughout the course of the evening.

The words on this page are from interviews with students; the photos are from image banks.

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58 30 Years of Innovation for a Brighter Future

croisée

Past, Present &Future

What was the situation when Altranwas founded?

Alexis Kniazeff:You can’t imagine how differentthe world was when Hubert Martigny and I founded Altran. It was the dawn of the digitalrevolution, micro-processors and the newtechnologies, with a host of major industrialprogrammes starting up, including the Frenchhigh-speed (TGV) train, Concorde, Airbus, theaerospace industry, Minitel (the precursor ofthe Internet) and more. Industry needed inputfrom engineers to help it succeed in drivingthis technological revolution. And that wasprecisely the role that Altran played.

Philippe Salle

Chairman and Chief Executive of the Altran Group

Alexis Kniazeff

Co-founder of Altran

A joint interview of Philippe Salle and Alexis Kniazeff

59

So you invented a new profession?

Alexis Kniazeff: Yes, we invented high-technology consulting. We werenot supplying classic IT services. Our value-added lay in using computerscience to solve technology problems, and that has not changed. The key point, however, is that the market then was demand-driven.Good engineers were scarce and we knew where to find them and howto attract them. Today, supply is driving the market.

Philippe Salle: We are still short of engineers, especially in northernEurope. I think the real difference with the past lies in the way our customers require us to operate. Back in the eighties, they asked us toprovide the skills. Now, they ask us to join in turnkey projects and sharethe responsibility with them.

Alexis Kniazeff: For about 20 years, we refused to provide packagedeals. We used to send engineers to our customers and invoiced on atime-and-materials basis. In the field of new technologies, you neverknew what the final product would be, or what additional input wouldbe needed.

Philippe Salle: The big change happened in the 2000s, when the trendtowards outsourcing entire sub-assemblies spread from industry to engineering. Work packages and then turnkey projects shifted part ofthe risk to the engineering side. That said, this is in the interest of theprojects and it’s not a bad thing for Altran, provided, of course, we canhandle the risks inherent in project management.

Did you have a special form of organisation?

Alexis Kniazeff: Yes, we were organised in a very unusual way, as profitcentres around a business manager who was a real entrepreneur and notnecessarily an engineer. This network type of organisation was ourstrength. The business growth and work motivation it generated morethan offset the savings we could have made with a centralised organisation.For a long time, our exceptional profitability was due to this form of organisation. We were therefore able to make our mark internationallyby weaving a multi-skill, multi-industry network. A kind of Web-style formof engineering.

Does this model still meet your customers’ requirements?

Philippe Salle: We have to adapt our model to market trends. I’ve mentioned turnkey projects, but nowadays customers are even askingus to link our fees to their sales figures! The other factor is that our programmes are more international. We need greater centralisation tomanage increasing risk and projects that are becoming more and moreinternational in scope. To deal with this, we have set up a Programs andInnovation department and redesigned our monitoring and tracking procedures. We are also testing the separation of business managementand recruitment. Central career management would be as valuable toour engineers as it would to the company.

Will you be able to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit that has been such a distinctive feature of Altran?

Philippe Salle: There is no real conflict, although I personally preferthe term “intraprise” to “enterprise”. Our business managers don’t createthe profit centres they run, but they do manage them with all the inde-pendence of a company boss. Of course, they play by the rules that applyto a major, legally integrated single-brand group that is listed on thestock exchange. Being an organisation doesn’t mean working in astraightjacket. We are still very attached to the principle of flexibility. Ofcourse, business managers still benefit from profit-sharing and we arethinking of extending this incentive to other staff categories.

How has Altran developed up to now?

Alexis Kniazeff: Twenty years ago, we were opportunistic in disseminatingtechnologies. And business rocketed. We created completely new marketsby forming subsidiaries and buying up companies, to which the localsubsidiary served as a model and a driver. In fact, a lot of our growthcan be put down to chance.

Philippe Salle: We can no longer spread ourselves quite aswidely as we used to. We are currently completing the legalprocess of unifying Altran around a single company in eachcountry and have pulled out of some less strategic businesslines. There are nine countries where we aim to be reallystrong: six European countries, India, China and the USA.We have to reach critical size to trigger a virtuous cycle betweenbrand recognition, projects and recruitment. This should beachieved by 2015 for the European countries and by 2019 forthe other three. By drawing on its capacity to manage complexproblems, its specialisation and its international presence,Altran will strengthen its position as an indispensable inno-vation partner for all future international projects.

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AltranPublishing Director: Philippe Salle

Editorial Directors: Frédéric Fougerat, Anne-Laure Sanguinetti, Léa Kim

Contributors: Valérie Archambault, Claude-Emmanuel Boisson, Corinne du Chaxel,Cosimo De Carlo, Renaud Delmas, Thomas Desrues, Pierre Dreux,Xavier Dupeyron, Jérôme Faggion, Jean-Christophe Godefroy, Claudie Hamerstehl,Vu Kim Phuong Hoang, Jean-Luc Hozé, Alan Jean-Marie, Corinne Jouanny, Christian Le Liepvre,Olivier Nold, Olivier Picard, Maud Plombas, Patrick Pordage, Sébastien Renouard, Eloy Rodriguez,Guy Schott, Thierry Voisin, Serge Widawski

Our thanks to: Bob Bell, Pascal Brier, Kaling Chan, Stéphane Garson, Virginie Jullion, Clara Lorentz, Bertrand Piccard, Agathe Weil

Our special thanks to Alexis Kniazeff and Hubert Martigny, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Graphic and editorial design and production: Peter Pen

Writers: Philippe Blanchard, La Compagnie d’écriture

Photos: Thinkstock • Fotolia • Roger Viollet • Getty Images • Hubert Martigny • © Renault • © Quimera • © Solar Impulse / Jean Révillard / Stéphane Gros • © Altran Pr[i]me • © Carmat • © REA

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