Renovation of the high-voltage electrical systems at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris : a project entrusted to Elcimaï Environnement
Elcimaï Environnement is acting as project manager
As part of a project management assistance assignment, Elcimaï Environnement is responsible for developing the plan for the renovation and modernization of the high-voltage electrical systems at the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie, which opened in Paris in 1986. This project reflects the changing times and mindset regarding energy, as well as Universcience’s new sustainability strategy. Located at Porte de La Villette in Paris, the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie aims to present and popularize scientific and technical knowledge among the general public, particularly children and teenagers, as well as to spark citizens’ interest in societal issues related to science, research, and industry.
The History of the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
Built in the 1980s, the site—one of Europe’s largest science museums—was intended to be iconic. Covering an area of 150,000 m², it was designed during a prosperous era with architecture and a layout intended to represent France’s industrial might, featuring, for example, a particularly imposing steel framework. “It also stood out for its robust electrical safety measures, with a deliberately high level of availability that was, however, ill-suited for an exhibition space,” explains Christophe Chavrier, who is leading the project for Elcimaï Environnement. “It was quite common at the time to oversize electrical installations relative to current needs.”
After some forty years of operation, renovation and modernization work on the high-voltage electrical systems (primary distribution) is necessary. This work is also part of Universcience’s new RSO strategy, which has made sustainability one of the three pillars of its institutional plan adopted in 2021.
Elcimaï’s Mission
The mission entrusted to Elcimaï Environnement initially consisted of an initial functional audit phase. This involved taking inventory of existing technical components, analyzing equipment obsolescence and the overall coherence of the installations, and incorporating changes in the organization and skills of the staff responsible for operations and maintenance.
A second phase, currently underway, involves proposing various scenarios and modernization approaches, with well-reasoned and comprehensive technical solutions for each scenario (phasing, financial implications, impact on existing infrastructure), so that Universcience can determine its approach to the project, for which a budget of several million euros over five years has been allocated
.“In particular, we presented Universcience with various electrical architectures linked to risk analyses, enabling it to select a technical-economic solution that meets the expected power supply continuity requirements while also addressing fire risk,” adds Christophe Chavrier. An energy consumption analysis was also conducted. It showed that consumption would amount to 26,600 MWh in 2022, equivalent to the annual consumption of a town of 12,000 inhabitants. This renovation and modernization project is highly representative of the changing times and mindset regarding energy. “In the past, we thought big and didn’t keep track. Today, we are clearly seeking a path toward energy efficiency.”
Elcimaï Environnement’s project includes a third and final phase, which will involve developing the technical plan, incorporating a detailed phasing of the actions to be carried out in the coming years.