Centrale Nantes and Bureau Veritas create international research Chair for the ship of the future in partnership with HydrOcean and Nextflow Software

A ten year finance package of Euro 7.5 million marks this as a key investment in research.

The École Centrale de Nantes (ECN), one of France’s top engineering universities, and leading classification society Bureau Veritas have joined forces to create a new International Chair  in research on Hydrodynamics and Marine Structures.  The aim is to improve the safety and performance of vessels of the future. The ambitious research programme also includes HydrOcean, part of the BV Group, a key provider of CFD-based optimisation services and Nextflow Software, a start-up dedicated to fluid dynamics software.

The new Chair will make possible technical innovations for the conception, design, performance, safety and environmental friendliness of ships and offshore structures.

“This chair is concrete evidence of the desire of Bureau Veritas to link with the innovation and research of one of the top engineering faculties to create new services which will help our clients to improve the safety and environmental friendlessness of their fleets,” says Philippe Donche-Gay, Head of the Marine and Offshore division, Bureau Veritas.

“This next step in our long collaboration in maritime matters allows us to go further together and to harness the power of numerical simulation to develop better ships,” says Arnaud Poitou, Director of Centrale Nantes.

David Le Touzé, Professor at Centrale Nantes, will be the first holder of the new Chair. He leads a twenty-person research group at ECN hydrodynamics laboratory and is known for his numerical simulation expertise.

The work of the Chair will be focussed on three complementary areas: the development of numerical simulation tools; their validation in the testing facilities of École Centrale de Nantes which are amongst the best in Europe; and developing efficient methodologies for dealing with hydrodynamic and hydro–structural problems.

Centrale Nantes

A member of Groupe des Écoles Centrale, Centrale Nantes is a leading engineering university in France. Centrale Nantes has a strong competence in numerical and experimental hydrodynamics.

Bureau Veritas is a world leader in laboratory testing, inspection and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has 66,000 employees located in 1,400 offices and laboratories around the globe. Bureau Veritas helps its clients improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

Bureau Veritas is listed on Euronext Paris and belongs to the Next 20 index.

Compartment A, ISIN code FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI.
For more information, visit www.bureauveritas.com

For more information:

Ecole Centrale de Nantes

Valérie Chilard - 02 40 37 16 87 / valerie.chilard@ec-nantes.fr

Bureau Veritas/ HydrOcean:

Philippe Boisson – 01 55 24 71 98 – 06 80 67 66 12 / philippe.boisson@bureauveritas.com