Young talents making scientific research shine far beyond the Béarn region!

At TotalEnergies, receiving a PhD student is much more than just funding a thesis. It’s an opportunity to co-construct applied research, deeply rooted in tomorrow’s industrial and environmental challenges. Supervised by business line experts and fully integrated as part of the teams, PhD students receive personalized support throughout their studies, encouraging discussion, innovation and mutual development.

Young PhD students working at the Platform for Experimental Research in Lacq (PERL) shone this year on the national and international scientific scene. Their methodical, innovative work in TotalEnergies’ laboratories was acclaimed by several renowned distinctions. From the physical chemistry of foams to CO₂ capture, through the study of biosourced materials, these budding researchers proactively contribute to the Company’s energy transition and environmental performance ambitions.

Ange Combrouze received the prize for the best poster at the ICMF (1) 2025, organized in Toulouse in May 2025. His research, conducted in the shared PIC TotalEnergies-ESPCI (2) laboratory at the PERL, covers the physical chemistry of oil foams, with a specific focus on bubble coalescence time. This work, at the interface between fluid physics and process engineering, helps improve our understanding of foam stability mechanisms - a crucial stake in our processes.

In early June, Clémence Larraud - also a PhD student in the same laboratory - received a distinction at the FrenchMOFs conference at the Jean Rouxel Materials Institute in Nantes. She presented her work on shaping new materials for CO₂ capture by surface coating. Her poster was acclaimed for its clarity and the pertinence of the results, which contribute to developing tangible greenhouse gas emission reduction solutions.

In July, Juliana Catalina Suarez Murcia, a PhD student in the Environment department at the PERL, won second prize for the best oral presentation at the Polymers and Oceans GDR meeting in Bordeaux. She presented her research on the chemical composition and biodegradability in mesophilic anaerobic digestion of compostable packaging. This work, co-supervised by TotalEnergies, UPPA, the INRAE SAYFOOD and IATE (3), is part of the Low Emissions Gas R&D program led by the TotalEnergies teams at the Pau Site (PERL and CSTJF).

These awards valorize the commitment and scientific qualities of these young researchers and highlight the research dynamics in the teams at the multi-energies Company on issues with high industrial and environmental stakes.

At the beginning of the year, Arthur Chevalier obtained his PhD in January 2025, after three years’ collaborative work with the Agro-Industrial Chemistry Laboratory (ENSIACET/INRAE) and the TotalEnergies Biogas teams at the PERL and the CSTJF. He defended his thesis on Agricultural Resources Sciences, summa cum laude, with a recommendation for the SFG (5) prize!
 

Supporting PhD students for mutual benefits

Valérie Molinier, Head of the R&D Physical-Chemistry & Analysis department at the PERL, highlighted the importance of supporting PhD students at TotalEnergies: “All the PhDs financed by TotalEnergies are supervised inhouse by tutors who ensure that the thesis stays on track and is consistent with the strategy and requirements of the R&D program to which it is linked. They set the PhDs in an industrial context, provide a business line-specialist’s perspective and monitor the progress of work through very regular discussions with the PhD student and academic supervisors. Part of the work for CIFRE theses is done on our premises, and the PhD students are fully immersed in our activities and corporate culture, particularly in terms of HSE."

She particularly wanted to specify how the work fits into TotalEnergies’ strategic priorities: "Ange’s thesis, supervised inhouse by Alexandra Klimenko, contributes to finding solutions to reduce the costs and energy consumption of our production facilities and oil transportation, and to optimize the efficiency of lubricants for electric engines. It plays its part in our ambition to produce energy with a lower carbon footprint. Clémence’s thesis, directed inhouse by Enric Santanach-Carreras, is at the heart of the development of innovative materials for CO₂ capture, particularly through DAC (Direct Air Capture). It also contributes to our sustainable development goals. As for Catalina’s and Arthur’s theses, under the responsibility of Florian Monlau and Cécilia Sambusiti in the Environment and Sustainable Development department at the PERL, they are an integral part of our transition toward new energies from biomass."

Finally, she emphasizes the mutual benefits of these collaborations: "Theses are superb scientific and human experiences. Academic and industrial circles feed off each other, and these collaborations enable the development of high-quality scientific topics based on concrete industrial problems or questions. The scientific and technical growth and development of doctoral students during their three years of thesis work are also a great source of satisfaction for academic and industrial supervisors."

(1) ICMF – International Conference on Multiphase Flow
(2) ESPCI – Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris
(3) UPPA – Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour / INRAE – Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement / SAYFOOD – Paris-Saclay Food and Bioproduct Engineering / IATE – Institut Agro Montpellier – Unité Mixte de Recherche IATE
(4) INP – Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse
(5) SFG – Société Française de Génétique