Alstom reinforces smart grid excellence centre in Montpellier, France

On December 19th, 2011, Hélène Mandroux, Mayor of Montpellier and Max Lévita, Chairman of SERM, joined with Jean-Pierre Moure, Chairman of the Montpellier Urban Area, Nicolas Vassilevsky, Montpellier Regional Managing Director of Alstom Grid SAS and Hervé Amossé, Vice President of Alstom Grid SAS, in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Alstom Grid SAS building in Montpellier, France.

To strengthen its electric grid automation and control activity, Alstom Grid, which has had a base in the region for almost 20 years, has decided to group its activities together in Montpellier’s Eurêka business park by the end of 2012. Almost 250 employees and experts, mostly managers and engineers, will join the new site. Partners in the project will invest around €15 million.

In line with Alstom Grid’s Smart Grid strategy, the excellence centre is a critical factor in the development of the equipment and solutions needed for a fast-changing electric infrastructure.

The sharp rise in global electricity generation – more than 80% from 2006 to 2030 – and the integration of renewable energies that are intermittent and distributed across the grid are making electricity architecture more complex. Substations and their automation and control solutions now have to be “smart” so that electric grids can monitor and regulate themselves.

Research & development, marketing, sales & customer service, project management and aftersales service will all be carried out at the centre. The unit’s main customers are in France, Spain, Africa and the Balkans. Furthermore, the solutions developed by R&D are delivered all over the world by other Alstom Grid units.

“Alstom Grid’s Substation Automation Solutions range is crucial to the development of tomorrow’s technologies,” states Nicolas Vassilevsky, Montpellier Regional Managing Director of Alstom Grid SAS. “The new site will strengthen Alstom’s know-how in digital technology, supporting our strategy of developing the substations of the future in the Smart Grid.”

This project is also in line with the Alstom Group’s sustainable development policy and its strong commitment to renewable energies. The 6,000-m² low-consumption buildings will be fitted with solar panels and parking spaces for electric vehicles.

About Alstom

Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world. It provides turnkey integrated power plan solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids.

The Group employs 92,700 people in 100 countries and had sales of €20.9 billion in 2010/11.

Alstom Grid has over 100 years of expertise in electrical grids. Whether for utilities or electro-intensive industries or facilitating the trading of energy, Alstom Grid brings power to its customers’ projects. Alstom Grid ranks among the top 3 in electrical transmission sector with an annual sales turnover of more than €4 billion. It has 20,000 employees and over 90 manufacturing and engineering sites worldwide. At the heart of the development of Smart Grid, Alstom

Grid offers products, services and integrated energy management solutions across the full energy value chain—from power generation, through transmission and distribution grids and to the large end user.

Press contacts

Emmanuelle Helleux: emmanuelle.helleux@alstom.com / Tel: +33 1 49 01 70 87

Aline Besselièvre: aline.besselievre@alstom.com / Tel: + 33 1 49 01 69 04

Website www.alstom.com - www.alstom.com/grid