PSTs - Scientific and Technical Clusters

Half the world’s population lives in an urban area. Transportation, built-up areas and urban energy consumption are responsible for most of the greenhouse effect. We are increasingly faced by the challenge of building a sustainable urban civilization: providing high quality urban services to all, limiting the consumption of raw materials, water and energy as well as environmental pollution, reducing society’s vulnerability to hazards

Sustainable transport: imagining and experimenting

Due to the uninterrupted increase in motorized travel and road freight transport that has taken place since the post-war years, transport is today responsible for more than a quarter of France’s greenhouse gas emissions. While other sectors have made major contributions to combating global warming, we have still failed to reduce emissions caused by the movement of persons and freight by implementing new policies for this sector which is vital for our country’s social and economic well-being.

Consistent with this realization and with the policies adopted at the Grenelle environment summit, the Ministry of Sustainable Development has decided to create a Scientific and Technical Cluster (PST) in the Rhône-Alpes Region whose role is to conceive and trial safe and sustainable transport solutions.

The cluster’s goals and ambitions

• Providing external partners with a “central point of contact” where they can access the expertise of its members;
• Building partnerships between the PST and networks or structures that belong to the business, research and academic sectors as well as public institutions. The Lyon University PRES, Grenoble University and the academic, economic, and institutional players in the LUTB competitiveness cluster are particularly targeted in this connection;
• Enhancing the management and profile of existing collaborations between members of the PST;
• Promoting new collaborations between members of the PST;
• Developing and exploiting the expertise of members of the PST in the field of transport.

Partners: Mobilizing expertise

The Rhône-Alpes PST brings together the expertise of eight founding members and two associate members:

Members

• the French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks (Ifsttar)
• the Tunnel Engineering Centre (Cetu)
• the Centre for the study of networks, transport, urban planning and public buildings (Certu)
• le Centre d’études techniques de l’équipement (Cete de Lyon)
• the Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB)
• the National School for State Public Works (ENTPE)
• the French Oil Institute (IFP)
• the Technical Department for Ropeways and Guided Transport (STRMTG)

Associate members