Summary - - The aim of this project is to empirically and critically examine the social, economic and environmental performance of regimes of network service provision ( infraregimes ) from an explicit sustainable urban development perspective, through a focus on water/sanitation, energy and transport networks and their socio-technical governance at differing levels in five metropolitan regions across Europe: Berlin, London, Rome, Stockholm and Paris/Ile-de-France. We aim to compare how networks are being deployed within wider sustainable development strategies and policies, the social-economic-environmental balance at the heart of network service provision, and whether a particular infraregime in Europe stands out from the others as having promoted a balanced sustainable development strategy. - - The research will focus on a limited number of key sustainability issues significantly affected by network infrastructure/service provision regimes: - - the sustainability of patterns of consumption of network services (mobility behaviours, water uses, energy consumption, and the factors that affect those patterns; - - socio-spatial inequalities in access to infrastructures, and their potential contribution to regional segregation or polarisation; - - the potential contribution of infrastructures to environmental inequalities; - - processes of urban sprawl. - - This cross-national comparison will shed considerable light on the different processes, practices and implications of infrastructure provision and sustainable urban development in varying national contexts. It will also provide useful insights on the performance of reforms in infrastructure sectors, from a sustainability perspective. We will specifically analyse and detail the implications of the findings of the project for the governance of networks and sustainability policy in the Ile-de-France context. - - Résumé - - L'objectif de ce projet est d'évaluer la performance économique, sociale et environnementale de différents régimes de fourniture d'infrastructures et de services en réseaux, dans une perspective de développement urbain durable, à partir de l'étude empirique approfondie de trois secteurs (eau/assainissement, énergie, transports) dans cinq régions métropolitaines européennes : Berlin, Londres, Rome, Stockholm et Paris/Ile-de-France. - - Nous étudierons dans quelle mesure les politiques d'investissements dans les réseaux sont coordonnées (ou pas) avec les stratégies et les politiques locales de développement durable, nous analyserons les arbitrages opérés entre les finalités économiques, sociales et environnementales des services en réseaux, et nous chercherons à mettre en lumière les formes de régulation des réseaux les plus performantes ou les innovations les plus prometteuses au plan de la durabilité. - - Les études de cas porteront sur des enjeux importants de développement urbain durable liés aux politiques de réseaux : - - la durabilité de modes de consommation des services en réseaux (pratiques de mobilité, usages de l'eau, consommations énergétiques), et les facteurs influent sur ces modes de consommation ; - - les inégalités socio-spatiales en matière d'accès aux services en réseaux, et leur contribution éventuelle à la ségrégation ou à la polarisation sociales dans les régions étudiées ; - - la contribution éventuelle des infrastructures aux inégalités environnementales ; - - les processus d'étalement urbain. - - Cette recherche comparative européenne apportera un éclairage décisif sur les différents régimes de fourniture de services en réseaux et leurs liens avec le développement urbain durable. Elle fournira aussi des enseignements utiles pour l'évaluation, en termes de durabilité, des réformes dans les secteurs de réseaux. Les implications des résultats obtenus pour la gestion des réseaux et les politiques urbaines en Ile-de-France seront plus particulièrement mises en exergue et discutées. - - B. Description du projet - -

The aim of this project is to describe the solvation of actinoids and lanthanoids at the microscopic level. To this end, novel molecular dynamics simulations will be coupled to DFT-based studies and experiments. Some of the experiments will be done in the context of this project in order to go beyond available experimental data from the literature. All simulations will be done within this project and they will be useful to better interpret these. Knowledge of the chemical properties of actinoids (and indirectly also of lanthanoids) has a strong societal impact for their use in nuclear energy processes. While lanthanoids are present mainly at oxidation state III, actinoids have several oxidation states, especially the first elements in the series, often forming in water oxocations. In our project, we will focus on oxidation state III and some An(IV). Thus we can shed light on analogies and differences between the two series bare cations. In particular, we will treat solvation in water, forming aqueous complexes with carbonates and silicates for An(III) and Ln(III), and in two different solvents, dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) for An(III) and (IV) and Ln(III). We will develop polarizable classical interaction potentials, using the same approach developed by us for Ln(III) hydration, that will be coupled with different experimental techniques: X-ray absorption spectroscopy (and EXAFS in particular), providing structural properties and time-resolved laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) aimed to understand complexation with silicates. These last will be coupled to electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) to solve the question of nature of ligands, i.e. mono or poly silicates. Our project is divided in three tasks where different ligands will be investigated and a fourth task where, making the use of DFT-based dynamics and using results of other tasks, we will be able to understand the analogies and differences between Ln(III) and An(III) in solution. In particular in task 1 we will investigate An(III) hydration with classical molecular dynamics. In task 2 we will pass to aqueous complexes of An(III) and Ln(III) with carbonates and silicates by means of classical molecular dynamics and TRLFS experiments for silicates. In task 3 we will understand solvation behavior of An(III), An(IV) and Ln(III) in DMF and DMSO by coupling simulations with EXAFS experiments, providing also information on An(IV) properties in non-aqueous solvents. In parallel, starting after the achievement of task 1, we will develop task 4 that will provide us the microscopical basis of An(III)/Ln(III) analogies and differences. Further, by means of DFT-based simulations we will have an additional validation of classical force fields and we will give the basis for a possible employment of these methods to actinoids and lanthanoids reactivity. Within this project, we will put together young researchers of both academical institutions and CEA on a subject that has fundamental key questions but also a connection with the field of nuclear waste management. The project coordinator, R.Spezia (CNRS, LAMBE) has experience on solvation by means of both classical and DFT-based dynamics. Within this project he will be able to build up a team on very heavy metal ions solvation that can be a reference in Europe, since it will put together experiments (that on actinoids are limited to few centers) with theoretical developments. R.Vuilleumier (CNRS, PASTEUR) will provide his competences in DFT-based dynamics. T.Vercouter (CEA, Saclay) works on complexation reactions for actinoids with environmentally-relevant inorganic ligands by spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques and he will carry out TRLFS experiments on Ln(III) and An(III) interacting with silicates in water. C.Fillaux and C.Den Auwer (CEA, Marcoule) will be the EXAFS experimentalists needed for the team, since they are experts on actinoids XAS.