Grenoble

Grenoble is a city in the French Alps that has become a major research hub in nanoscience and nanotechnology since the late 1990s. The development of nanotechnology in Grenoble has been contested by activist groups. The Grenoble area is a prominent scientific site in the fields of nanoelectronics, spintronics, and nanobioscience. The Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (Atomic Energy Commissariat, CEA) is a public research body and a major research organization in the Grenoble area. One of the main research institutions in Grenoble is a CEA laboratory named Law Enforcement Training Institute (LETI), which focuses on nanoelectronics, imaging technologies, and micro- and nanotechnology for biology. Other research players in nanoscience include the Joseph-Fourier University and the Grenoble Polytechnic Institute. Research institutions in Grenoble have strong links with French and European research organizations active in nanoscience. For instance, CEA-LETI is an active partner in the Nano2Life European network of excellence.

The organization of scientific research in Grenoble is characterized by strong links among local administrative and policy institutions, public research organizations and private companies. The historical importance of strong ties among the Grenoble institutions has led local players to use the expression the Grenoble Model. Current initiatives related to nanotechnology follow the Grenoble Model. The most important example is probably Minatec. Minatec is a research center that opened in 2006, gathering nearly 3,500 researchers.

It was conceived as a partnership between CEA and the Grenoble Polytechnic Institute, which is financially supported by local administrative bodies. Minatec's research topics are divided in four main areas: microelectronics, nanoscience, biology, and software, and its research activity makes it one of the biggest nanoscience centers in France and a key player at the European level.

Nanobio is another collaborative project that is supported by local administrative bodies. Nanobio was launched in 2001 by CEA and the Joseph-Fourier University, and connects over 300 researchers active in the field of micro- and nanotechnology applied to biology and healthcare. Part of a national research policy initiative that supports local university-industry partnership structures, Minalogic is a pôles de compétitivité (competitiveness pole). As such, it connects the public and private sectors in order to support collaborative projects. The topics covered by Minalogic are micro- and nanotechnologies, and embedded software. To date, Minalogic is one of the biggest pôles de compétitivité in France. It supported 27 projects between 2005 and 2008 totaling 100 million euros.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology have been debated in Grenoble, especially since local activist groups started mobilizing on the topic and launched vocal opposition to nanotechnology projects. A small group called PMO (Pièces et Main d'Oeuvre) has been the core of an anti-nanotechnology opposition movement, which gathers a number of loosely connected activists. Some of them come from antinuclear and/or anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) movements. PMO articulates two main criticisms. First, nanoscience is presented as a “program of control” over both nature and humans. PMO thus uses the expression “necro-technology” to refer to nanotechnology. Second, the arguments of the anti-nanotechnology activists are directed against local decision-making processes. In this view, the Grenoble Model is characterized by contestable agreements among members of a local elite, while ordinary citizens are excluded from the process. Anti-nanotechnology activism led local administrative bodies to commission social scientists to study the local situation, and public dialogues were organized in 2006.

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