Preserving and optimising resources

At a time when climate change and the scarcity of resources are growing concerns, RATP Group continuously strengthens its measures and implements innovative industrial solutions to reduce its carbon footprint while saving resources.

Did you know ?

  • RATP Group is the first mine water collector in the Île-de-France region with over 8 million m3 collected annually in dewatering stations across the network.
  • All RER and tram trains are equipped with braking energy recovery systems.
  • By 2036, all metro rolling stock will also be equipped with the system (currently only 70% of trains are equipped with it).
  • On metro line 11, the recovery of metro tunnel heat covers 35% of a building’s heating needs.
  • On metro line 14, a trial is underway using geothermal energy to heat Porte de Clichy and Mairie de Saint-Ouen stations. This test could result in halving CO2 emissions.
  • Starting from 2026 in Bagneux, the heat produced by a data centre will be recovered and used to heat metro line 13’s future maintenance workshop (Châtillon-Bagneux).
1 to 3 inverter(s) per metro line could save up to 15 Ghw per year
-17% energy consumed by metro line 14 thanks to braking energy recovery
1st cooling network in Europe, the Paris cooling network will triple in length over a period of 20 years

Optimising “scarce” resources

To improve the quality of life in cities, RATP Group has launched an innovation and research programme: “Smarter City”.

Its objective is to bring together all the Group’s areas of expertise to create innovative solutions, notably to reuse mine water and residual heat, and plan services to operate in unused real estate properties. These issues have the potential to address the major concern of resource scarcity that causes stress to the urban environment.

The Smarter City programme is designed as an incubator for innovative ideas and trials, to build more sustainable, inclusive and harmonious cities together with local authorities.

Reusing mine water

Water stress is a major issue in France and in the Île-de-France region.

Mine water is collected from rainwater infiltration, flood and groundwater tables during underground works. To this day, the majority of mine water is poured into the sewer system, canals in Paris or natural environments (the Seine river, Canal Saint-Martin and Canal Saint-Denis).
As the first mine water collector in the Île-de-France region with over 8 million m3 collected annually in dewatering stations across the network, RATP Group has already set up a number of optimisation measures.

Over the last three years, the Group has contributed approximately 400,000 m3 to the non-potable water network to water green spaces (such as tram line T3’s platform grass), clean streets and supply the City of Paris cooling network. In May 2023, RATP Group and its partners launched the first scientific consortium dedicated to mine water reuse. The main objective is to identify reuse opportunities for mine water, thus taking another step towards resilient and concerted water management.

Reusing residual heat

Our server cooling system consumes approximately a third of the energy of a data centre, regardless of the chosen cooling method. Residual heat produced by cooling systems is recovered and turned into energy resources.

Repurpose unused real estate properties

Repurposing RATP Group’s industrial sites presents an opportunity to integrate temporary use of its real estate into its project plans. The Group has signed the Charter for the temporary use of buildings (Charte pour l’occupation temporaire et transitoire) a Mairie de Paris initiative. In line with this commitment, the Group makes its unused real estate properties available to host social and inclusive projects, or projects related to arts and entertainment. Doing so brings neighbourhoods to life and encourages diversity for both people and practices.

The OPEN tool (a tool to monitor water and energy consumption)

Deployed in 2020, the OPEN tool is an innovative digital solution to monitor all fluid resources consumption (water and energy) across the company’s 115 industrial and office sites, and its 369 stations. It now has 450 users, with over 1,400 meters registered. Using this tool contributes to maintaining RATP Group assets’ environmental and energy performance by providing better consumption monitoring and improved responsiveness in the event of discrepancy.

It also provides an opportunity for operational teams to implement practical measures that are instantly measurable and relevant, notably in accordance with ISO 50001-standard tracking.