CEA was established in October 1945. Its mandate is to lead in technological researches to make sure that nuclear deterrents would remain effective in the future. Its activities are concentrated in three major fields: health technologies and information, energy, and defense and national security.
In spite of the differences of these fields, CEA has developed an interdisciplinary culture among researchers and engineers with synergies created between technological and fundamental researches.
Fifty-two percent of CEA’s workers are management grades, of which 1,017 are PhD candidates and 278 have PhD certificates. The French government funds 55% of the civilian programs. Thirty-five percent of the funds are taken from other sources such as the European Union and a few partner companies. The other 10% are taken from decommissioning of civilian nuclear plants. CEA’s military programs take all its funds from the Ministry of Defense.
In France, CEA operates 10 research centers, each specializes on different fields. It has labs located in different parts of France: in Burgundy, Central France, Aquitaine, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Rhône valley, Rhône-Alpes and Paris. These research centers and labs have given CEA a strong regional identity and a forged lasting partnership with local authorities, universities and other research institutes in France.
Some of the technological and fundamental researches already conducted by CEA include the areas of nuclear reactors, integrated circuits, radionuclide used for treating various illnesses, seismology, tsunami propagation, and computerized systems.