2025 highlights | BRGM - 2025 Annual report

27 January

QUALIOPI certification renewed

An audit has confirmed BRGM’s Qualiopi certification, attesting to the consistent quality of its training services.

13 February

The Minister for Industry and Energy at BRGM

Marc Ferracci, then Minister for Industry and Energy, visited BRGM’s scientific centre in Orléans, as well as the premises of its subsidiary, IRIS Instruments. The update of the national inventory of mineral resources (see pages 48–50), which has been entrusted to the institution, was officially launched on this occasion.

19 March

Catherine Lagneau reappointed to her post

The Chair of BRGM’s Board of Governors has been reappointed to her post by a decree of the Council of Ministers. Catherine Lagneau, a graduate of the École des Mines, has been Chair and CEO of the institution since September 2023.

31 March

Closer ties between the French and Norwegian geological surveys

BRGM and the Norges geologiske undersøkelse (NGU), its Norwegian counterpart, have entered into a three-year, renewable partnership. The agreement aims to align their expertise in the fields of mineral resources – particularly strategic resources – and energy sources, through technical exchanges, seminars and joint projects.

10 May

A podcast for young people about mineral resources

BRGM, in partnership with France Inter, has launched a series of podcasts aimed at 7- to 11-year-olds. Enjoyable and accessible, “The Adventures of Professor Caillou” help children discover the vital role metals play in everyday life, as well as the issues surrounding their extraction and recycling.

6 June

A new partnership with Brazil

BRGM has signed an agreement with the Brazilian geological survey to support the energy transition (covering critical metals, hydrogen, CO₂ storage, etc.). This partnership will facilitate the exchange of knowledge, capacity-building and the pooling of expertise between French and Brazilian counterparts.

10 June

First scientific collaboration with Vietnam

BRGM has signed a cooperation agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Vietnamese Department of Geology and Mineral Resources. This ground‑breaking initiative marks the start of collaboration focusing on sustainable geology and the management of mineral resources.

20 June

New: a water forecasting service!

Thanks to its collaboration with BRGM, France Télévisions has incorporated a “Water Forecast” into its Weather and Climate Bulletin. Based on the organisation’s groundwater status report – now published twice a month– this new feature provides an overview of the water situation in France, whilst explaining the challenges facing this resource and its various uses in the context of climate change.

24-25 June

PanAfGeo+: a launch and a second contract

Funded by the European Union and led by BRGM, PanAfGeo+ (2025–2029) aims to develop geoscience on the African continent. The Partnerships and Training component of the project was launched in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the first international training course took place in Entebbe, Uganda. A second agreement, relating to investment, has been signed with South Africa, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

30 June

Strengthened scientific cooperation with CNRS

Building on their partnership in the field of research into the subsurface, natural resources and major environmental issues, CNRS and BRGM have signed a new framework agreement. In particular, the agreement sets out the terms of their collaboration within the Orléans Earth Sciences Institute (ISTO) and the MACLE-CVL support and research unit.

1 July

A focus on geothermal energy and geocooling

The Renewable Energy Union (SER) and BRGM jointly organised a press conference in Orléans on geothermal energy, focusing in particular on sustainable cooling. The journalists were also able to visit BRGM’s geothermal platform.

7 July

The Minister for Ecological Transition visits Orléans and La Réunion

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, then Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, the Sea and Fisheries, was hosted at BRGM in Orléans during a visit focusing on drought and water stress. The minister had also visited La Réunion on 12 April to gain a better understanding of the risks associated with ravines, particularly with respect to cyclones.

18 July

Submission of the Court of Auditors’ report

Following a year-long audit, the Court of Auditors has published its report on BRGM, setting out three key recommendations: to restore sustainability, which has been compromised by available resources not keeping up with increasing demands; to maintain the quality of expertise despite changing priorities; and to upgrade digital tools to enable the precise management and monitoring of operations.

8 September

BRGM joins the French Water Committee

The BRGM now sits on the National Water Committee, a key body for the management and protection of this natural resource in France.

22-23 September

Innovating to meet energy challenges

Supported by experts, around 50 undergraduates and PhD students took part in TInnov, BRGM’s annual open innovation event. This year’s competition focused on major energy challenges relating to subsurface resources, and the winner, the Condens’Hy concept, centres on the recovery and utilisation of air-conditioning condensate to produce green hydrogen.

7 October

The first issue of BRGM mag!

BRGM has launched its BRGM mag. The magazine, which can be read at brgm.fr, is aimed at anyone interested in the solutions that the institution – and, through it, the subsurface – can offer in response to the challenges posed by global changes. The first issue, featuring a special report entitled “The subsurface: a key to the future of our regions”, was previewed at the Pollutec trade fair.

7-10 October

Pollutec: BRGM showcases its solutions

As an exhibitor at the environmental innovation fair for a sustainable world, held in Lyon, BRGM presented its lessons learnt and the solutions it is developing in relation to risks and resources associated with the ground and subsurface. To open the event, Catherine Lagneau, BRGM CEO, held a discussion with mathematician Cédric Villani on the theme “Protecting science and rebuilding trust”.

13-14 October

Natural hazards: BRGM at the National Conference

Strengthening risk awareness and preparing regions for adaptation are the aim of the National Conference on Natural Hazards (ANRN), organised every three years by the Ministry for Ecological Transition. As a member of the science committee for the 2025 event, which took place in Toulouse, BRGM also made a significant contribution there, notably with 23 posters

14-17 October

The mining industry trade fair in Orléans

BRGM played an active role in the 2025 edition of the Society of the Mineral Industry (SIM) conference in Orléans, taking part in the opening session and technical workshops, and organising tours of its scientific centre. The institution had also organised an event focusing on the mineral resources inventory.

29 October

Publication: a novel method to help predict volcanic activity

A BRGM team, together with its partners, has published an article in the journal Nature entitled “Magnetotelluric evidence for a melt-rich magmatic reservoir beneath Mayotte”. The article presents a study which, by employing an electromagnetic method rarely applied to molten material in the Earth’s crust and by comparing these observations with laboratory analyses of lava, has made it possible to determine the proportion of liquid magma in the reservoir located 23 km beneath the island of Mayotte. This magma is thought to be linked to the formation of the underwater volcano Fani Maoré.

Read the article “Magnetotelluric evidence for a melt-rich magmatic reservoir beneath Mayotte” in the journal Nature

24 November

A landmark framework agreement for French overseas territories

BRGM and the Ministry for Overseas Territories wished to strengthen their collaboration in the field. They have committed, for a period of three years, to optimising the geological and environmental initiatives carried out in the overseas territories in order to address the major challenges relating to groundwater, natural hazards and man-made risks, and subsurface resources.

4 December

The revival of the Mines medal

Extended in 2025 to include the industrial and energy sectors, the Mines medal was awarded by Marc Ferracci, a former minister and the driving force behind its revival, to eight BRGM recipients. It recognises the quality of services and the exemplary nature of initiatives undertaken to manage or harness subsurface resources.