IFRF are happy to announce that ENGIE has formally joined the IFRF Preferred Research Partner (PRP) network.  They are the eighth organisation to do so, where full details of the offerings of the PRP members are provided under the Services tab on the IFRF homepage. The facilities available to IFRF members and supporting organisations through the ENGIE PRP offering at their Lab CRIGEN near Paris, France, are:

•         High-Temperature Industrial Furnace Facility 
•         Industrial Test Boiler Facility
•         Plug‑and‑Play Zone miscellaneous combustion equipment 

ENGIE are already an active member of the IFRF French Flame Committee (Comité Français) and will host the upcoming IFRF second industrial combustion training course at their Lab CRIGEN in the autumn of this year.

I asked Valentin Gavan, Business Development manager at ENGIE, to give us an overview of their capabilities and offerings:

Lab CRIGEN is ENGIE’s research centre and provides the expertise needed to enable the Group achieve its energy transition objectives. The High Temperature Industrial Test Furnace, the Industrial Test Boiler Facility and the Plug‑and‑Play Zone for Combustion Integration equipment are a part of ENGIE Lab CRIGEN’s modular test hall (7350 m², 24/7 testing),  dedicated to the experimentation of new green gas processes (hydrogen, biogas) and energy uses for industries, buildings and local energy infrastructure for districts and cities.

High‑Temperature Industrial Test Furnace

500 kW high-temperature industrial test furnace

The High‑Temperature Industrial Test Furnace is ENGIE Lab CRIGEN’s reference experimental platform for industrial combustion systems. Designed to operate at temperatures of up to 1,300°C, it enables manufacturers, technology providers, and industrial operators to evaluate a broad range of combustion‑based and hybrid heating solutions under realistic, controlled, and fully reproducible conditions.

The furnace is designed to accommodate high‑power combustion systems directly on its burner side wall, with capacities of up to 1,000 kW for gas and 1,000 kW for electric heating. Its modular architecture allows easy adaptation to a wide range of burner sizes and technologies. In addition, a dedicated air preheating system can supply preheated air up to 1,000°C at typical industrial flow rates.

The furnace is equipped with a comprehensive set of high‑precision sensors measuring temperature, pressure, flow rates, and gas composition. Continuous monitoring of CO, NOx, O₂, and CO₂ is combined with real‑time data acquisition at a temporal resolution of up to 0.1 seconds, enabling detailed analysis of transient and steady‑state behaviour. A fully instrumented flue gas exhaust duct allows in‑depth flue gas analysis, while a dedicated supervision and safety system ensures secure and controlled operation throughout all test phases.

Industrial Test Boiler

The Industrial Test Boiler is ENGIE Lab CRIGEN’s reference experimental platform for industrial boiler heating systems. Operating at power levels of up to 1,000 kW, it enables manufacturers, technology providers, and industrial operators to evaluate boiler burners and combustion systems under realistic, controlled, and fully reproducible conditions.

The test boiler is equipped with a dedicated burner mounting system designed to accommodate high‑power combustion solutions, with thermal inputs of up to 1,000 kW using natural gas. It is also compatible with alternative fuels such as hydrogen blends, syngas, and biomethane, supporting the evaluation of fuel‑flexible and low‑carbon combustion concepts.

When required, an electric air preheating system can supply preheated air up to 1,000°C at typical industrial flow rates. The boiler is based on a smoke‑tube design, allowing the production of low‑pressure steam and providing realistic heat‑exchange behaviour representative of industrial boiler installations.

The Industrial Test Boiler enables testing of burners operating with cold or preheated air, comparison of different burner technologies under identical and reproducible reference conditions, and evaluation of energy efficiency, pollutant emissions, and dynamic behaviour. It also supports long‑duration testing, allowing assessment of system stability, reliability, and durability under representative industrial operating regimes.

Open Facilities Plug and Play Zone

To complement the furnace and boiler platforms, the facility also includes a configurable “free zone” designed to integrate and commission miscellaneous combustion equipment at industrial scale. The area provides ready‑to‑use utilities such as multiple fuels (natural gas, hydrogen blends as available), cold and preheated air, and three‑phase electricity, so partners can focus on technology validation rather than site logistics.

What you can do here

•         Mount and hook‑up skids or burner assemblies (radiant, regenerative, oxy‑fuel, hybrid gas-electric) on standardised frames with quick‑connect fuel and air manifolds.
•         Run functional and endurance tests (start/stop sequences, ramp‑up, turndown, cycling) before deploying to a production line.
•         Verify combustion stability, emissions, and controls integration in a realistic industrial environment.

Utilities & infrastructure

•         Fuels: regulated gas trains, flow control, and certified leak‑testing; optional H₂ blend injection where permitted.
•         Air systems: ambient air supply plus preheated air capability for high‑excess‑air or staged‑combustion trials.
•         Power: 400 V / 50 Hz three‑phase.
•         Instrumentation: high‑speed data logging for transients, temperature, pressure, differential pressure, flow, and flue‑gas analysers (CO, NOx, O₂, CO₂).