The International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF), in cooperation with the French Flame Committee, will host the next edition of its Industrial Combustion Training on 25–26 November 2026 at ENGIE Lab CRIGEN, located in Stains, north of Paris.

Building on the success of the March 2025 course held at Air Liquide’s testing facilities, this new session will place a stronger emphasis on combustion modelling and simulation, while retaining the solid industrial foundations that characterise IFRF training courses. Participants will explore modelling approaches from simple analytical tools to high‑fidelity methods and will gain hands‑on experience through laboratory experiments and a full‑scale demonstration on CRIGEN’s 500 kW industrial test furnace.

In addition, the programme will feature expert talks and interactive discussions with a range of industrial combustion experts, offering participants valuable opportunities to broaden their perspectives and engage directly with specialists from across the sector.

This advanced training course is designed for engineers, researchers, PhD students and technical managers seeking deeper insight into industrial combustion processes, including:

• Hydrogen integration

• Low-carbon fuel strategies

• Advanced modelling methodologies

Places are limited to ensure a focused, high‑value learning environment; for full details, please see below.

Date: 25th-26th November 2026
Location: Engie Lab Crigen, Stains (north of Paris), France

Programme

Registration and prices

Registration is opening soon, with the following fees:

The training is limited to 20 participants.

We will do our best to fulfil your requirements to allow you to fully participate in this event. Please let us know if you have any special requirements such as dietary needs, the need for a private room during the day, handouts in advance and/or in alternative formats such as Braille or large print, hearing loops, wheelchair access, high-backed chair, etc.

Venue

The training will take place in the Engie Lab Crigen, one of IFRF Preferred Research Partners.
Address : 4, rue Joséphine Baker – 93240 Stains, France
Closest public transport is RER D Station Pierrefitte Stains, 15 minutes from Paris centre.
Participant are encouraged to come by train to Paris, closest railway station is Gare du Nord, 12 min by RER D.

Accommodation

A wide choice of accommodation is available in Paris. It is recommended to travel by public transport from Paris (approx. 20-30 min).

Speaker profiles

Jörg Leicher, Research Engineer / Combustion Specialist, Gas- und Wärme-Institut Essen e. V.

Jörg Leicher studied Mechanical Engineering at the Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. He received a Ph.D. in 2006 for his work on the numerical modelling of combustion processes. From 2007 to 2008, he worked as a Post-Doc. at the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) in Lyon, France, before joining ANSYS Germany in Munich as a CFD support engineer. Since 2009, he has been working in the Department of Industrial Combustion Technology of Gas- und Wärme-Institut Essen e. V. (GWI) where he is currently in charge of the Numerical Simulations Group. GWI is a non-profit independent German research organisation which focuses on applied research into the utilisation of gaseous fuels, and a preferred research partner of IFRF.

Mr. Leicher’s professional interests include the modelling of industrial combustion processes, the impact of natural gas quality on industrial gas-fired applications and the use of alternative fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, biogas or syngases in industrial furnaces and power plants. He is a member of several national and international committees for issues of gas utilisation, natural gas quality and renewable gases.

Louis Ricci, R&D Director,  Fives, Energy|Combustion Business Unit

Louis Ricci is a professional in the domain of industrial combustion, currently serving as the R&D Director for the Energy | Combustion Business Unit of Fives. With an extensive engineering background around combustion, he coordinates R&D topics and decarbonation actions across three subsidiaries of the Fives group: Fives North American Combustion, Fives Pillard, and Fives ITAS, providing combustion systems in various industrial sectors. Promoting progress, development, and pragmatic innovation in thermal energy and environmental concerns around combustion topics is his core focus.

The necessity of energy transition presents new challenges, and he is proud to contribute to them. He holds a Mechanical and Energy Engineering degree from Arts et Métiers Engineering School of Paris (1990) and a MBA. With over 25 years of experience in combustion, he has technical expertise in combustion and pyro processes and is the inventor of multiple combustion systems. His key positions include R&D Director for the Energy | Combustion Business Unit of Fives group (since 2021), COO and CTO at Fives ITAS (2016-2018), CTO at Fives Pillard (2007-2016), and R&D Director at CNIM Environment France (2019-2021). His work is dedicated to improving efficiency and reducing emissions in industrial processes, a key target for his company and the broader industry.

David Honoré, Professor, CORIA – CNRS – INSA Rouen Normandie

David Honoré is professor at INSA Rouen Normandie and researcher at CORIA, joint academic laboratory of CNRS, University and INSA in Rouen, France. His research activities concern experimental studies of several combustion concepts for efficiency improvement, reduction of pollutant emissions and for the transition to alternative fuels and decarbonized combustion. For these experimental studies, David Honoré also develops and adapts optical and laser diagnostics for flame characterization in lab-scale and semi-industrial facilities. All this research is done in the framework of collaborative projects funded by EU, ANR (French Agency for Research), PEPR programs, ADEME (French agency for energy management) and in collaboration with several industrial partners. David Honoré is currently involved in several research projects dealing with decarbonized combustion for a wide range of applications from domestic systems to industrial furnaces. David Honoré is also vice-chair of the Comité Français de la FRIF, French committee of the IFRF.

Syntia Metcheung, Research & Development Engineer, Fives Stein

Syntia Metchueng is a research and development engineer at Fives Stein, with over 5 years of experience in the glass industry, including time at Saint-Gobain.

Holding a Ph.D. in Energy, she specialises in numerical modelling and optimisation of industrial thermal processes. She works on solutions to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO₂ emissions in glass melting and forming processes. Her skills include CFD simulation of glass furnaces and the integration of technologies for decarbonisation.

Phuc Danh Nguyen, R&D Research Engineer-Scientist, ArcelorMittal Global R&D

Phuc Danh Nguyen is R&D research engineer – scientist at ArcelorMittal Global R&D. With 5 years of experience in teaching and research at different universities and 15 years of experience at ArcelorMittal, he developed numerical models for reacting flows and radiative heat transfer for applications in different iron and steel making processes: blast furnace, coke battery, electric arc furnace, reheating furnace, annealing furnace etc.

Those reactors involve multi-physics, multi-phase and multi-scale modelling and need appropriate simulation strategies. His development and simulations have assisted in obtaining important management gains at ArcelorMittal plants. Danh is responsible for the animation of the CFD cluster and chair of the CFD and Thermomechanics Simulations events in ArcelorMittal Global R&D.

Daniel Mira, Propulsion Technologies Group Leader, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS)

Daniel Mira is the Head of the Propulsion Technologies Group from BSC and Senior Researcher at CASE Department. His research is focused on the development of digital tools and advanced modelling and simulation techniques for the study of low-carbon power and propulsion systems. The main activities include physical modelling and numerical methods using High-Performance Computing (HPC) with data-driven approaches.

Affiliation: Computer Applications of Science and Engineering Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center.

Patricia Anselmi Raffalli, Senior R&D Engineer, Air Liquide

Patricia Anselmi Raffalli is a Senior R&D Engineer at Air Liquide Innovation Campus Paris, with 20 years of experience in combustion systems and fuels. Early in her career, she worked in combustion control and calibration at AVL, followed by R&D on combustion and fuels at IFP Energies nouvelles. She joined Air Liquide in 2024 and currently focuses on oxy-combustion and hydrogen combustion for the Cement and Steel industries, developing solutions to optimize energy efficiency and reduce emissions.

Cancellation policy

If IFRF should have to postpone the training, IFRF shall notify you as soon as possible and provide you with a new date for the delivery of the training. If IFRF should have to cancel the training, IFRF shall provide you with a full refund of the ticket price only. Should you wish to cancel any booking of an event in advance of the event date, notice should be sent to administration@ifrf.net as soon as possible, you will be entitled to the following refund:

• More than 28 days before the event date: 100%
• Between 22 and 28 days before the event date: 75%
• Between 15 and 21 days before the event date: 50%
• 14 days or less before the event date: 0%

Support

This training is organised with the kind support of:

• Air Liquide
• ArcellorMittal
• BSC 
• CNRS Coria
• Engie
• Fives
• GWI