Comité Français des Barrages et Réservoirs (CFBR)

What Comité Français des Barrages et Réservoirs (CFBR) does

The Comité Français des Barrages et Réservoirs (CFBR) is a French non-profit technical association (Association Loi de 1901) founded in 1926 that serves as the authoritative French National Committee of ICOLD (International Commission on Large Dams). Headquartered in La Motte-Servolex, France, with approximately 12 employees, CFBR develops and publishes technical recommendations, guidelines, and best practices covering dam design, construction, safety justification, monitoring, flood risk, seismic risk, and internal erosion assessment. The organization serves as the de facto state-of-the-art authority for dam engineering in France, with its recommendations feeding into project review by the Standing Technical Committee for dams above 20 meters.

CFBR's core offerings include a Base Documentaire (technical document database), formally published Recommandations covering gravity, arch, and embankment dams, technical conferences and colloquiums, annual symposiums, young-engineer technical days, engineering school site visits, reference publications such as 'Barrage, le savoir-faire français', a dam database covering French and international dams, and a technical glossary. The organization operates a members-only portal at membres.barrages-cfbr.eu for authenticated access to proprietary technical resources, while public website areas provide free information about dams, dam safety, and the role of dams in French society.

The organization serves four primary member segments: dam owners and operators (notably EDF and Compagnie Nationale du Rhône), engineering consulting firms (Tractebel, ARTELIA, ISL, SAFEGE, EGIS, SETEC, INGÉROP, geophyConsult), government authorities (Ministère de la Transition écologique, DREAL regional bodies, civil defense agencies), and research institutions (INRAE, Cerema). Revenue is generated primarily through membership fees, conference registrations, and publication sales, with the centenary year (2026) marked by heightened programming including the Colloque Prospective Eau 2026 in Aix-les-Bains.

Name

Comité Français des Barrages et Réservoirs (CFBR)

Legal name

Comité Français des Barrages et Réservoirs

Website

https://barrages-cfbr.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CFBR is the French National Committee of ICOLD, a 100-year-old non-profit association that develops technical recommendations, guidelines, and documentation for dam engineering, serving dam owners (EDF, CNR), engineering firms, government authorities, and researchers across France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

La Motte-Servolex

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CFBR is a non-profit professional association that publishes authoritative technical recommendations and guidelines for the design, construction, safety justification, and monitoring of dams and reservoirs in France. It maintains a comprehensive documentary database (Base Documentaire), organizes annual symposiums and specialized technical colloquia (such as the Colloque Prospective Eau), and runs professional development programs for young engineers and engineering schools. It also curates an extensive geographic and historical database of dams in France and worldwide, and serves as the French National Committee of ICOLD.

Product overview

CFBR operates as a technical committee and professional organization (Association Loi de 1901) offering a comprehensive portfolio of dam engineering services. The core offerings include a technical document database, engineering recommendations and guidelines, technical conferences and symposiums, professional training programs for young engineers and engineering schools, reference publications, and an extensive dam information database covering French and international dams. These services work together to advance dam safety, engineering expertise, and knowledge sharing within the French dam community and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recommandations (Technical Recommendations) Technical guidelines and recommendations for dam design, construction, safety justification, and monitoring. Covers gravity dams, arch dams, embankment dams, small dams, flood spillways, and safety assessments.
• Base Documentaire (Document Database)
• Base de Données des Barrages (Dam Database)
• Colloques Techniques (Technical Conferences) Annual and periodic technical conferences covering dam safety, maintenance, rehabilitation, hydraulics, and sediment transport topics.
• Symposiums Annuels (Annual Symposiums)
• Ouvrages de Références (Reference Works)
• Guide Technique (Technical Guide)
• Lexique (Technical Glossary)
• Club Européen (European Club)
• Journées Techniques Groupe Jeunes (Young Engineers Technical Days)
• Journées Écoles d'Ingénieurs (Engineering School Days)
• Documentation Libre (Open-Access Documentation)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ICOLD/CIGB (Commission Internationale des Grands Barrages)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFBR is the official French National Committee of ICOLD (International Commission on Large Dams), also known as CIGB. The organization actively participates in ICOLD technical committees and contributes to all ICOLD congresses since 1933. CFBR hosts and supports ICOLD events, including the Marseille 2022 ICOLD Congress.
• EDF (Électricité de France)coreOthersEDF is one of the largest dam owners and operators in France, with numerous hydroelectric facilities. EDF is listed as a professional member of CFBR and contributes to technical working groups.
• TractebelcoreOthersTractebel is a major engineering consultancy listed as a professional member of CFBR, contributing expertise in dam design and engineering.
• ARTELIAcoreOthersARTELIA is listed as a professional member of CFBR, providing engineering and consulting services for dam projects.
• Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR)coreOthersCNR operates dams along the Rhône river and is listed as a professional member of CFBR.
• Ministère de la Transition écologiquecoreOthersThe French Ministry of Ecology is the regulatory authority responsible for dam safety oversight. CFBR works with the ministry on technical standards and regulatory development.
• Société Hydrotechnique de FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner association, representing the French hydrotechnical society.
• International Hydropower AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner association, providing international collaboration on hydropower.
• France HydroélectricitéminorOthersListed as a partner association representing the French hydropower industry.
• Comité Français de Mécanique des SolsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner association in the French geotechnical engineering community.
• Comité Français de Mécanique des RochesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner association in the French rock mechanics community.
• France DiguesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner association focused on levee and dike engineering in France.
• CeremaminorOthersCerema is a French government research establishment listed as a professional member of CFBR, contributing to technical studies.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Société Hydrotechnique de France (SHF): SHF is a French partner association covering broader hydraulic engineering topics. It is comparable to CFBR as a French technical society but with a wider water/hydraulics remit and less focus on dam-specific safety and design.
• France Digues: France Digues is a French association focused on levees and flood-protection structures. It is a peer through its shared dam-and-water-infrastructure safety community, overlapping topics (embankments, hydraulics), and listed partnership with CFBR.
• France Hydroélectricité: France Hydroélectricité is the French small-hydro industry association and a listed CFBR partner. It is comparable as a French industry body serving dam and hydropower stakeholders, though its mandate centres on small-hydro operators rather than dam engineering standards.

Broad incumbents

• International Hydropower Association (IHA): IHA is a global industry association for hydropower with a broader, utility-and-developer focus. It overlaps with CFBR on hydroelectric dam topics and is a listed partner, but operates internationally and across the wider hydropower value chain rather than dam engineering specifically.

Direct peers

• Deutsches Talsperren Komitee (DTK): DTK is the German national committee of ICOLD and a directly comparable peer to CFBR in scope, member composition, and role in producing dam safety guidance for a major European country.
• Comitato Italiano Grandi Dighe (ITCOLD): ITCOLD is the Italian national committee of ICOLD, providing the same function as CFBR in Italy: convening dam stakeholders, publishing recommendations, and contributing to international technical committees.
• International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD / CIGB): ICOLD is the international body of which CFBR is the French National Committee. They share the same mission of advancing large dam engineering and safety, and CFBR contributes French expertise to ICOLD technical committees and congresses, making ICOLD the closest peer in mandate and scope.
• United States Society on Dams (USSD): USSD is the US national member of ICOLD and the closest functional analogue to CFBR: a professional society that publishes technical guidelines, organizes conferences, and convenes dam owners, engineers, and regulators around dam safety and engineering.
• British Dam Society (BDS): BDS is the UK national ICOLD committee and a like-for-like peer of CFBR — a learned society publishing dam engineering guidance, organizing events, and serving UK dam owners, consultants, and regulators in the same manner CFBR serves France.

Others

• Tractebel (Engie Solutions): Tractebel is one of CFBR's core professional member engineering consultancies and a leading dam design firm in France. It is comparable as a participant in the same dam engineering ecosystem, though it operates as a commercial consultancy rather than a professional association.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cfbr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Comité Français des Barrages et Réservoirs (CFBR)