Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement

What Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement does

Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement (UMR 6249) is a French public mixed research unit under the dual primary tutelle of CNRS and Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, with secondary supervision from INRAP and association with the Ministry of Culture and CEA. Headquartered in Besançon with additional sites at Montbéliard and the Hauts-du-Chazal health campus, the unit has 283 members spanning archaeology, ecology, ecotoxicology, geology, hydrology, microbiology, virology, mathematics, history, chemistry, and physics. Its mission is to understand past and present socio-ecosystems in order to forecast and prevent the consequences of global change, organised across five research themes (DYNABIO, GEODE, PATHOGENES, POLLUTION, SOPAST) and three cross-cutting working groups (GT E.A.U., GT OBSERVATOIRES, GT PÔLES).

The laboratory's core technical asset is the PEA²t (Plateforme d'Expérimentation et d'Analyse en Écotoxicologie et Environnement) shared analytical platform, which consolidates five equipment clusters covering analytical chemistry, molecular biology and microbiology, radionuclides and radiation, petrophysics and hydrogeology, and pedology. Research dissemination occurs through peer-reviewed publications distributed via the HAL open archive, The Conversation science-communication articles, the Chrono-express newsletter, public outreach events (European Heritage Days, photo contests), and international conferences. Educational output includes Licence, Master's (ASA, MAGE, EMME, ECOM), and doctoral school offerings, with active international research collaboration in the DRC, UK, Switzerland, Italy, China, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Greece, and Romania.

The business model is that of a publicly funded research laboratory. Revenue is not commercially generated; instead the unit operates on government research grants routed through CNRS, university allocations, and competitive national and European project funding (ANR, EU framework programmes). There is no commercial pricing model and no disclosed revenue figure. The customer base is institutional rather than commercial: CNRS and UMLP as principal supervisors, INRAP as secondary supervisor, and CEA and the Ministry of Culture as associated partners, with downstream audiences in the scientific community, policymakers, and the general public reached via science-mediation activities.

Name

Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement

Legal name

Laboratoire Chrono-environnement – UMR 6249 CNRS-UMLP

Website

https://chrono-environnement.univ-fcomte.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement (UMR 6249) is a French public multidisciplinary research laboratory under CNRS and Université Marie et Louis Pasteur supervision, with 283 members across 11 disciplines studying past and present socio-ecosystems to forecast global change consequences. It serves the scientific community, policymakers, and the public through research, the PEA²t platform, and graduate training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Besançon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: The laboratory operates as a mixed research unit (UMR 6249) under dual primary supervision of CNRS and Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, with secondary supervision by INRAP. Additional associated partners include Ministry of Culture and CEA. Funding comes from national research bodies and university allocations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement is a public mixed research unit (UMR 6249) that conducts multidisciplinary research on past and present socio-ecosystems to forecast and prevent the consequences of global change. It delivers scientific research programs across five themes (biodiversity, environment, pathogens, pollution, archaeology), operates a shared analytical platform (PEA²t), and offers graduate-level academic training in environmental sciences.

Product overview

Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement is a multidisciplinary research laboratory (UMR 6249) under CNRS and Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, not a commercial product company. It operates as a research infrastructure organized around five main scientific themes (DYNABIO, GEODE, PATHOGENES, POLLUTION, and SOPAST) covering biodiversity dynamics, paleoenvironment, pathogens, pollution, and archaeology. The laboratory also maintains three cross-cutting working groups (GT E.A.U., GT OBSERVATOIRES, GT PÔLES) and operates the PEA²t shared analytical platform providing scientific services. Educational offerings include Master's programs and doctoral training. No commercial products or software services are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PEA²t Analytical Platform (Plateforme d'Expérimentation et d'Analyse en Écotoxicologie et Environnement) A shared scientific platform providing analytical services and experimental facilities for environmental sciences research, including chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, ecotoxicology, dosimetry, geophysics, and field equipment, for researchers and partner institutions.
• Graduate Training Programs Academic degree programs including Bachelor's degrees, Master's programs (ASA, MAGE, EMME, ECOM), and doctoral schools in environmental sciences, offered to students through the Université Marie et Louis Pasteur framework.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• CNRScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary institutional supervisor as part of UMR 6249 CNRS-UMLP. CNRS provides national research framework and funding for the mixed research unit.
• Université Marie et Louis PasteurcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary institutional supervisor as part of UMR 6249 CNRS-UMLP. University provides academic framework, faculty, and student resources.
• INRAPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecondary institutional supervisor. Institut National de Recherche Archéologique Préventive contributes archaeological expertise and field research capabilities.
• CEAsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives. Associated partner contributing to research collaboration.
• Ministry of CulturesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociated partner for heritage and archaeological research projects.
• MSHE LedouxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaison des Sciences de l'Homme et de l'Environnement Ledoux. The laboratory is a member of this interdisciplinary research house.
• OSU THETAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerObservatoire des Sciences de l'Univers THETA. The laboratory is associated with this earth sciences observatory.
• Université de KinshasasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Master ECOM-ALGER program created in 2014. Five-year cooperation agreement renewed in 2024. Lab members participate in teaching and joint research.
• International Academic Institutions (Italy, China, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Greece, Romania)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational co-authors on research publications including laundry wastewater study with colleagues from multiple countries.
• INoha (Institut One Health pour l'Afrique)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne Health research institute launched in 2024, linked to Master ECOM-ALGER partnership with Kinshasa.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology): Swiss federally-funded research institute focused on aquatic systems, water quality, and ecotoxicology. Comparable in water research, eco-tox analytical methods, and long-term observatories that overlap with Chrono-environnement's GT E.A.U. and eLTER JURA observatory activities.
• BRGM (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières): France's national geological survey conducting applied research on subsurface resources, groundwater, and environmental contamination. Comparable in geochemistry, hydrogeology, and long-term environmental monitoring work overlapping with Chrono-environnement's POLLUTION and GEODE themes.
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ): Germany's largest environmental research center operating multidisciplinary programs on chemicals, biodiversity, water, and climate. Comparable in scale, multidisciplinary environmental mission, and ecosystem-services research framework.
• CNRS-INSU laboratories network: French national network of universe and environmental sciences laboratories under CNRS. Chrono-environnement is structurally part of this ecosystem (via OSU THETA membership), and peer INSU labs operate under similar funding, supervision, and multidisciplinary frameworks.
• INERIS (Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques): French public expert institute for industrial and environmental risk assessment. Comparable in pollutant transfer, ecotoxicology, and post-industrial site remediation research — closely aligned with Chrono-environnement's POLLUTION and Metaleurop-style legacy monitoring work.
• INRAE (Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement): France's leading public research institute for agriculture, food, and environment. Comparable in scale of multidisciplinary environmental research, ecotoxicology, biodiversity, and One Health research closely overlapping with Chrono-environnement's POLLUTION, DYNABIO, and PATHOGENES themes.
• KWR Water Research Institute: Dutch collaborative water research institute working with utilities and public partners. Comparable in applied water quality research, microbiological water analysis, and public-private research partnerships — relevant to Chrono-environnement's GT E.A.U. and PEA²t B2ME microbiology cluster.

Direct peers

• Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE): CNRS-CEA-UVSQ mixed research unit focused on climate, environmental, and biogeochemical sciences. Highly comparable to Chrono-environnement as a multidisciplinary French public research lab combining geochemistry, ecology, and paleo-environmental work under similar institutional frameworks.
• Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre): CNRS UMR focused on earth sciences, hydrology, and geophysics. Comparable in aquatic environment research, hydrology, and geochemistry, mirroring Chrono-environnement's GEODE theme and CPEP pedrology/hydrogeology equipment cluster.
• Ecology Functioning and Environment Laboratory (EcoLab): CNRS UMR 5245 in Toulouse focused on ecology, ecotoxicology, and biogeochemistry. Direct peer in ecotoxicology, pollution transfer, and ecosystem functioning — overlapping directly with Chrono-environnement's POLLUTION and DYNABIO themes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Chrono-environnement-111081377392186
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/laboratoire-chrono-environnement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement