ADEME, or Agence de la Transition Écologique, is a French public industrial and commercial establishment founded in 1991 through the merger of agencies handling energy savings, air quality, and waste management, tracing back to responses to the 1973 oil crisis. Headquartered in Angers with offices in Paris, Valbonne, and Brussels, it operates under the ministries of Ecological Transition and Higher Education, employing staff across 26 regional directorates including overseas territories.
The agency manages vast funds: its budget exceeded 2 billion euros in 2022, doubling to 4.2 billion for 2023-2024 via government plans like France 2030. It allocates billions to specific areas, such as 1.275 billion euros for renewable energy demonstrators, 950 million for future vehicles including a joint venture with Alstom called SpeedInnov, and 210 million for circular economy projects on waste and eco-design.
ADEME's work spans energy mastery, waste (excluding radioactive), air quality, transport, buildings, soils, noise, and climate adaptation. It funds research, provides technical expertise, runs info spaces on energy efficiency, and partners with firms, regions, and international bodies in Africa and the Mediterranean. Recent efforts include the FAIRE campaign for building renovations and support for industrial decarbonation, drawing scrutiny from a 2024 finance inspectorate review that noted rigorous management.