Veolia has announced a partnership with Mistral AI, a key player in generative artificial intelligence. The alliance aims to transform the management and monitoring of industrial sites for water management, waste recycling, and local energy production. By integrating Mistral AI's cutting-edge technology with Veolia's vast data and expertise, the two companies are setting the stage for a new era of efficiency and innovation, actively contributing to the ecological transformation.
This partnership marks a major step forward in industrial management. By incorporating Mistral's Large Language Model (LLM) into Veolia's data systems, a revolutionary concept is introduced—engaging in a conversation with the plant. This world-first innovation will enhance transparency and modernize plant monitoring, particularly in critical areas such as personal safety and water consumption management.
Through the power of generative AI, Veolia and Mistral AI are developing an interactive solution that allows employees and stakeholders to co-pilot water, waste, and energy plants through real-time discussions. This initiative moves the industry closer to the realization of Industry 5.0, fostering the concept of augmented employees, where technology directly supports human expertise.
With an extensive global footprint—including the management of more than 3,800 drinking water production plants, 3,200 wastewater treatment plants, 865 waste treatment facilities, and nearly 49,000 thermal facilities—Veolia is well-positioned to maximize the impact of this innovation. This initiative aligns with GreenUp, Veolia’s strategic program aimed at depollution, decarbonization, and resource regeneration.
The collaboration capitalizes on the complementary strengths of both companies. Veolia, with its 170 years of experience across 45 countries, brings unparalleled expertise in water, waste, and energy management, along with deep operational knowledge of industrial challenges. Mistral AI, recognized for its sovereign capabilities and commitment to transparency in AI development, provides an advanced and secure technological solution, ensuring the ethical and responsible application of AI.
The advantages of this technology include:
- Simplified access to knowledge: Technicians and operators will be able to automatically access technical knowledge bases and critical data, whether applied to normal or exceptional situations.
- Greater transparency: Stakeholders, including customers, will be able to interact with systems in natural language, enabling real-time recommendations and proactive problem-solving.
- Improved operational efficiency: thanks to optimized monitoring and precise recommendations, Veolia's industrial sites will achieve new standards of performance and sustainability.
"This partnership with Mistral AI marks a decisive step in our commitment to accelerate innovation and better respond to all the challenges caused by global warming. In line with the GreenUp strategic plan, Veolia plans to increase the efficiencies brought about by digital and artificial intelligence in particular to optimize its customers' water and energy consumption, waste sorting and recycling, and strengthen predictive maintenance. By integrating generative artificial intelligence into the management of our sites and industrial processes, we are strengthening our ability to innovate and optimize our know-how in order to decarbonize, depollute and regenerate resources." - Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia.
"This partnership highlights how GenAI can help make plants smarter. Over the past few years, plants have increasingly integrated digital sensors and tools. Our models enable these rich data streams to provide more valuable insights for operators and Veolia's customers, contributing to accelerate Veolia's mission to drive ecological transformation." - Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral.
