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Registration document 2011 - tota - Total.com

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As of January 2012, TOTAL owns 66% of SunPower following<br />

the Tenesol transaction described below.<br />

2.9.6.1.2. Tenesol<br />

Tenesol is a French <strong>com</strong>pany that designs, manufactures, markets,<br />

installs and operates solar photovoltaic systems. In October <strong>2011</strong>,<br />

TOTAL became the sole shareholder of Tenesol after having finalized<br />

the acquisition of its EDF partner’s shares (excluding overseas<br />

activities). Tenesol owns solar panel manufacturing plants (South<br />

Africa, France), which have a <strong>tota</strong>l capacity of nearly 200 MWp/y.<br />

TOTAL and SunPower reached an agreement whereby, in 2012,<br />

Tenesol’s operations, along with the solar panel plant in Moselle,<br />

northeastern France (see paragraph 2.9.6.1.4 of this Chapter),<br />

became part of SunPower.<br />

2.9.6.1.3. Photovoltech<br />

TOTAL holds a 50% interest in Photovoltech, a Belgian <strong>com</strong>pany<br />

specialized in manufacturing multicrystalline photovoltaic cells.<br />

In <strong>2011</strong>, Photovoltech finalized the ramp-up of its third production<br />

line, raising the <strong>tota</strong>l production capacity of its plant in Tienen,<br />

Belgium to 155 MWp/y.<br />

2.9.6.1.4. Other assets<br />

In <strong>2011</strong>, TOTAL began the construction of a solar panel production<br />

and assembly plant in the northeastern region of Moselle in France,<br />

which is expected to begin operations in 2012 with an overall<br />

capacity of 44 MWp/y.<br />

In addition, Tenesol’s overseas activities remain 50-50 subsidiaries<br />

of TOTAL and EDF through a new <strong>com</strong>pany named Sunzil.<br />

Finally, the Group is continuing its projects to display solar<br />

application solutions as part of decentralized rural electrification<br />

projects in a number of countries, including in South Africa via<br />

Kwazulu Energy Services Company (KES) in which TOTAL holds<br />

a 35% stake. New projects are being studied in Africa and Asia.<br />

2.9.6.1.5. Solar photovoltaic<br />

market context in <strong>2011</strong><br />

In <strong>2011</strong>, the photovoltaic sector was forced to cope with a difficult<br />

environment marked by excess cell production capacity and<br />

modification or cancellation of subsidy programs. This transition<br />

period is expected to result in a consolidation of the sector followed<br />

by the emergence of a <strong>com</strong>petitive industry. As a clean energy,<br />

solar power has a large potential and should eventually be<strong>com</strong>e<br />

an indispensible part of the energy mix.<br />

2.9.6.2. New solar technologies<br />

TOTAL has <strong>com</strong>mitted to developing innovative technologies<br />

to improve its portfolio of solar projects. The Group has major<br />

R&D programs through partnerships with major laboratories<br />

and international research institutes in France and abroad.<br />

In the upstream solar chain, TOTAL holds a 30% stake in AE<br />

Polysilicon Corporation (AEP), a U.S. <strong>com</strong>pany based near<br />

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AEP has developed a new continuous<br />

process to produce solar-grade granular polysilicon.<br />

With respect to the production of crystalline silicon cells and panels,<br />

the Group is continuing its partnership with the Interuniversity<br />

MicroElectronics Center (IMEC) near the University of Leuven,<br />

Belgium, in an effort to increase the efficiency of solar cells.<br />

Regarding thin-film technologies and silicon-based nano-materials,<br />

in 2009 the Group partnered with the Laboratoire de Physique des<br />

Interfaces et des Couches Minces de l’École Polytechnique<br />

(LPICM) and the French National Center for Scientific Research<br />

(CNRS) to set up a joint research team in the Saclay area in France.<br />

TOTAL also entered into a research partnership with Toulousebased<br />

Laboratoire d’analyse et d’architecture des systèmes (LAAS)<br />

to develop associated electrical systems. The aim of these<br />

partnerships is to improve the efficiency of the photovoltaic chain<br />

in order to substantially lower costs in this sector.<br />

In organic solar technologies, the Group acquired approximately<br />

25% of the U.S. start-up Konarka in 2008. Since 2009, Konarka<br />

Technologies Inc has carried out research projects in cooperation<br />

with TOTAL to develop solar film on a large scale.<br />

Regarding solar energy storage, TOTAL entered in 2009 into<br />

a research agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of<br />

Technology (MIT) in the United States to develop a new stationary<br />

battery technology.<br />

2.9.7. Biotechnologies<br />

Conversion of biomass<br />

TOTAL is exploring a number of avenues for developing biomass<br />

depending on the resource used, the nature of the target markets<br />

(e.g., fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, specialty chemicals) and<br />

the conversion processes.<br />

The Group has chosen to target the two primary conversion<br />

processes: biological and thermochemical.<br />

Business overview<br />

Upstream 2<br />

In June 2010, TOTAL entered into a strategic partnership with<br />

Amyris Inc., a U.S. start-up specializing in biotechnologies.<br />

The Group acquired a stake in Amyris’ share capital (21.28% as<br />

of February 24, 2012) and signed a collaboration framework<br />

agreement that includes research, development, production and<br />

marketing partnerships with the creation of an R&D team. Two<br />

programs have been approved in <strong>2011</strong> to develop a biojet fuel as<br />

well as a biodiesel. At the end of <strong>2011</strong>, partners agreed to create a<br />

joint-venture to produce and <strong>com</strong>mercialize advanced molecules<br />

intended for the fuels, lubricants and special fluids markets.<br />

Amyris owns a cutting-edge industrial synthetic biological platform<br />

designed to create and optimize micro-organisms (yeasts, algae,<br />

bacteria) that can convert sugars into fuels and chemicals.<br />

Amyris owns research laboratories and a pilot unit in California<br />

as well as a pilot plant and a demonstration facility in Brazil.<br />

Industrial production of farnesene began in <strong>2011</strong> at three partner<br />

sites (in Brazil, the United States and Spain) representing a nominal<br />

annual capacity of 50,000 m³. A fourth production site is as well<br />

under construction and shall be <strong>com</strong>pleted in 2012.<br />

In addition, the Group continues to develop a network of<br />

R&D partnerships, including with the Joint BioEnergy Institute<br />

(JBEI) Novogy (United States), the University of Wageningen<br />

(Holland) and the Toulouse White Biotechnology consortium (TWB)<br />

(France) in technology segments that are <strong>com</strong>plementary with<br />

Amyris’ platform: deconstruction of lignocelluloses and new<br />

biosynthesis processes.<br />

<strong>Registration</strong> Document <strong>2011</strong>. TOTAL 35

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