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The French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis is a bi-national institute operated jointly by the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the basis of a Convention signed in the year 1958.
The objectives of ISL are defined by the Ministries of both supporting nations: the DGA (General Directorate for Armament) by order of the French Ministry of Defence and the BAAINBw (Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support) by order of the German Federal Ministry of Defence.
The mission of ISL is to develop technical innovations in the fields of defence and security. Research is carried out in various specialist fields and at differing technology readiness levels (TRL), from basic research to the development of preindustrial prototypes that can be integrated in operative equipment (TRL from 1 to 6).
# 1
Controlling the effects of projected energy, increasing its precision
# 2
Improving the protection of military & security operational staff at the best cost-performance ratio
Numerous ISL research projects have dual-use applications. They can be implemented not only in the defence sector, in internal security and in external deployment such as counter-terrorist operations, but also in the aeronautic, automobile, health and textile industry sectors.
In the field of defence technology our activities focus on the armament programmes of DGA and BAIINBw. The results of ISL research are held in high regard not only in Europe through the European Defence Agency (EDA), but also gain high international acclaim.
In the security sector our activities cover the joint requirements of Germany and France through national research programmes (ANR, BMBF, …), or inter-ministerial research programmes in both countries (FUI, …). These research operations are also based on requirements within the EU, in particular through the research programmes of the European Commission (H2020).
Applications in a wide range of sectors, such as transport, health or the textile industry, are addressed by ISL in particular in the framework of the INSTITUT CARNOT MICA (Materials Institute Carnot Alsace), of which ISL has been a member since this institute was founded.
ISL is financed predominantly by the German and French states.
Additional income is generated by the growing number of contracts with public and private organisations as well as industrial partners.
A large proportion of our research contracts are concluded with the DGA and the BAAINBw as well as with industry at national and international levels.
The Institute bids for national and international tenders, either independently or together with other partners from industry and/or public institutions.
The ISL also has the capabilities to meet the specific requirements of industry or other institutions.
Main site: Saint-Louis (Alsace, France)
Proving ground: Baldersheim (Alsace, France)
Staff: Around 400 employees
Annual Reports & scientific documents
documents written within the framework of contracts or agreements
publications (conferences, scientific journals, posters)
technical reports and papers