[REFLEXIONS] The intertwined technical and political challenges of energy security

21 Jan. 2026

Ensuring the stability and sustainability of an energy system has strategic political implications, emphasizes Mathieu Xémard, defense engineer and project manager at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Defence and Security (CIEDS) at IP Paris. Energy security will be the focus of the round table he will chair at the Réflexions conference organized by the Institut Polytechnique de Paris on February 5th.

[REFLEXIONS] The intertwined technical and political challenges of energy security

Mathieu Xémard is the chairman of the Energy Security round table - Reflections Conference - February 5, 2026

For a combustion engine car to run in France, oil must be extracted thousands of kilometres away, in countries with political regimes that are often very different from that of France. To do so, agreements must be made and borders crossed. “We sometimes forget something obvious: societies make choices about technical systems, such as cars, which have strategic geopolitical consequences,” points out Mathieu Xémard, a chemist and weapons engineer at École Polytechnique.

A specialist in strategic materials at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Defence and Security (CIEDS) of Institu Polytechnique de Paris, the researcher will lead a round table discussion on energy security at the Réflexions Conference organized on February 5th by IP Paris.

By bringing together scientific, industrial and political energy specialists, the symposium aims to analyse the interconnections between the technological, economic, environmental and societal dimensions of the energy transition around three themes: sustainability, security and energy justice.

Global energy interdependence

“Once we've made this observation to our students, we bring out the maps,” continues Mathieu Xémard, who has developed lectures on energy security with his colleague Manuel Dorion-Soulié, assistant professor of American civilization at CIEDS. “We show them where the materials come from, where they are taken through to reach us, and what opportunities and tensions this creates...”

From the oil well to the car fuel tank, the road is long and sometimes winding. Energy security therefore involves ensuring stable supply, resilient infrastructure and the ability to cope with geopolitical, climatic or technical crises. In turn, energy security raises questions related to the risk of power cuts – we all remember the massive blackout in Spain and Portugal in 2025 – energy sovereignty and control of strategic technologies. This round table will examine the growing complexity of global energy interdependence, discuss strategies for securing critical resources, and explore ways in which governments, researchers and industry can collaborate to strengthen resilience and ensure reliable and affordable access to energy.

New resources, same issues

Understanding the interactions between states, but also between them and the various actors on the international stage, such as international organisations, NGOs and businesses, therefore requires an understanding of the consequences of social, economic and political choices.

Electrifying transport, for example, involves sourcing minerals and metals that are mainly found in China, Chile and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Three different states with three different political regimes on three different continents...

The round table will also explore other avenues, such as urban mining, which aims to recover the resources contained in these old devices. “Unlike oil, which goes up in smoke as it is used, a car battery does not disappear and can be recovered for use as fixed storage when it begins to lose its capacity – which could also help to solve certain energy security issues. Also, at least some of its materials can be recycled at the end of its life," emphasizes Mathieu Xémard. This, he adds, does not mean that international relations are no longer an essential dimension of energy security – quite the opposite.

About Mathieu Xémard

Former student from the Ingénieur Polytechnicien program, Mathieu Xémard completed his education with a PhD on rare earth chemistry at the Molecular Chemistry Laboratory (LCM) of École polytechnique, before taking up a position as an expert at the DGA. Since February 2024, he has joined the Interdisciplinary Centre for Defence and Security (CIEDS) at Institut Polytechnique de Paris, where he works on strengthening the theme of sovereignty (industrial and energy) with projects linked to the life cycle and value chains of strategic metals. He is also involved in strengthening collaborative links between CIEDS (more broadly Institut Polytechnique de Paris) and the ministère des Armées et des Anciens combattants.

>> Mathieu Xémard on Research Gate