The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a public institution playing a major role in research, development and innovation. With a staff of approximately 15 000 persons on 9 research centres, the CEA has a set of unique facilities (supercomputers, research reactors, hot laboratories, lasers,…). CEA operates in the fields of nuclear energy, defense, technologies, and fundamental research both in physics and in life. CEA is actively involved as coordinator in several European projects relative to hydrometallurgy, substitution, circular economy. Teams of the CEA Marcoule (Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Gard) have a strong experience in hydrometallurgical process development from the tube to a demonstrative scale. More recently, based on the knowledge developed in metal separation by hydrometallurgy, LCA and technical-economic studies are also part of the work CEA works closely with Occitanie Region.