The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is interested in research which can lead to faster wireless networks, secure low-power technologies for the Internet of Things, and 3D displays.

Intel and the CEA already work together in the field of high-performance computing, and the new agreement will see Chipzilla fund work at the CEA’s Laboratory for Electronics and Information Technology (LETI) over the next five years.

Rajeeb Hazra, vice-president of Intel’s data centre group said the CEA started working after the French ceased its atmospheric and underground nuclear weapons test programs, as it turned to computer modelling to continue its weapons research.

The new research collaboration, will see LETI exchanging information with Intel, but it is not clear yet what will come from it. Clearly the deal is important and involved a lot of negotiation with the lawyers. Word on the street said that the deal took a year to negotiate, which means that Intel and LETI think there will be a lot of patents coming from it.