This paper presents the EPLO project (Emulateur Propagation Libre Optique), dedicated to modelling and emulating the atmospheric effects on a laser link used for ground-satellite communication. To test different modulation wave forms and their robustness to the atmospheric turbulence, an experimental bench to reproduce the front phase deformation and the effect of beam spreading is in development. This emulator generates various scenarios of turbulence. Due to the utilization of holographic methods, it also includes a beam wander effect. The turbulence patterns driving the bench are calculated through the development of Zernike polynomials, to reproduce the effect of weak or strong turbulences in terms of scintillation indexes, beam wandering, beam spreading, phase variation and the dynamic of the temporal evolution. This enables the simulation and the study of the wave front deformations when the laser passes through the atmosphere.