Groupe PSA and the University of Orléans have renewed the OpenLab Energetics contract for four years.

Created in 2011, the OpenLab provides a shared scientific vision of alternative energy industries and innovative powertrains. It aims to increase and consolidate the partners’ expertise in energy conversion, propulsion system efficiency and electrified powertrain optimization. This ambitious research policy makes it possible to identify disruptive innovations, train talented individuals and sign international partnerships.

Over the eight years it has existed, OpenLab Energetics has overseen a shared scientific program totalling €4m (US$4.5m), 10 PhD students, five hires by Groupe PSA, 80 scientific articles and patents and five funded projects (ANR, Labex Caprysses).

The Expl’O Energetics platform, inaugurated on May 6, 2019, is dedicated to the experimental study of sustainable mobility solutions and the energies of tomorrow. Located at OpenLab Energetics with a budget of €2m (US$2.2m) over four years, this tool brings together high-performance testing methods, pools leading expertise and builds synergy between the industrial and academic worlds.

Speaking at the inauguration, Ary Bruand, president of the University of Orléans, said, “The energy sector, and particularly environmental questions such as how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is one of the University of Orléans’ major research focuses.

“Our research strategy is underpinned by a commitment to connecting the most fundamental questions with the most applied ones, as well as developing industrial partnerships. The long-term partnership with Groupe PSA through OpenLab Energetics will now be considerably stronger, thanks to the shared platform we are inaugurating today.”

Eric Lalliard, Groupe PSA’s chief scientific officer, said, “Groupe PSA’s strategy has long been founded on close contact between the academic and industrial worlds. Extending our scientific partnership through this experimental platform must allow us to identify the best responses to the challenge of climate change we are facing, through a comprehensive lifecycle assessment of powertrains and the associated energy sectors.”

The OpenLab Energetics renewal strengthens Groupe PSA’s worldwide OpenLab network, which comprises 12 centers in France (one dedicated to artificial intelligence), four in China, one in Brazil and one in Morocco. As research facilities, OpenLabs pool teams and experimental resources from Groupe PSA and partner laboratories to prepare for the future.

Other partnerships, for example with École Centrale de Nantes in 2018, round out the network by helping to improve the applied solutions under development.