The Emitech Group announces the creation of an Innovation Department dedicated to researching and implementing innovative solutions to prepare for the testing of the future. The mission of this new organization, which emphasizes the need for partnerships with academic contributors as well as industry, is to position Emitech at the forefront of the testing sector, anticipating tomorrow's needs and meeting today's challenges with creativity, agility and expertise.
" Innovation has always been part of the Group's DNA, but we now need to structure it in such a way as to better identify growth markets and focus our efforts and investments on them. "With these words, Mr Ben Abdelkader, Director of Research & Development and Innovation at Emitech, begins his presentation of the new entity.
In the past, we have always demonstrated our ability to respond to our customers' emerging needs. For example, the design and development of the EMCEM test bench, to be launched in 2022, is the result of the know-how of the various subsidiaries that make up the Emitech Group, in response to an unmet market need. Designed to help manufacturers of motors for electric vehicles, the EMCEM test bench offers an innovative solution for EMC testing of these motors in real rotation, unlike previous methods which simply blocked the rotating shaft. The synergies between Emitech's different areas of expertise have enabled us to create a solution that is unique on the European market for the reliable characterization of electric motors.
" We have established that more and more manufacturers in France are concentrating their R&D on their core business, and no longer have the resources associated with their validation needs and, more generally, their testing requirements. Whether for cyclical or structural reasons, these needs fall outside the scope of their R&D and associated technology watch. As a result, there is a growing demand for the services we offer, such as the design of new generations of test benches, the adaptation of our resources to new requirements and so on. At the same time, we are noticing that our customers are increasingly keen to entrust us with packaged test campaigns, leading us to move from the status of a test/validation laboratory to that of an "engineering company" offering a much wider range of services. "Mr Ben Abdelkader explains. " Today, in view of the growing number of topics such as batteries for mobility, ADAS, cybersecurity and many others, Emitech has decided to structure this support with the creation of a dedicated innovation center, with teams operating in project mode and having to manage schedules, milestones and deliverables for each topic. The aim is to guide our choices and investments in line with the Group's development strategy. Our starting point is factual, with market studies followed by feasibility studies. Emitech is expanding its core validation business by becoming a company that supports its customers throughout the entire V cycle. "
A structured team and partnerships
The Innovation Department rests on two main pillars. The first corresponds to our internal resources, federated by our management team. The latter's mission is to define and validate orientations in line with Emitech's strategic objectives. Its thinking is based on issues raised by the operational teams, who report on emerging industrial issues. The rapporteurs are engineers selected from within the Group for their expertise. Organized in working groups, they study technological and economic challenges upstream through feasibility studies. This organization enables the Innovation Department to identify promising topics, prioritize them and draw up a launch schedule.
The second pillar consists of partnerships with research centers, universities and industrial companies, as well as investors and structures that can contribute to project financing.
" While Emitech is a key player in the industrial process, it is not the only one. We need the viewpoints of all contributors to innovate: academics, industrialists, funders, and so on. "comments Mr Ben Abdelkader.
How the Innovation Department's Retex enriches R&D
The development of batteries for electric vehicles requires new technologies to limit the risks inherent in their technology. One of these risks is thermal runaway, which is associated with numerous qualification test requirements.
Mr Ben Abdelkader explains: ". Emitech's Innovation Department, in partnership with Paris-area universities conducting fundamental research on the subject, has embarked on a project to gain a better understanding of the thermal runaway process inherent in all batteries. This approach involves using the data collected during dozens of test campaigns carried out in our laboratories, and correlating them with behavioral laws obtained by numerical simulation to deduce models that will make it possible to predict, and therefore anticipate, the runaway phenomenon, and thus better manage tests while improving their safety. This work will also enable us to support our customers further upstream in their development cycle, by providing them with reliable data on the behavior of their batteries, and in particular on areas for improvement. This acceleration is necessary, because today everything moves very fast, especially in the automotive sector. Manufacturers can no longer afford to spend years on R&D; they need information that can be used quickly. "
Many subjects are being developed in collaboration with our partners, or are still open to collaboration: EMC validation of vehicle ADAS, development of solid-state vehicle batteries, support for H2 combustion engines...
Tomorrow's tests reflect the innovation that drives our various economic sectors: transport, defense, energy and medical. Every innovation needs to be validated, qualified or certified.
The main raison d'être of our Innovation Department is to anticipate these needs with our partners, in order to accelerate the deployment of future solutions.
Photo caption: Mr Ben Abdelkader, Director of Research, Development and Innovation at Emitech
About the Emitech Group – www.emitech.fr
Emitech was founded in 1989 and, together with its subsidiaries Eurocem, Adetests, Environne'Tech, Pieme, Lefae, EMC, EEA and R&D Moteurs, forms the Emitech Group. With 600 employees and expected sales of almost €70 million in 2023, the Emitech Group has become an ETI. The Emitech Group is a family-owned and operated business, with its head office in Montigny-le-Bretonneux (78). The Group operates 18 sites with test centers dedicated to the design and validation of current and future mobility solutions... and to the qualification, CE marking and marketing of products of all kinds. Profits are fully reinvested, and investments amounting to 12 to 20% of sales are made each year, enabling the Group to expand its range of services. Several of the Group's projects have received government support (Ademe, France Relance). The services offered by the Emitech Group relate to environmental requirements, and include testing and engineering, training, bench design and metrology. These tests and engineering services focus on sustainable mobility, the safety of goods and people, the construction of product robustness, and support for the marketing of products in Europe and worldwide. The Emitech Group is a major player in the implementation of standards that protect consumers and our industries. It is a notified body for several European directives. It also contributes to national sovereignty by enabling the qualification of defense-related equipment in France. 40% of the Group's activities are directly linked to sustainable mobility. The Emitech Group is also involved in the evaluation of anti-pollution devices with the Euro6 and now Euro7 measures to support automakers and equipment manufacturers in their objectives of lowering pollutant emissions. The Emitech Group's services cover the whole spectrum of sustainable mobility, from electric-assist bicycles to eVTOLs.
EMITECH
ZI de la Vallée du Salaison
145 rue du Massacan
P.O. BOX 25
FR 34741 VENDARGUES Cedex
Jean-Marc ROGI
Phone: 04.67.87.11.02 / 06 60 34 63 58
jm.rogi@emitech-group.com
