Alstom and Inria set up a joint research lab, dedicated to the digital technology of the energy and mobility sectors

Patrick Kron, CEO of Alstom, and Michel Cosnard, CEO of Inria, are signing today a partnership agreement, bringing their two organisations together in the field of digital technology for the energy and mobility sectors. This five-year research partnership will lead to the development of a joint laboratory specialising in distributed systems, modelling and simulation.

The joint projects undertaken by this laboratory will involve 20 engineers and researchers from Alstom and Inria. Following discussions over the last few months, four projects will start this year. Two of these are in the field of transport and will focus on data communications network performance and regulation policies for urban rail systems. The third project, in the field of renewable energy, will focus on collaborative, robust and reconfigurable algorithm conception for the instrumentation and control systems of hydroelectric power plants. The fourth project, which will study complex systems availability simulation, covers both the transport and thermal power sectors with a particular focus on services.

Innovation is a key differentiating factor that Alstom leverages. In order to be at the forefront of the technology in the energy and transport sectors both future markets growth opportunities the Group encourages open innovation strategies. Ronan Stephan, Chief Innovation Officer at Alstom, explains For Alstom, open innovation stimulates synergies within the Group and facilitates external alliances and regeneration. The partnership with Inria will enable Alstom to strengthen the impact of digital technology on its processes and products. By signing this new research partnership¹, Alstom is further demonstrating its commitment to the digital generation.

For Inria, this partnership is the opportunity to strengthen ties with the industrial sector by providing its researchers with new research questions and by enabling existing results to be transferred to the relevant industrial sectors. Eric Horlait, Director of Technology Transfer and Innovation at Inria, says, Alstom-Inrias joint laboratory will work to accelerate the transfer of Inrias results into the industrial sector whilst ensuring excellence within our research project teams. This new laboratory, which will enable researchers from Inria and Alstom to create value through their dialogue, teamwork and cooperation, will be focusing on the fields of transport and energy. It is through this laboratory that we will achieve the innovation that both Alstom and Inria are striving for. 

¹ On March 7th 2014, Alstom and the City University of Hong Kong signed a framework agreement on Establishing Strategic Alliance on Advanced Open Systems for Smart Cities

Press contacts :

Virginie Hourdin - virginie.hourdin-bremond@chq.alstom.com 
Claire Biau - claire.biau@alstom.com
Cécile Dodat - cecile.dodat@transport.alstom.com
Christopher English  - christopher.english@power.alstom.com
Stéphanie Grange  - stephanie.grange@power.alstom.com 
Inria - Muriel Droin Quivrin - muriel.droin@inria.fr