Le 25 janvier 2022
An R&D institute and partnership foundation, VEDECOM manages public-private partnership research projects in the field of sustainable mobility, supporting French industrial sectors. To overcome the health and economic crisis, VEDECOM has decided to go back to its core activity in 2021. This action has led to the incorporation of VEDECOM Tech subsidiary.
VEDECOM Tech SAS, a 100% subsidiary of VEDECOM created in 2017, was missioned to market its parent company’s assets – mainly technological bricks in the field of automated driving. It offered engineering services and project management in the field of electrification, automated and connected vehicles and new mobility services. It had won several contracts in France and abroad in the field of civil and military mobility. However, the market conditions following the Covid-19 health crisis have not allowed VEDECOM Tech to remain viable since 2020.
VEDECOM Tech was therefore dissolved on December 9, 2021. Its assets were fully transferred to VEDECOM within a universal transfer of ownership (juridic announcements magazine JSS, 18/12/2021).
The VEDECOM Institute has recovered the financial conditions to implement its strategic plan. It is gearing up to meet the mobility market high expectations, focusing on the reduction of carbon emissions.
Download press release
Best wishes from VEDECOM to all employees and partners! Best wishes to all who care about the future mobility or people or goods: a more sustainable mobility, that is more ecologic, automated and shared.
VEDECOM and its research teams wish you all the best for 2021 and look forward to keep innovating and inventing tomorrow’s mobility with you!
To celebrate this new year, VEDECOM has chosen to draw its optimistic vision for 2021…you can discover it in this video:
Happy 2021 – Video
Created by the CNES, Matrice, and the VEDECOM Institute in October 2019, the Smart Mobilities Lab is a collaborative project that aims to offer new mobility solutions using data gathered from space. After just six months, the first company is on the point of being created through Epleï: an innovative solution that provides recommendations for appropriate sites for logistics stations using satellite images.
The Smart Mobilities Lab: fostering new companies offering solutions based on data from space
The Smart Mobilities Lab brings together a multidisciplinary team of space experts and specialists in mobility working towards a shared goal: to promote solutions to mobility needs of cities and citizens using observation data of the planet.
The strength of this initiative comes from the complementary nature of the various areas of expertise as well as the shared willingness to promote useful, relevant solutions, guide them to fruition, and support them as they become innovative companies that generate jobs and value for our society and regions.
Epleï: an innovative solution that uses space-based imaging for logistics
Epleï, the result of this unprecedented project, is a wonderful example of this cross-cutting collaboration liable to end in the creation of an innovative company that serves society’s interests.
Using satellite images, this solution provides recommendations for appropriate places to establish logistics stations. It has several advantages:
- It can be applied anywhere in the world within a short time frame
- It makes travelling and field studies unnecessary
- Since the recommendations are automatic, they are not biased by human perception
- The tool is extremely precise and flexible, meaning it can work at different scales
Just six months to come up with an idea for a company
After being analysed by the Smart Mobilities Lab teams, the project was selected for a proof of concept that took place between January and March 2020. Since the demonstrator results were very conclusive, a company will be created to carry the project to the market with a commercial launch tentatively scheduled for the second half of 2020.
The solution has already drawn the interest of many actors: transport and logistics professionals, financial and logistics real estate actors, developers, regional governments, and more.
On June 4, 2020, the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation Frédérique Vidal announced that 21 million euros would be mobilised for the Institute for Energy Transition Vedecom for 2021 and 2022. The objective: to support technological innovation and French industrial sectors working on the mobility of the future.
According to Philippe Watteau, the Institute’s CEO, ‘this mobilisation of funds will contribute to financing a wave of new innovative projects in the sustainable mobility sector. These projects strive to advance technological transformation for low-carbon mobility. They also aim to come up with new mobility solutions that integrate what we have learned from the health crisis and more directly meet the needs of citizens and territories.’
‘This new commitment from the State will contribute to reinforcing the Vedecom ecosystem, which already has 58 members from different industrial sectors working on the mobility of the future: the auto industry, public transportation and mobility, logistics, road infrastructure, telecommunications, energy, aviation and defence, digital services and simulations, and insurance.
It will also help Vedecom cement its position as a leader in the European autonomous, electric and connected vehicle industry.’
In all, 450 million euros have been mobilised for Technological Research Institutes (IRT) and Energy Transition Institutes (ITE), grouped together this year under the French Institutes for Technology (FIT) Association to support industrial innovation and the scientific excellence of French research. This support is part of the State’s Programme d’investissements d’avenir (PIA) in an effort to relaunch the economy.
More information:
Communiqué de presse de la FIT-French Institutes of Technology
Communiqué du Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche
At its general meeting held on 29 April 2020, the FIT (French Institutes of Technology) association approved a change to its articles of association enabling it to welcome the 8 ITEs (Energy Transition Institutes) as members alongside the 8 IRTs (Technology Research Institutes). It is the result of a rapprochement strategy initiated two years ago by the French government. VEDECOM ITE Managing Director Philippe Watteau has just been appointed Deputy Secretary General.
Two new posts created to assist with the ITEs’ integration into the FIT structure
The FIT (French Institute of Technology) is the association created in 2015 by France’s Technology Research Institutes (IRTs) to improve the attractiveness of their public-private model at national and international level, promote dialogue between them and extend their reach. In 2019, at the French government’s request, it expanded to incorporate the ITEs after a rapprochement process lasting nearly a year and a half. Pending changes to the FIT, the ITEs were welcomed as “invited members”. To complete this now-confirmed integration and provide better representation of the ITEs within the organisation, the FIT has just created two new governance positions for two representatives from the ITEs.
A second vice-president’s position and a second secretarial position have been created. VEDECOM Managing Director Philippe Watteau thus becomes the Deputy Secretary General of the association, alongside Stéphane Cassereau, CEO of the Jules Verne IRT. The new Bureau was confirmed during a virtual General Meeting held on 29 April 2020. The new members, in consequence of their new functions, will also be ex officio members of the “Bureau of Managing Directors”, comprising 3 IRT directors and 3 ITE directors.
A rapprochement intended to lend significant extra power and influence to the French Institutes
Created from the French government’s Future Investment Plan, the IRTs and ITEs share the same fundamental principles regarding integrated multi-partner research, and the same commitment to bringing industrial and academic players together to find answers to major economic, social and environmental challenges by means of innovation, and operational and structural models. With their 1,300 industrial partners and 640 academic partners, the IRTs and ITEs use their close relationship to improve their power and influence and develop their work in France and abroad. The 17 French institutes can already boast nearly 900 patents and software applications, some 3,700 scientific publications, 115 technology platforms and 730 technology transfers. They are involved in over 190 European projects, and aim to rival the major world institutes in terms of influence.
Four strategic directions are planned for the next three years, based on the development of sovereign technologies that have been proven in the field, the launch of transverse cross-sector initiatives, joint offers on a French regional level and increased momentum in European projects.
Learn more:
