IIT's Tech Park Forms Partnership with French Organizations to Support International Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technology
An agreement aiding in the advancement of research and development of hybrid and electric vehicle technology was formed Monday, November 17, between University Technology Park at IIT, (UTP), and Mobilité et Transports Avancés (MTA), a French automotive competitiveness cluster in Western France and the Economic Development Agency of Western France. The organizations have formed a partnership to encourage cooperation in the development of a shared International Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technology Hub, for the purpose of rapidly expanding the research, development, technology transfer, demonstration and commercialization of the elements needed to transform vehicular transportation.
In an effort to further the development of the International Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Hub, UTP intends to provide resources and areas of expertise including university research in electrochemistry (batteries and fuel cells), electric motor drives and electronic control systems, and alternative energy technologies. A full service technology park, UTP will provide direct assistance to the Hub including support from current IIT students and faculty, and linkages to hybrid and electric vehicle technology companies already located in the park. Additionally, IIT’s location in the city of Chicago provides convenient access to a full range of transportation companies in the Midwest.
MTA will provide access to hybrid and electric vehicle technology companies which are members of the MTA competitiveness cluster as well as to other companies from Western France and to local research labs in energy storage, electric motor drives and electronic control systems. The Economic Development Agency of Western France will provide direct assistance to Midwest companies, including space in its offices, business support, and access to vehicular transportation companies and research centers located in Western France.
In a letter welcoming MTA and the Economic Development Agency of Western France to the city, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said, “I applaud the initiative being taken by Illinois Institute of Technology, its University Technology Park at IIT and their French partners in establishing the world’s first International Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technology Hub at IIT in Chicago with its counterpart in France. The agreement will open the way for expanded collaboration, business and research alliances and commercialization of technology on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Two IIT faculty-owned start-up companies, All Cell Technologies, a provider of battery solutions for the transportation industry, and HEVT, a company developing hybrid conversion kits for trucks and busses, already call UTP home. All Cell has been particularly active in promoting the Hub’s potential, and its CEO, Said Al-Hallaj was named a laureate of the French Young Entrepreneur’s Initiative program.
It is the intention of UTP and its French partners to participate in the expansion of the International Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technology Hub with support from other locations throughout the world where similar expertise and interest exists.
For more information on the partnership, please contact David Baker, Executive Director, University Technology Park at IIT, bakerd@iit.edu, (312) 567-3561. For more information about the French partners, contact Georges Ucko, French Economic Office, Chicago, georges.ucko@missioneco.org , Maxime Pasquier, Pole MTA, maxime.pasquier@pole-mta.com, or Olivier Coussi, Ouest Atlantique, o.coussi@ouest-atlantique.org.
Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 7,300 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment. Visit www.iit.edu.
