On 23 November, Mov’ntec was presented with two awards at the Trophées de l’Industrie 2023: the Prix de la filière électrique awarded by the Pôle MEDEE and the Grand Prix SINF (Société Industrielle du Nord de France). The event was attended by almost 600 people at the Cité des échanges in Marcq-en-Baroeul, near Lille. We would particularly like to thank Mr Sébastien DROUART, a member of the MEDEE cluster’s operational team, who encouraged and supported us to win these awards.
Hello and thank you Sébastien for nominating Mov’ntec as a winner of the Trophée de l’Industrie 2023. Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your role within the MEDEE cluster?
Hello. I’m in charge of R&D and Innovation projects at the MEDEE cluster (Maîtrise Énergétique des Entraînements Électriques). For over 10 years, we’ve been bringing together companies and academics in the Hauts-de-France region to work on collaborative Research, Development and Innovation projects in the field of electrical engineering. Based in Lille, we support our members from the idea stage through to promotion of their projects, including the search for funding and partners. Our four target markets are at the heart of the energy transition: smart electricity grids, renewable energies, energy efficiency in industrial processes and electric mobility.
What attracted you to Mov’ntec and why did you believe in our potential?
What’s particularly interesting about Mov’ntec is that the company is in a “pivotal” situation. It has to change its historical business model in order to develop and adapt to new market demands, particularly electromobility. As I can testify, Francis and Antoine are working hard to ensure that Mov’ntec can provide new innovative solutions and expand its network of partners. And they’re giving themselves the means to do it: creating a design office within the company to internalise innovation strategy and actions as far as possible, developing relations with the academic world, pursuing a proactive policy of integrating work-study students and trainees from regional training schemes with a view to keeping talent in the region, etc. In truth, it was their determination and enthusiasm that first convinced us. This year, Mov’ntec’s application was a no-brainer.
What collaborative projects involving Mov’ntec and the MEDEE cluster are underway or planned?
The latest Mov’ntec project that the MEDEE cluster has recently supported has just been designated the winner for the Hauts-de-France region of the Bpifrance call for projects “Support for investment projects to produce the road vehicles of tomorrow and their components in France”. For MOV’NTEC, the aim is to develop and industrialise an eco-fabricated synchro-reluctant motorisation system in France, designed for a range of applications requiring between 200 and 15,000 W mechanical power. The solution involves an assembly (electric motor and electronics) that is optimised for mobility (volume and mass), is competitively priced, sustainable and has a low environmental footprint. Partners in this project include the Laboratoire Systèmes Électrotechniques et Environnement (LSEE) at the Université d’Artois and IFP Énergies Nouvelles. Other projects are of course in the pipeline.
How do the MEDEE cluster and its network of players add value to Mov’ntec?
The MEDEE cluster can mobilise a network of experts who interact at the crossroads of various environments: industry and services (from start-ups to large companies), research and higher education, institutions and public administrations. We also support project development in France, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is obviously on the R&D side that the cluster brings an advantage to its members, thanks in particular to its Scientific Committee. For Mov’ntec, the relationship with the LSEE laboratory in Béthune has set in motion a dynamic of projects which will be decisive for the future of the company. We’re also working to raise Mov’ntec’s profile, for example by nominating you for the Trophées de l’Industrie 2023. This seems to have worked rather well.
How is the MEDEE cluster supporting its members in the transition to sustainable industry?
First of all, by listening to the specific needs of each of our members. They don’t all move at the same pace, face the same legal framework or share the same markets. Secondly, by ensuring that projects applying for public funding are well aligned with the requirements of energy transition policies, such as Rev3 in Hauts-de-France. Finally, by not hesitating to share the support of a member with another cluster. Mov’ntec is another example of this, as your company is also a member of ARIA Hauts-de-France (Association Régionale de l’Industrie Automobile). ARIA and MEDEE are partners and, whenever it makes sense, we work together to support our joint members in projects that promote a low-carbon economy.
Thank you for your involvement, and see you soon for our joint projects!