Creation of the Institute for Sustainable Mobility

Laurent Cousin

Renault and the Paris-Tech higher education and research consortium have jointly founded an Institute for Sustainable Mobility that will carry out research and education programs on the future of transports and electric mobility.

On September 24, 2009, Paris-Tech, a “PRES” (higher education and research consortium), together with Renault and the Renault corporate foundation, announced the creation of the Institute of Sustainable Mobility. Its aim is to conduct research and teaching programs on the future of transports and electric mobility and to foster exchanges between higher education and automobile industry, which must prepare for the major changes on the horizon.

At Paris Tech, which brings together twelve of the most prestigious French “grandes écoles” (engineering and business schools), eight schools and ten research centers have decided to take part, both to conduct research on “the design of innovative mobility systems, primarily based on electric vehicles” and to “train high-level scientists and managers,” with the goal of offering specialized Masters’ curriculums in 2010.

The Institute has defined four main research orientations: electric mobility systems, economic models that can ensure the development of the electric vehicle sector, the international conditions for the shift from the current automobile transport system toward electric vehicles and battery technology. The starting budget has been set at two million euros.