E2S UPPA: a synergy with local players
Winner of the I-SITE label of excellence in 2017, the consortium formed by UPPA and the national research centres Inria (digital), INRAe (agriculture, food and environment) and CNRS provides companies and local players with innovative solutions in the field of energy and environmental transition.
Partnerships are one of the raisons d'être of the E2S project (Solutions for Energy and the Environment), winner of the I-SITE (Initiatives Science-Innovation-Territories-Economy) future investment programme. Supported for four years by UPPA, Inria, INRAe and CNRS, E2S not only contributes to strengthening academic excellence, but also the performance of private and public players in the region.
« For the past 50 years, the university's growth has been fuelled by partnerships with companies, associations and local authorities," stresses Laurent Bordes, President of UPPA. Many of our research themes in the field of energy and environmental transition are intrinsically linked to the development of R&D in the region.
We need private research players to increase our attractiveness and the visibility of our researchers internationally, just as they need us to innovate and conquer the markets of tomorrow. »
Cutting-edge skills and equipment
From very small businesses to multinationals, the university has no shortage of arguments to convince companies to use its services:
- 30 high-level expertise chairs,
- 8 joint laboratories,
- 2 engineering schools,
- 1 university school of management (IAE),
- 14 specialised Masters
- more than 1000 teacher-researchers, researchers and engineers.
It is also an exceptional service centre, called UPPA Tech , bringing together all the experimental power of UPPA's research laboratories: 18 specialised platforms covering a wide range of skills and experiments related to energy and the environment, but also in various fields of application such as agri-food, pharmaceuticals and materials.
UPPA Tech thus provides companies and local authorities with tools that are sometimes unique in France or in Europe and with skills of a very high scientific and technical level.
A multidisciplinary approach
- solutions for autonomous housing and energy storage ;
- new energies ;
- creation of new materials inspired by nature, bio-sourced products, sober manufacturing processes, secure CO2 storage tools ;
- understanding our ecosystem;
- resilience of coastal and mountain infrastructures to climate change, development of new sensors for better environmental monitoring, analysis of the impact of emerging pollutants on the environment;
- understanding the legal issues and environmental concerns of our societies, enabling us to imagine alternatives and new ecologically virtuous practices in terms of housing, mobility, organisation of work or leisure activities...
Ambitious projects
For example, Saft, the European leader in batteries, and the leading French chemical company Arkema have chosen to join forces with the IPREM (UPPA-CNRS), the D-MEX X-ray imaging centre (UPPA-CNRS) and the Pau Droit Public laboratory (UPPA) to develop new battery systems using solid electrolyte technology. Led by Professor Hervé Martinez, this project could revolutionise the electric vehicle and renewable energy storage sectors.
Located in Anglet, the HPC Waves (High Performance Computing of Waves) Chair of Excellence, involving the New Aquitaine Region and the Basque Country Agglomeration, stands out for its impact on the region. Led by scientist Volker Roeber, an international expert in digital wave modelling, HPC Waves is looking for solutions to mitigate the damage caused by storms to coastal infrastructures and is devising applications linked to renewable marine energy systems.
"We are committed to working alongside companies and public and private partners to meet the challenges of tomorrow together", says Gilles Pijaudier-Cabot, Executive Director of E2S, recalling the launch in 2017 of the UPPA Business Cluster (CEPyA).
Led by business leaders in close cooperation with university officials, CEPyA is already helping to act as a relay and develop a university offer adapted to the needs of the territory.
Opening photo credit ©AlexisChézière/UPPATech
