“OUR RESEARCH IS ENRICHED BY ONGOING DIALOGUE WITH THE RESEARCH CENTERS OF AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS AND AIRLINES.”

Thierry Rouge-Carrassat
Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer

An open approach

Our research is enriched by ongoing dialogue with the research centers of aircraft manufacturers and airlines. Our collaboration with Airbus Group Innovation, for example, resulted in our being selected for the E-Fan project. With Air France, we are working on the passenger seats of the future. With EUTELSAX we are developing the technological bricks of a ground/onboard connectivity offer And with Boeing, we are working on fuel systems. We have opted to conduct these projects within the context of European initiatives like Horizon 2020 or national ones like the PIA⁹ We have asked the French Civil Aviation Research Council (CORAC), which is already assisting us with a number of projects under the Factory of the Future program, to work with us on a project geared toward additive manufacturing (the manufacture of metal parts using 3D printing). The project is being spearheaded by five Group entities in the United States, France and Germany

We are gradually opening up this collaborative approach to our suppliers, offering them support in the form of research grants and establishing with them a clear industrial-property framework from the outset Another line of progress is that we formalized our patent management policy in 2014 and strengthened our expertise by recruiting a Senior Patents Engineer We also ran a second campaign to appoint Group experts with 4 fellows and 15 new senior experts who disseminate their expertise beyond the confines of their entity.

500 engineers dedicated to R&T projects

4 world-class laboratories

Los Angeles (United States), ZEO: cabin interiors (design studio)

Alkmaar (Netherlands), Experience Center: galleys and trolleys

Roche-la-Moliere (France): fuel tank inerting system

Niort (France), Montreuil laboratory Systems Test Center: electrical systems (storage and distribution)

20 university partnerships in Europe, 15 in the United States

50 patents filed each year

150 Group experts, 33 seniors experts, 4 fellows

⁹ Government-sponsored investment program

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