2022 Renault Frères Innovation Awards: Renault Group celebrates its best inventors
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The second edition of the Renault Frères Innovation Trophies took place last September 20th at L’Atelier Renault (Paris). Initiated by Gilles Le Borgne, Director of Engineering, Renault Group and Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group, this event rewarded the Group’s inventors and innovative spirit. Let’s take a look at the winners.
Renault Group currently holds 13,000 active patents and produces around 700 new patents every year worldwide. These patents form the company’s intellectual legacy. They are a priceless asset. As well as the talent of their inventors. On September 20th, at the L’Atelier Renault (Paris), the 2022 Renault Frères Innovation Trophies, presided over by Jean-Dominique Senard and Luca de Meo, respectively Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Renault Group, celebrated Group employees who are innovative, creative, inventive, and daring.
Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault Group
More than 120 years of innovation
Renault Group has fostered a tradition of innovation since its creation more than 120 years ago. Thanks to the Renaulution plan, Renault Group strives to become a true Tech Company, leading the market of mobility products and services. Technological innovation and development are key to achieving that goal. Renault Group therefore wishes to further encourage, acknowledge, promote, and channel such efforts. Thirteen strategic technological areas have been identified, such as the energy transition, digitization, safety, and new forms of mobility. Find out more about these themes through our winning inventions.
Winners of the Renault Frères Awards, nominated by Renault Group employees
In the «Applied Innovations» category, the Renault Frères Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies were awarded after the votes of the Group’s employees. These trophies concern patented and applied innovations in the Renault Group’s vehicle range in 2021. Of the ten innovations presented, the more than 3,000 voters named the following three winners:
The Renault Frères GOLD Trophy was awarded to “Open Sesame! The side doors opening system”. This innovation is a world-first innovation on a commercial vehicle, such as New Kangoo Van. The challenge was to transfer the centering and locking functions of the front door and the sliding side door present on the pillar of a conventional vehicle to a side of the body without a leg, while maintaining the independence of the doors. The benefit is concrete: a wide side access for long loads.
The Renault Frères SILVER Trophy was awarded to a « system to recover the heat from the electric powertrain ». Applied to Mégane E-Tech electric variant equipped with a heat pump, this innovation heats the passenger compartment by transferring the heat stored in the battery and that produced by the engine and power electronics. This heat recovery naturally cools the battery and electric motor. Below 10°C, the autonomy gain on the highway can reach 9%.
The Renault Frères BRONZE Trophy was awarded to the «Thermoplastic tailgate lightened by water injection». This innovation creates a technological breakthrough in the design of plastic parts. Indeed, it allows a 20% reduction in module weight compared to the previous generation of thermoplastic tailgate and a saving of €30 per vehicle.
Gilles Le Borgne, Director of Engineering, Renault Group
The winners of the special awards
Two special prizes have been awarded this year! First of all, the "Renault Frères Rising star" special trophy, which recognizes a young talent who is particularly dynamic in protecting innovation.
Then, a special “Renault Frères Quality” trophy was awarded, because innovation is not the reserved field of engineering, it must be at all levels of the company. When a vehicle as innovative as Mégane E-Tech is launched on the market, securing technological innovations is essential. From the data collected by Megane E-Tech Electric, data scientists have developed an algorithm to prevent the risk of battery durability.