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The cluster members have a strategy centered around 3 separate objectives:

• To position itself as one of the leading European clusters for research and development, experiments and qualification in 4 strategic areas

• To be a site for partnership in research and experiments on electric and hybrid vehicles

• To be a center for creating and distributing wealth and jobs for the Vienne department and the Poitou-Charentes region as a whole.

Advantages

- The area has 15 years of experience in the hybrid vehicles field

- Involvement in several research programs:

• Program for the experiments and development of electric vehicles (Liselec - La Rochelle)
• Industrial-scale production of the electric versions of the 106 and Saxo (Heuliez - PSA Peugeot-Citroën).
• Program VEDELIC 1995-2000: development of new battery and traction chain technology

- Top-level research centers:
• Creation of the CEREVEH in 1999: Centre d'Etudes et de REcherches sur les Véhicules Electriques et Hybrides (Centre for the research & development of electric and hybrid vehicles).
• Creation of VALAGRO in 1992: Centre de recherche et développement pour la VALorisation industrielle des AGRO ressources (R&D Centre for the industrial development of  AGRO resources), with particular emphasis on oils and vegetable fibers.

- Many important players in the sector are present in the region (details below)

Members

89 members as of mid-2008

Companies:  over 40 including 15 small and medium-sized businesses 
• French companies: Electricité de France (EDF), PSA Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), Michelin, Valeo, Véolia Transport, Heuliez, Alstom, etc.
  
•International companies: Siemens VDO Automotive (Germany), Toyota (Japan), SKF (Sweden), Leroy Somer, subsidiary of Emerson (United States), Irisbus, subsidiary of Iveco-Fiat (Italy), Arcelor Mittal (company registered under Dutch law), Federal Mogul (United States), Johnson Controls Saft (United States), etc.
 
Research and Educational Institutions
- 20 centers including the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), University of Poitiers, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et d’Aérotechnique (ENSMA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecole Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Poitiers (ESIP), Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et leur Sécurité (INRETS), University of la Rochelle, Institut français du Pétrole (IFP), Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM) etc.

- More than 10 other organizations are also partners in the cluster including the Communautés d’Agglomération (agglomeration communities) of la Rochelle and Poitiers, the Vienne Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Groupement National pour la Formation Automobile, Institut Universitaire de Technologie (IUT) de Poitiers, Académie de Poitiers, etc.

Current R&D project partnerships (refer to appendix)

- 20 projects were certified between 2005 and mid-2008 with a total investment of more than 70 million euros
- 25 million euros of aid including:
•Over 3.5 million euros granted by the Single Interministerial Fund (Fonds Unique Interministériel or FUI) between 2005 and 2007
•Almost 11 million euros allocated by the National Research Agency  (Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) between 2005 and 2007

International collaboration

Current:
• Canadian market survey
• Participation in May 2008 at the AEE exhibition (Automotive Engineering Exposition) in Yokohama, Japan
• Organization of events of international significance for the sector, including the MUTA International Forum (Mobilité Urbaine & Transports Avancés – Urban Mobility and Advanced Transport) and the “Clean Vehicle” Grand Expo

Future:
•Forging links with Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, China and India

Appendix: Selected certified R&D projects

• More information on pôle Mobilité et Transports Avancés