Renewable Energy: The PUI Connects Businesses at the Energaïa Trade Show
On December 11 and 12, 2024, the University Innovation Hub (PUI), which brings together key players from the academic, research, and socio-economic sectors in Montpellier, presented its very first booth at the Energaïa trade show. The goal: to foster new synergies with the business community and showcase its most dynamic research and laboratories in the field of sustainable energy.
Within the University Innovation Hub (PUI), renewable energy is one of the most strategic areas of focus. On December 11 and 12, 2024, a group of its representatives stopped by the Energaïa trade show to give visitors a brief overview of ongoing projects, illustrating the collaborative spirit within the PUI.
Supporting the Energy Transition
The PUI’s participation in this event, which attracted nearly 22,000 people this year, had three main objectives. First, to highlight the PUI’s resources “and the diversity and complementary nature of the partners present, such as the University of Montpellier,INRAE, CIRAD, the CNRS, and SATT AxLR,” explains Guilhem Thomasset, a technology transfer engineer at the CNRS and coordinator of the “renewable energy” thematic roadmap within the PUI. Another focus was showcasing the skills and expertise of research laboratories, “witha view to initiating collaborations.” Finally, throughout the fair, the PUI sought to highlight the training programs offered by theUM , as well as the pool of students who might be of interest to companies in the sector.
Key Insights
The vice president of the University of Montpellier in charge of partnerships and innovation, Phillipe Combette, was also present at the booth. He had the opportunity to discuss topics such as“floating offshore,”“dynamic cables,”“hydrogen,” and “photovoltaics .” In particular, the discussion focused on the Méga Sète project led by SolarinBlue, which involves creating a one-megawatt-peak offshore solar farm off the coast of the port of Sète-Frontignan, with a view to its upcoming commercial deployment. Ultimately, the project could target, for example, port areas, islands, or floating wind farms.
Throughout the day, four laboratories specializing in electronics, chemistry, and materials also came to share their innovations. The Charles Gerhardt Institute of Montpellier (ICGM) presented HydrogenLab, a laboratory co-founded with Michelin to develop new materials for fuel cell cores and electrolyzers using innovative processes. Damien Voiry, research director at the European Membrane Institute (IEM), shared the initial concepts behind the E-ethylene project, which aims to “produce ethylene from CO₂ via electro-reduction .”
The Marcoule Institute of Separative Chemistry (ICSM) has finally provided some insight into the battery recycling project it is conducting in collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. On the second day, trade show attendees explored the expertise of Géosciences Montpellier, from its geothermal research to its Eastern Lights project, which focuses onCO2 storage and transport. Atthe BioWooEB Unit, the focus was on the Bio4Africa agricultural diversification project , while the Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology (LBE) presented its Bio2E platform (environmental biotechnology and biorefinery), which is open to collaborations with academic, institutional, and industrial partners to convert agricultural, industrial, and urban waste into biogas and other forms of bioenergy.
The PUI Reflex in Montpellier
“This was a first. The PUI is a new coordination tool linking public institutions in the Montpellier area to support collaborative research, technology transfer, and business creation. We need to raise awareness about it, ” insists Guilhem Thomasset. Ultimately, he hopes that companies facing a technological impasse will instinctively turn to the PUI and forge new collaborations. “If, at the end of this kind of event, we succeed in establishing collaborations with the companies in attendance, it will be a resounding success, ” the engineer continues. The near future will tell.