Ampere has inaugurated its Battery Cell Innovation Laboratory, a center designed to anticipate technological breakthroughs and strengthen Renault Group’s competitiveness in the electric vehicle sector.
Covering 3,000m² across two levels, the building houses 120 state-of-the-art pieces of equipment, including a 600m² dry room. It brings together two key and complementary activities, cell prototyping and electro-physico-chemical characterization, enabling performance and behavior assessment of battery cells – durability, fast charging, disassembly and internal analysis.
“With this new laboratory, Ampere fully embraces its role as a pathfinder for Renault Group. Our mission is to explore breakthrough technologies, identify the right partners and secure the technological choices that will make a difference tomorrow. In such a strategic field as batteries, this ability to anticipate and guide is essential to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of our electric vehicles,” said Josep Maria Recasens, CEO of Ampere.
This laboratory hopes to enable Ampere to identify promising technologies and strategic partners early on. The goal is to gain control over the entire battery value chain, upstream to downstream, by relying on a trusted network of partners.
“Having our own laboratory dedicated to battery cell innovation marks a major step forward for our engineering. Together with the E-Tech Campus, they play a key role in our ambition to lead cutting-edge innovation in engineering. Our goal is to make the Lardy Technical Center a true center of excellence in the field of electric vehicles,” added Philippe Brunet, CTO of Renault Group.
The new laboratory supports the transformation of the Lardy Technical Center into a leading hub for electric vehicle technologies. Additionally, the E-Tech Campus of Renault Group’s ReKnow University will soon open, offering specialized training in EV technologies for Ampere and Renault Group employees and eventually for other companies as well.
“The Battery Cell Innovation Laboratory is a key component of our battery strategy. It will enable us to improve performance and strengthen our evaluation capabilities through closer collaboration with our partners. We are making sure to stay ahead in the design of our electric vehicles and ensure they anticipate our customers’ expectations,” commented Nicolas Racquet, EV engineering director at Ampere.
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