Politecnico and Prima Electro: a thriving partnership in power electronics
A partnership that evolves, grows, reaches increasingly important milestones and proves to be a powerful competitive advantage. This is the significance of the long-standing collaboration between Politecnico di Torino and Prima Electro, a leading company in the power electronics and embedded systems sector. The relationship, already solid, is set to take another step forward.
After years of focused work on individual applied research projects and building on the results achieved, the two sides have decided to consolidate and expand the collaboration. "We have always worked through specific contracts with various university departments, increasingly focused on the world of power electronics, building a very close relationship that has tackled topics such as the transfer of applied research from academia to industry, the development of shared intellectual property between Politecnico and company and its protection through the filing of joint patents, the training of company staff through high-qualification programmes such as industrial research doctorates, as well as the training of recent graduates through internships and dissertations carried out within the company, aimed at their subsequent placement in research and development teams – explains Alessandro Roveri, Research & Development project leader at Prima Electro – We have reached a level where this is no longer a matter of consultancy, but an integrated activity in which company and Politecnico staff work interchangeably. We are partners in many European initiatives and projects, and we consider ourselves strongly integrated even though we are two separate entities".
Fabio Mandrile, researcher at the Department of Energy-DENERG and member of the Power Electronics Innovation Center-PEIC, adds: "The acceleration of the collaboration came with the creation of Politecnico’s Interdepartmental Centers," and highlights the significant work carried out particularly with PEIC, as well as the many positive outcomes of the link between research and industry: "Our applied research in the lab gets us all the way to the prototype stage. A partner like Prima Electro is then essential to take the work further and, consequently, understand the industrial and market implications of our research," concludes Mandrile. Alongside the research outcomes and their real-world impact, the effect on education is also considerable, through dissertations, scholarships and research doctorates.
The advantages for the company are equally significant. "Our company does not work from a product catalogue, but responds to requests from the market, from individual companies that are often large international leaders in their respective sectors – explains Alessandro Roveri – Having Politecnico alongside us, with its research capabilities, is a major competitive advantage: it allows us to be ready to respond to what the market is asking of us today and, even more importantly, what it will ask in the near future. This close collaboration allows us to innovate effectively and quickly, strengthening our technological leadership, attracting new clients and consolidating relationships with existing ones. That is what the market demands of us in a highly competitive sector".
The heart of the successful relationship between Politecnico di Torino and Prima Electro then lies in the high-level scientific expertise and, crucially, the efficiency with which it’s applied to the market. A partnership that is about to make another leap forward, thanks to an agreement currently in the works. Among other things, this will involve expanding the fields of investigation to include research on land, air and marine mobility, with related technologies for both propulsion and the control and management of devices. Particular attention will be paid to the electric mobility sector and its related technologies, with specific reference to charging systems, the control of grid-connected power electronic converters, energy storage systems, distributed generation and grid support services provided by static converters. Further research will also be conducted into the latest innovations in power hardware and semiconductors, aimed at increasing the power density, efficiency and performance of next-generation products.
Roveri and Mandrile nonetheless emphasize the strategic vision underpinning the collaboration: "Sharing activities and facilities allows us to become an increasingly integrated applied research system, capable not only of responding to the most pressing technological needs, but of anticipating how they will evolve".