The NEVC visiting Politecnico

Two days full of meetings for the delegation of NEVC - Beijing National New Energy Vehicle Technology Innovation Center, that, the last October 23-24^th, visited the Politecnico in order to assess the situation of the numerous ongoing and future collaboration projects. The group, composed by Chengyin YUAN, General Manager e LIU Chaohui, Head of Powertrain and Lucrezia Farinetti, Italian coordinator of Inkred International Consulting Ningbo Ltd., visited the facilities of the university, to deepen its knowledge on them.

NEVC is the second national technology innovation center in China, promoted by Ministry of Science and Technology of PRC, and the first aiming at being a highland of leading the output of technology, standard and mode of R&D, manufacturing and service of global new energy vehicle.

The cooperation between the Politecnico and NEVC began in 2018 with the signing of the Framework Cooperation Agreement, which has seen, as a first result, a research project on the design and development of an inverter WBG for e-mobility, commissioned by NEVC and accomplished by the Politecnico, under the scientific direction of Radu Bojoi, Professor of the Department of Energy (DENERG) “Galileo Ferraris” and Coordinator of the Interdepartmental Center PEIC - Power Electronics Innovation Center, and Fausto Stella, Assistant Professor at DENERG.

This synergy was renewed last June, with the definition of the New Energy Vehicle Joint Lab and Strategic Cooperation Agreement, signed in September 2023. In the Agreement, the parties agreed upon the establishment of a Joint Lab, with the purpose of providing a framework for research activities and joint trainings, including the mobility of experts, professors and managers, on the basis of common interests and available competencies.

The Joint Lab, whose scientific directors are Angelo Bonfitto, Professor of Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - DIMEAS and member of the Interdepartmental Center CARS@PoliTO - Center for Automotive Research and Sustainable Mobility, and LIU Chaohui, was officially opened a few days ago, precisely on Monday 24^th, with a ceremony of unveiling the plaque, in the presence of Michele Bonino, Head of the Department of Architecture and Design - DAD and of the China Center. To underline the importance of the event, Roberto Pagani, Professor of DAD and Scientific Attaché at the Italian Consulate in Shanghai, highlighted the opportunities and advantages of a joint participation to national and international calls fostered by National Center MOST, coordinated in the field of NRRP by the Politecnico, and fostered by the MAECI (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation). The guests also had the possibility to visit the offices of the Joint Lab in the Convivio building, located in Corso Ferrucci 112, where some of the activities will take place.

The meeting agenda continued with the presentation of 39^th cycle of Ph.D. of the Politecnico, during which Angelo Bonfitto illustrated the Agreement negotiated by the Doctoral School, that involves the activation of 2 Ph.D. scholarships for DIMEAS and DENERG jointly funded by NEVC and the Politecnico, thanks to the funding received by the European Union through the NRRP. The activities of the two Ph.D. candidates will start in November 2023.

The delegation has also visited two of the university excellences, namely the I3P Incubator and the Interdepartmental Centers CARS@PoliTO and PEIC. In particular, Nicola Amati, Professor at DIMEAS and Coordinator of CARS, showed the delegation the research activities conducted through the vehicle and powertrain testbed, and the various projects carried out by students and Ph.D. students of the center, among who Stefano Favelli, researcher of the China Center and specifically committed to the cooperation with China. At PEIC, the delegation has seen the product of a research project commissioned in 2018, together with the various facilities available in the Center.

At the end of the visit, the presentations by Franco Fiori, Professor of the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET) and member of PEIC, and by the DIMEAS Ph.D. student Manfredi Tornabene, have shed light on the activities of the department and put on the table some potential future collaborations.