Innovative partnerships

Ojftce of Technology Transfer and Innovation Partnerships, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York, USA... 

Meeting resource needs through innovative partnerships... 

The importance of composite technologies has been recognised by the major trend for major end producers forming joint venture partnerships with material and processing providers. The most visible has been the innovation partnership between BMW Group and SGL Group. This started with carbon fibres and carbon fibre fabrics in the BMW i model and is now moving into mainstream components for models such as the BMW 7 series. 

Supplier partnerships or alliances have been used to control the cost of procurement. They are based on methods developed in Japan, initially in the automobile industry. These methods have been extended into the process industry and for the purchase of such items as compressor trains. Generally as originally conceived, they were intended mainly for commodity items. By using some innovative approaches, the concept of partnerships or alliances has been extended into the purchase of custom equipment. 

Assure proper performance of measures once specified and installed thereby assuring that energy and environmental benefits to energy codes are realized by building owners and occupants, and Improve enforcement through partnerships and support of innovative enforcement practices by local governments. 

For further discussion of this topic, see Research Teams and Partnerships Trends in the Chemical Sciences, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1999 Reducing die Time from Basic Research to Innovation in die Chemical Sciences, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., in press, 2003. 

Like the old PNGV program, Freedom CAR will be a public-private partnership, combining DOE s National Labs with industry and innovations at the nation s universities. 

A collaboration between industrial players and research organisations was set up to enhance the innovative research on fuel cells within the Flemish region. This partnership is financed with public and private funds and started in June 2003 with 12 companies. 

In 1999, the Ministry of Research, in association with the Ministry of Industry, created the Fuel Cell Technological Research Network (PACo network) to contribute to French energy policy for the development of new energy sources. The purposes of the network were to foster creativity and innovation needed for the commercial development of fuel cells and to encourage public-private partnerships and facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation. In July 2000, the government launched CNRT (Centre National de Recherche Tech nolog ique) in Belfort-Montbeliard, involving the construction of a fuel cell test platform dedicated to transport applications. The fiiel cell test capacities have demonstrated power up to 200 kW. 

CTSA projects promote effective, efficient change through constructive partnerships Businesses that participate in voluntary DfE initiatives demonstrate their commitment to continuous environmental improvement. The result is effective and efficient change founded in the requisite expertise to identify innovative solntions. 

---