CRF
Profile: Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF) is one of the main private research centre in Italy. It was founded in 1978, with the mission to develop and transfer innovative products, processes and methodologies in order to improve the competitiveness of the products of FIATChrysler Automobiles (FCA). Also through the cooperation with a pan-European and increasingly global network of more than 1800 partners from industry and academia, CRF conducts collaborative research initiatives at the national and international levels in partnership with all the key public and private stakeholders concerned with sustainable mobility, targeting specifically the industrial exploitation of research.
With a workforce of approximately 900 full-time professionals, CRF develops research and innovation along the three principal axes of sustainability: Environmental Sustainability, which encompasses all aspects relating to energy efficiency as well as to the reduction of the impact on the environment over the entire lifecycle of the vehicle, from design to manufacturing, logistics and usage; Social Sustainability, focusing on the safety of our operators in the manufacturing and logistics processes, of our clients through the development of active, passive, preventive and cooperative solutions; Economically sustainable competitiveness, oriented towards viable innovation, i.e., improving the performance and functionality of the supply chain, the production systems and the vehicles in a cost-effective manner while reducing the time-tomarket of research results.
The CRF research activities imply strategic competences in the fields of manufacturing, advanced materials, ICT and electronics, automotive engineering and a wide range of state-of-the-art laboratories and extensive test facilities, including advanced logistics and manufacturing labs, engine & vehicle testing facilities, EMC chambers and a dynamic driving simulator with immersive virtual reality. CRF participates with a leading role in the European “Green Vehicle Initiative” and “Factories of the Future”, the Public Private Partnerships conceived by the European Commission in 2009 to focus public and private research on issues of direct and significant relevance to the Europe with regard to the competitiveness of industry and employment. Within this context, CRF is also actively involved in key European Technology Platforms including: ERTRAC (road transport), EPOSS (smart systems), EUMAT (materials), MANUFUTURE (manufacturing), each of which has proved to be particularly effective at bringing together key stakeholders within an integrated approach to research and innovation.
Expertise and Role in CONCORDIA: In CONCORDIA, CRF will provide a pilot in the field of the outbound logistics of the electric vehicle from a plant in Italy. As a contributor to the WP CRF will coordinate the development of the use cases, provide and manage a pilot applied on the outbound chain of a current FCA (FIAT Chrysler Automobiles) plant in Italy. Accordingly CRF will derive the FCA requirements, giving the basis for the methodological development in the other WPs. CRF will provide the relevant infrastructure, data and involve the adequate staff in the plant(s) to test the platform on the identified use case. Furthermore CRF will provide an analysis of the business case for the successful introduction of the CONCORDIA output to the Automotive sector and a roadmap for the industrialization of the results in the FCA context.
Links: CRF