Research and Development

For an advanced technology company such as Saft, research and development are part of an ongoing movement. The Group is constantly building on its achievements, to improve existing products and implement new technologies as customers' needs evolve.

The R&D effort was maintained and strengthened in 2009, despite the economic downturn, with an expenditure of €37 million, a 6% increase as compared to 2C08. This represents 6.6% of total sales, markedly up from the 5.6% of the preceding year. At end 2009, the Group employed 365 people in R&D, supported when necessary win external resources. Product development has the larger share of the technical effort, with employees at all major production sites working to develop new generic products and to integrate custom designs in batteries. Saft's research is principally carried out in Bordeaux (France) with a smaller team located in Cockeysville, Maryland (USA). Research results are available to development teams throughout the Group. Saft and its joint venture Johnson Controls-Saft benefit from synergies in their research and development work, in areas such as electrochemical studies and cooperation with suppliers.

In keeping with Saft's strategic vision, research work focuses increasingly on emerging energy storage markets. 

Work on "generic" research topics, upstream of applications, continues to keep pace with the scientific advances in the field. Lithium-ion technology has become considerably more diverse, and Saft has adapted its capacities to analyse and evaluate new chemistries. Advanced materials research is devoted to finding innovative solutions, through combinations of existing materials and working with suppliers to synthesise new materials. Saft is also involved in research on algorithms that optimise battery utilisation. These research programmes define principles and outline pathways for product development.

Saft battery technology is well known for its robustness and long life. These characteristics are important criteria for all product development programmes, and Saft engineers analyse the consequences of the design evolutions of existing battery systems to ensure that their performance is maintained or improved. The challenge for the coming years will be to go further and significantly extend the useful life of rechargeable batteries.

With its planned investments in manufacturing facilities in the United States the Group has reached an important milestone in the development of lithium-ion batteries. In this perspective of large-scale production Saft will pursue research to lay the ground for the next generation of lithium-ion technology.