Chrysler 2009 Annual Report Download - page 47

REPORT ON
OPERATIONS
RESEARCH
AND INNOVATION
46
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
To promote sustainable mobility on multiple fronts, the Fiat Group conducts its research and innovation activities through the Centro Ricerche Fiat (C.R.F.)
and Elasis, which are coordinated at strategic level by the Group Executive Council.
Development activities are primarily carried out on behalf of the various Sectors.
In 2009, expenditure on research and development1 totalled approximately €1.7 billion, equivalent to 3.5% of net revenues from industrial activities.
Approximately 14,000 people are dedicated to R&D activities at more than 117 centres.
CENTRO RICERCHE FIAT (C.R.F.)
Profile
C.R.F. was established in 1978 as the Group’s centre of expertise for innovation, research and development. Now an internationally recognized centre
of excellence, C.R.F.’s work constitutes a strategic lever for the Group’s businesses, enhancing performance through the development and transfer of
innovative content which makes the Group’s products both competitive and distinctive.
In addition to its headquarters in Orbassano on the outskirts of Turin, C.R.F. has three other centres located in Bari, Trento and Foggia, as well as a
controlling interest in CRP, the plastics and optics research centre in Udine, which focuses on advanced research in optics and plastics for automotive
lighting systems. C.R.F. also works in close synergy with CSST, the centre for the study of transportation systems in Turin. With around 800 employees,
C.R.F. draws on a broad array of technical skills, in addition to a series of state-of-the-art laboratories for testing powertrain systems and electromagnetic
compatibility, conducting NVH analyses and driving simulations, and developing materials and processes, optoelectronics and microtechnologies.
C.R.F. has achieved significant results over the years, as demonstrated by the 29 new patent applications filed in 2009, bringing the total number of patents
it holds to over 2,300, with a further 500 patents currently pending. At international level, C.R.F. has had more than 70 projects approved under the EU’s
Seventh Framework Programme for 2007-2013. Its status as a well-recognised European research centre together with its recognised expertise in systems
and extensive presence throughout Italy have also led to its participation in many public-private partnerships (PPPs) set up to focus public and private
research on areas of common interest such as industrial applications both at the national level (Basilicata Campus, Abruzzo, Cassino) and European level
(Green Car Initiative, Factories of the Future). C.R.F. has also developed a global network of more than 160 universities and research centres, and more
than 1,000 industrial partners around the world. This network further strengthens the centre’s global innovation strategies, the implementation of specific
activities locally, creation of know-how and continuous monitoring to enhance competitiveness and further development in areas such as motor vehicles
and components, energy, safe and ecological mobility, telematics, innovative materials and application technologies, mechatronics and optics, as well as
the work on innovative powerplants, alternative propulsion systems and transmissions (conducted through the Powertrain Research and Technology unit
of FPT Powertrain Technologies).
Further information is available at www.crf.it
(1) Includes capitalised R&D expenditure and R&D charged directly to the income statement.