Together for another three years in the name of research: Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Pirelli, and Ferruccio Resta, Rector of the Milan Polytechnic, today signed the renewal of the Joint Labs agreement, the partnership born in 2011 for the development of innovative solutions in the tire sector. Use of nanofillers for the production of low environmental impact tyres, study of mathematical models to support the Cyber Tire and development of innovative materials capable of protecting the tire from ageing: these are some of the challenges that Pirelli and the Polytechnic will face together in the coming three years and which represent the pillars of the agreement that binds the two entities. Supporting Marco Tronchetti Provera and Ferruccio Resta in signing the agreement, which took place in the Great Hall of the Milan Polytechnic, were Gianantonio Magnani, president of the Milan Polytechnic Foundation, and Maurizio Boiocchi, Executive Vice President and Strategic Advisor Technology Pirelli.
The collaboration between the Milan Polytechnic and Pirelli dates back a long way, when in 1870, fresh out of the Polytechnic, Giovanni Battista Pirelli was directed by one of his teachers, Giuseppe Colombo, towards the chemical industry and, more specifically, towards the production of eraser. Giovanni Battista Pirelli was thus the first in Italy to introduce the industry of processing this material, founding the company Pirelli & C in 1872. Over the years, numerous collaborations have been activated between the Milanese university and Pirelli, with the aim to exploit the synergies deriving from the academic activity applied to the business world. Among the various joint Pirelli-Polytechnic initiatives, Corecom (Milan optical switching processing research consortium) should be mentioned which, founded in 1995, is among the first public-private consortia born in Italy and has been a protagonist in the development of photonics at an international level. A story of successful projects that will continue for the next few years: “Today – declared Tronchetti Provera – more and more innovating and doing research is not an “optional” but a “must”. Anyone who does not comply, leaves the scene. Who does not invest is not competitive. Whoever starts investing first has the greatest advantages on the markets. The challenges that our sector, the automotive sector, is experiencing are getting bigger and bigger. We are going through an unprecedented transformation, where automation and connectivity are the masters. In such a dynamic context it is essential to work closely with the most advanced research institutions and universities in the world, and the Polytechnic is certainly one of these"
Collaboration between the Milan Polytechnic, the Polytechnic Foundation and Pirelli has been intense over the past six years, generating no less than nine patent families filed and over 20 publications of articles in international scientific journals. The agreement also made it possible to achieve important results in terms of tire performance, its level of safety and sustainability, thanks to the use of advanced materials. In particular, 15 research grants have been activated for young graduates in the materials chemistry sector and 2 doctorates are already responsible for some projects at Pirelli. “The collaboration between Pirelli and our university - underlined the rector Resta - is solid, confirming that research and innovation, university and business go hand in hand and that together they know how to meet the challenges that await us. Among these, a central role will be played by mobility, called to redesign not only technological horizons, but entire urban contexts".
