On June 29, Jeremy Rifkin, an American economic, political and social advisor (wikipedia) visited our future laboratory, the Energy Hub. Jeremy Rifkin is since 2013 the architect of a new economic vision for the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. A pioneering region of the first industrial revolution, Nord Pas de Calais has been economically devastated by the second. Rifkin’s master plan now wants to give a chance to the region in the third industrial revolution (or rev3) that is currently underway (collaborative economy, renewable energies ...).

Despite some disagreements (wind vs. nuclear), Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France Region wanted to extend this project to the former Picardy Region. A chance for our work on batteries and supercapacitors which fits the project very well!

To achieve this expansion, Jeremy Rifkin has embarked on a tour of two days between Arras, Compiegne and Amiens. It was in this city that Mathieu Morcrette welcomed him at the foot of the Energy Hub, the future headquarters of RS2E. In a future research lab M. Morcrette presented our research and technology transfer activities in energy storage (sodium-ion, lithium-ion batteries...) and the international economic context with the recent announcements of battery manufacturers like Tesla.

Jeremy Rifkin declared himself very impressed by his visit: « I’m in awe of what I saw in Amiens. We have a very promising goldmine for partnerships in European programs linked to the third industrial revolution. »