50 ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • stage, where we only collect and present ideas. Then comes a prefeasibility stage, which is followed by a feasibility development stage.” This ensures that only the most valuable ideas are retained. For thinking out of the box there is another method: the so called ballerina program. “We set aside some limited funds so that our young engineers can develop crazy ideas,” says Jean-François. "This often results in ideas for new products, new processes or process steps. We ask them to challenge the existing, the status quo, the...we used to do it like that." Cooperation with universities and research institutes is especially near to the heart of the R&D head. “Coming from the university, that’s in my blood.” For example, Mersen is conducting research with the University of Aalborg in Denmark on the subject of material fatigue in semiconductors fuse and other components. Renewable energies and electric vehicles as drivers The mega trends of renewable energies and electric vehicles are key factors that drive Mersen EP thus research & development. “This means that DC applications are becoming more and more important,” Jean-François underlines. Solutions currently under development include but not limited to: protection for direct current distribution, energy storage applications, Electrical vehicle and charging stations. Question: How long does it take to develop a new product? JeanFrançois smiles. “I’ll give you my standard reply: It depends.” Some developments take four or five years, like EV projects recently. Others are ready to launch in only 12 to 18 months. More important than the duration of the development process is the customer’s satisfaction with the product afterwards and sales due to this new line of products. “Our goal in Research & Development is to hear no more about the product when the product is release to production” says the R&D head, smiling. “Because that means we have done a good job i.e. there is no problem with quality, production or performance. That is what we, R&D, Marketing, Sales, Quality and Operation strive for.” One cannot cheat physics In order to “hear no more” about a product development in the long term requires product tests. Mersen conducts these tests in the company’s own wellequipped test lab in Saint Bonnet near Lyon, in the Newburyport lab and the Shanghai limited performance lab. Labs, which are also part of Mersen’s R&D departments, is where product developments – both proprietary products from Mersen and thirdparty products – are put through their limits. This incorruptible testing also provides security for the R&D department. “One cannot cheat physics, which also means one cannot cheat at lab tests,” says Jean-François. “Mersen is very proud of its long history and its reputation as an innovative company,” Jean-François emphasises. The strength of this reputation is evident not only in the fact that customers use the brand names as synonyms for the product, but also in the respect shown by the competitors. “I am a member of the IEC Standardisation Committee,” the R&D head adds. “And whenever I talk to my colleagues and competitors, they always have the greatest respect for Mersen and recognise us as an innovative enterprise.” https://ep.mersen.com/ IsoMAXX cold plates ensure that the power electronics operate in the best possible temperature range. In the test laboratory in Saint Bonnet, among other things, long-term tests are carried out on a 3MVA resistance test bench. Industry News
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