05/18/2011 10h17

Saab opens research center on region of ABC

Valor Econômico

Investe São Paulo

The Swedish Saab took the first step towards the creation of a network of innovation and contracting of high technology projects in Brazil. With initial investments of US$ 50 million, the company opens today, in São Bernardo do Campo (SP), the Swedish-Brazilian Research and Innovation Center (CISB), a not-for-profit economic association that already has nearly 20 partners in each country and 26 projects under discussion. The initial focus of the CISB, according to the President of Saab, Hakan Buskhe, will be focused on the areas of transports and logistics, defense and security, energy and sustainability and urban innovation for the future. "More areas may be added over time and innovation is a need in several areas, including information and communication technologies (ICT), nanotechnology, material science and biotechnology", he said.

Among the partners that have already committed to join the CISB, 25% belong to the Government, 25% to the industry and 50% to universities and research institutes in Brazil and Sweden. Swedish companies Volvo and Scania and the Brazilian Vale Soluções em Energia (VSE) are also partners of the CISB. VSE and Scania, for example, are working together in the development of ethanol-run engines and Volvo do Brasil, in partnership with the Swedish headquarters, works on the project of a hybrid bus. A recent collaboration between the German Space Agency (DLR), the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and Embraer, aiming at the development of more efficient aeronautical structures, should also be extended to the CISB of São Bernardo do Campo, said the President of Saab. Another opportunity for cooperation, according to him, regards the Brazilian Atmos and Atech, which develop surveillance programs and monitoring of borders. "There are also other interesting possibilities in the naval area, such as the development of a coastal radar for the detection of small vessels", he explained.

Besides the initial investment of US$ 50 million made by Saab, the CISB should be maintained with the collaboration of its members. Buskhe explains the networks of articulation and the resources of research and technology of the partners will be the basis for the activities of the CISB. Besides Saab, according to Director of the CISB, Bruno Rondani, the activities and projects developed by the Center will be funded with public resources of support for the science and technology and innovation of Sweden and Brazil. Foreign partners of the CISB, such as the Swedish Volvo and the Swedish Agency for Innovation (Vinnova), as well as members of the Center, will integrate of the Administrative Council and the thematic committees to decide the focus of the activities and projects, as well as they will be active in specific projects. "The CISB will be a single arena that will integrate the works among Government, industry, universities and the international borders to develop innovative solutions for the new challenges demanded by the users", explained Executive of Saab.

Buskhe stresses out the CISB will be an important bridge for the Brazilian industry in the European and global markets. Saab, he said, has plans to establish similar R&D centers in other regions of the world, but each will be adapted to the specific local conditions. "Here in Brazil we are focused on open innovation processes, while in India the approach involves the cooperation around the resources of the local engineering".