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HYBRID AIR: A HUMAN ADVENTURE
OCTOBER 2009 - FOUR ENGINEERS HAD A GREAT IDEA.
Are we ready?
Can you see me? Hear me? Here we go!
8 months to do it.
A car from blank page to board presentation.
"I want it for June 2010."
It was unbelievable.
WE NEEDED PEOPLE, SKILLS, AND A PLACE TO WORK IN PEACE.
I STOPPED A LOT OF PROJECTS TO FOCUS 100% ON HYBRID AIR.
There was a real commando mindset.
We started off with a small team which grew.
Little by little, we saw the project become substantial.
I was told we needed to make a hybrid car.
I was given a day to decide.
I said yes.
Yes! Let's go for it.
APRIL 2010 - WE PRESENTED A STATIC MODEL,
AND AN IDEA.
We presented a life-size plastic model.
It quickly won over management. The pressure was on.
TESTS BEGAN. 3 TEAMS AT 3 SITES WERE ON THE PROJECT.
We started in a Vélizy basement on a wooden plank.
We didn't know how it would go.
I remember the synergy we had in our closed circuit.
The first test, carried out for the whole executive committee,
only took two minutes - the car started!
- It went well. - A success.
JUNE 2010 -
THE INNOVATION COMMITTEE.
Some people worked all night for the project.
We had to make a working prototype.
That meant all-nighters and intense work.
We considered many ideas
and ended up with the right solution.
WE WERE GIVEN ONE WEEK TO PROVE THE TECH WAS REALISTIC AND VIABLE.
A START-UP WAS BORN.
We worked like a start-up, with lots of freedom
to make decisions and take risks.
What impresses me every day
is that my technician colleagues can find solutions for everything.
It's quite splendid.
This project's strength is the people.
JANUARY 2011 - WE MOVED TO CARRIÈRES-SOUS-POISSY.
We all signed a confidentiality agreement
which forbade us from even saying we were on the project.
They put plastic film on the windows so we couldn't be seen from outside.
Once outside, we were as light-sensitive as vampires.
Before January 22, my family, my children,
didn't know what I had been working on for the past year and a half.
EARLY 2012 -
WE REALIZED BOSCH WAS WORKING IN THIS AREA.
It was in our best interest to work together
to see how to get these technologies to market.
We've been in touch with PSA from the start.
The project brings three words to mind:
creativity, efficiency, and enthusiasm.
IN THE FOLLOWING MONTHS, MANAGEMENT GAVE US A STANDING OVATION,
BUT WE STILL HAD MUCH WORK TO DO.
Knowing we'd fully met the goal was pure joy.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
The greatest pride will come when we can buy and drive the car
on a family trip.
Being there from start to finish, and then really driving one.
HYBRID AIR IS 180 MOTIVATED PEOPLE
WHO ARE WITH US TODAY,
AND THE SAGA IS FAR FROM OVER.