RENAULT SAS

Their core work

Renault is a major French automotive manufacturer that brings deep vehicle engineering expertise to EU research consortia, spanning powertrain development (diesel, gas, hybrid, electric), automated and connected driving systems, and advanced battery technologies. In H2020, they contribute real-world vehicle platforms, testing infrastructure, and manufacturing know-how to validate research outputs at industrial scale. Their participation covers the full spectrum of automotive transformation — from cleaning up combustion engines to deploying fuel cell vehicles, piloting autonomous driving on European roads, and developing next-generation solid-state batteries for electrification.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), Renault's portfolio was split between cleaning up internal combustion engines (diesel, gas, hybrid powertrains) and early hydrogen mobility deployment, alongside initial forays into smart manufacturing with digital twin and robotics projects. From 2019 onward, there is a decisive pivot toward electrification (solid-state batteries, lithium-sulphur, charging infrastructure), large-scale automated driving pilots, and industrial cybersecurity — reflecting the broader automotive industry's shift away from combustion. The combustion-era projects essentially disappear after 2018, replaced by electric vehicle and connected driving work.

Renault is moving firmly toward electric vehicle battery innovation and large-scale connected automated driving deployment — future partners should align with these priorities rather than combustion-related work.

How they like to work

Renault exclusively participates as a consortium partner, never coordinating — they bring industrial validation capability and real vehicle platforms rather than project management. With 503 unique partners across 29 countries and a mix of large Innovation Actions (14 IAs) and Research & Innovation Actions (10 RIAs), they operate as a high-value industrial anchor in big consortia. Their consistent participation across diverse topics makes them a reliable, well-connected partner, though consortia should expect them to contribute use cases and testing rather than lead the research agenda.

Renault has built one of the broadest partner networks among automotive OEMs in H2020, with 503 unique consortium partners spanning 29 countries — a truly pan-European collaborative footprint. Their network is particularly dense in Western Europe, with strong ties to German, Spanish, and Dutch automotive and research ecosystems.

What sets them apart

Renault is one of the few major European OEMs that maintained active H2020 participation across all three automotive transformation pillars simultaneously: electrification, automated driving, and smart manufacturing. Unlike tier-1 suppliers or research institutes, they bring complete vehicle integration capability — projects can test outputs on real production platforms rather than lab prototypes. Their portfolio also uniquely bridges hydrogen (H2ME) and battery-electric (LISA, SAFELiMOVE) pathways, giving them cross-technology perspective that most partners lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• L3Pilot
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 2M) — a flagship automated driving pilot testing Level 3 automation on European roads with multiple OEMs.
• 5GCroCo
  Pioneering cross-border 5G connectivity for cooperative automated driving, combining telecom infrastructure with automotive V2X at an unusually practical deployment level.
• SAFELiMOVE
  Targets solid-state lithium metal batteries — a potential breakthrough technology that could reshape EV range and safety if successfully industrialized.