AKKA Transforms Mobility: Creation of the Company SICEF, a New Key Stage in the Development of the Flexmove Project

BRUSSELS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

The AKKA Group (Paris:AKA) (BSE:AKA) (ISIN:FR0004180537), European leader in engineering consultancy and R&D services in the mobility sector, is announcing today the achievement of a key milestone in its Flexmove project, the multimodal mobility service launched in January 2020. The project has at its core an electric vehicle that can be driven like a normal car on the road, but which can also move on rail tracks thanks to a special tyre-to-tracks technology. A significant number of AKKA’s top automotive and rail experts are working on the Flexmove project and have validated the technical feasibility of the road-rail system for which several patents have been filed, notably for the revolutionary multi-support guidance system adaptable to all types of passenger vehicles or vans.

The relevance of this project in addressing societal and environmental issues as well as the profitability of its economic model have attracted the interest of initial investors grouped in the Société d’Ingénierié, de Construction et d’Exploitation de la Ferromobile (SICEF). SICEF was founded by a group of mobility enthusiasts alongside AKKA Technologies, firmly convinced of the relevance of the Flexmove system.

Under the memorandum of understanding for the creation of SICEF, the parties have agreed that AKKA would transfer the project concept and technology, valued at several tens of millions of euros, to SICEF.

Mauro Ricci, Chairman and CEO of AKKA Technologies states: “We are delighted with this new step in the Flexmove project, which proves that AKKA’s decision to allocate its talents to disruptive in-house R&D projects is value-creating. This project has enabled a large number of our engineers to develop their skills in key areas of expertise for the Group’s goal of diversifying, such as signalling and railway safety. I am convinced that SICEF will enable us to accelerate the development and implementation of Flexmove, while AKKA remains the exclusive engineering company of the project.”

This success illustrates the mission of AKKA Research: to stimulate industrial innovation for AKKA’s clients, by offering them disruptive projects that will enable them to remain at the cutting edge of new technologies. This project fits coherently into the innovation portfolio of AKKA Research, whose projects focus in particular on electric mobility and decarbonization of the environment by rethinking the footprint of existing infrastructures through the contribution of new technologies.

ABOUT AKKA TECHNOLOGIES

AKKA is the European leader in engineering consulting and R&D services in the mobility segment. As an innovation accelerator for its clients, AKKA supports leading industry players in the automotive, aerospace, rail and life sciences sectors throughout the life cycle of their products with cutting edge digital technologies (AI, ADAS, IoT, Big Data, robotics, embedded computing, machine learning, etc.).

Founded in 1984, AKKA has a strong entrepreneurial culture and is pursuing its fast-paced growth and international development in line with its CLEAR 2022 strategic plan. With 22,000 employees, who are passionate about technology and dedicated to advancing the future of industry, the Group recorded revenues of €1.8 billion in 2019.

Following the completion of the friendly take-over bid of Data Respons launched in January 2020, AKKA now holds 100% of the company’s shares; with the success of this operation, AKKA leverages the most comprehensive portfolio of digital solutions in Europe to harness the growing demand from its customers in the mobility sector.

AKKA Technologies is listed on Euronext Paris and Brussels – Segment A – ISIN code: FR0004180537.

For more information, please visit www.akka-technologies.com

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Next release: 2020 Annual Results: Wednesday 17 March 2021