Decorated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on the occasion of Day of the Throne in 2014, by < strong> Wissam of intellectual competence which is the highest distinction awarded Royal < strong> to scientist, it was the turn of François Hollande, on July 14, last, raising Rachid Yazami for the knight of the French legion of honor rank. The native of Fes arevolutionized energy storage battery by inventing a new technology lithium. This off- peer inventor answers questions from Industry of Morocco.
IDM: Why do not you operate from Morocco?
Because I have commitments in Singapore. I have a research team and a small startup company in which I have to deal with every day. However, even from Singapore, I try to participate in research projects in collaboration with Moroccan organizations.
what are assessment for R&D in Morocco?
Morocco faces many challenges in technology. R&D is not sufficiently well developed in the industrial sector. Thus the Morocco depends heavily on outside technologies, costing him dearly. To achieve a national R & D, it takes a lot of support from public authorities on innovative projects with an impact on the Moroccan economy. We must also train researchers, engineers and technicians of high level. This will take time but it is achievable if the political will is there. Morocco exports its expertise in Africa. This is probably the market of the future. Success depends on how Morocco will play its role as a technological transmission belt North-South and South-South
you have warned Morocco, for the purchase of Chinese electric buses. Why?
The Chinese have made significant progress in battery mass production of lithium. However, their policy to invade the world market as fast as possible is sometimes accompanied by compromise on the quality of batteries and their safety. This summer, the temperature exceeded 52ºC in the shade in many areas in Morocco. A running battery gets hotter than the ambient temperature, so the temperature can rise beyond 65-70 ºC which accelerates the deterioration of batteries without forgetting the possibility of thermal runaway leading to a fire or battery to explode. This scenario is likely if the quality of the batteries is not good and that the cooling system is not effective. So alert!
what do you propose as an expert in this field?
I suggested that, prior to electric buses in circulation for the public, preliminary tests of 6 months should be conducted especially during the summer. I also suggested that electric bus systems should be the last to be introduced into the electromobility market and start with smaller systems such as bicycles, scooters and small electric cars , because the amount of batteries is lower, and therefore the thermal risk as well.
what are your next projects?
Continuing my research on intelligent batteries, using the ” big data ” and ” connected systems “. I also work on a refillable electric car project and a new generation of batteries for hearing aids.
is there ministerial post in the next government that you would like?
I’m not a politician. I think I can contribute to the technical development of Morocco continuing to do what interests me most, scientific research.
Interview by Abderrafie Srati
