The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the French Institut Mines Télécom (IMT) are deepening their partnership in the fields of hydrogen, cybersecurity and smart cities. Both partners signed a memorandum of understanding at VivaTech 2026. The goal is to join forces to advance strategic research and innovation projects and to strengthen Europe's technological and digital sovereignty.
The partnership establishes a formal framework for new joint research initiatives, closer collaboration among researchers and the preparation of strategic European innovation projects. “Now more than ever, Europe needs strong partnerships in research and innovation to maintain its technological sovereignty, competitiveness and resilience,” says Axel Müller-Groeling, Executive Board Member for Research Infrastructures and Digital Transformation at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. “Fraunhofer and the Institut Mines-Télécom are pooling their complementary expertise in strategic future areas, with a clear focus on tangible European innovation projects. In this partnership, it is also crucial how we work together: We want to build trust and systemically leverage synergies to demonstrate that European partnerships are effective and forward-looking.”
Cécile Dubarry, Executive president of IMT: “Together with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, we are bringing together two institutions that share the same DNA: putting applied-based research directly at the service of business competitiveness. From hydrogen to smart cities and mobility, and from cybersecurity to data spaces, this partnership draws on a scientific and regional network spanning both our countries to jointly develop solutions of European significance. Building on an already proven track record of cooperation with Fraunhofer and a decade of commitment to supporting French-German cooperation, IMT is taking this relationship to the next level by broadening the scope of collaboration to include concrete industrial projects. This is a decisive step towards shared technological sovereignty, which underpins the strategic autonomy and prosperity of our continent.”
The two organizations have previously collaborated on the French-German Al lndustry Executives' Dialogue The new partnership focuses on three additional areas of significant societal and economic importance:
The goal is to decarbonize energy-intensive sectors such as industry, transportation and energy systems through renewable hydrogen technologies. To that end, both partners are pooling their expertise across the entire hydrogen value chain. Potential areas of focus range from production, storage and conversion of renewable hydrogen via electrolysis processes and fuel cell technologies to power-to-X technologies.
Another focus is on secure digital systems. The partners are collaborating on solutions to protect critical infrastructure and detect fake news, as well as on sovereign, industry-specific data spaces, trusted hardware and interoperable digital security systems.
To build the sustainable and resilient cities of tomorrow, the two research organizations aim to develop digital solutions ranging from urban data platforms and digital twins to AI-powered transportation and services. Data spaces, interoperability, the standardization of data and interfaces, and decision-support systems all play an important role in this context.
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft