From the Workshop to the Track: ÉTS Students Push the Limits of Electric Motorcycle Performance with Support from PLACIDE and Milwaukee
COMETS is developing its next-generation prototype for MotoStudent 9 in Spain, with more than 80% of the tools used by the team coming from Milwaukee.
Beloeil, Canada, October 14, 2026 --(PR.com)-- Designing an electric motorcycle capable of reaching 206 km/h, developing its own electronic and aerodynamic systems, manufacturing its components and putting them to the test on an international race track: for the members of COMETS, the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) electric motorcycle team, competition is about much more than racing. It is an engineering laboratory where students turn their knowledge into real-world solutions.
To support this work, Outillage Placide Mathieu (PLACIDE) and Milwaukee provide the team with professional-grade tools and hands-on expertise. Today, more than 80% of the tools used by COMETS are Milwaukee products, supporting students both in their workshops in Quebec and at international competitions in Spain.
As development of the team's next-generation motorcycle gets underway, COMETS is preparing to return to Spain in October 2027 for MotoStudent 9, an international competition expected to bring together more than 100 teams on a MotoGP-level circuit.
An Electric Motorcycle as an Engineering Laboratory
COMETS brings together approximately 40 members, including 25 active members, organized across seven technical departments and three management departments.
This structure reflects the complexity of a project that brings together multiple engineering disciplines. Students work on areas including:
motorcycle dynamics and geometry;
chassis, suspension and braking;
power transmission and motor systems;
aerodynamics;
cooling of the motor, batteries and inverter;
high-voltage systems;
printed circuit boards and low-voltage systems;
ECU systems;
microcontroller programming;
data acquisition and analysis.
The project gives students the opportunity to take part in the complete vehicle development cycle: designing, simulating, manufacturing, assembling, testing, measuring and optimizing.
On the track, the engineering decisions made in the workshop ultimately have to prove their value under real-world conditions.
Atlas: 206 km/h and 60 kW
COMETS' current prototype, Atlas, is a concrete demonstration of this approach.
The motorcycle reaches a top speed of 206 km/h, delivers 60 kW of power and weighs approximately 140 kg.
To achieve this level of performance, the team developed, among other components, a CNC-machined aluminum structure, pre-impregnated carbon-fiber components, and a range of control and data-acquisition systems.
Thermal management is also a major engineering challenge. COMETS has a dedicated department focused on cooling the motor, batteries and inverter, while data collected from the motorcycle allows students to analyze its behavior and guide further improvements.
The objective is therefore not simply to go faster. It is to develop a motorcycle that is more powerful, more reliable and better understood and controlled by the team.
Professional Tools That Follow the Team to the Track
The partnership between PLACIDE and Milwaukee is directly integrated into COMETS' day-to-day work.
More than 80% of the tools used by the team are Milwaukee tools.
Students use M18 impact drivers and drills, an M12 blower, an M12 polisher and an M18 random orbital sander.
PACKOUT modular storage and transport systems are also an important part of the team's organization. COMETS has four PACKOUT towers used by its different departments to organize and transport equipment.
The tools also travel with the team to competitions.
The M12 blower, for example, can be used to cool the motorcycle between track sessions. The M12 polisher and M18 random orbital sander are used to prepare and polish molds for pre-impregnated carbon-fiber components.
The tools have therefore become an integral part of the development process, allowing students to manufacture, adjust, prepare, maintain and modify their prototype, including in the demanding environment of international competition.
A New Motorcycle in Development for 2027
While Atlas continues its development journey, COMETS is already working on its next-generation prototype.
The team is currently completing its design phase and plans to begin manufacturing in November 2026.
The new motorcycle will include:
a fully carbon-fiber structural chassis;
a structural flax-fiber subframe;
a complete aerodynamic package designed and simulated by COMETS members.
The objective is to create a more stable and reliable platform that will support the optimization stages that follow.
The new motorcycle is expected to compete at MotoStudent 9 in Spain in October 2027.
With more than 100 teams expected from different countries, the event will give students another opportunity to test their engineering decisions against those of international teams.
A Partnership That Extends Beyond the Workshop
For COMETS, the partnership with PLACIDE and Milwaukee goes beyond the tools themselves.
During its most recent competition in Spain, the team was able to represent its partners directly at the competition venue, including through Milwaukee apparel and the visible use of Milwaukee equipment and PACKOUT systems.
This presence helped generate interest among other participating teams.
The partnership gives students the opportunity to represent a professional tool brand in an international environment, while providing PLACIDE and Milwaukee with a tangible presence in a setting where students and future engineers put their tools to the test every day.
“This partnership gives us much more than equipment. It allows us to use professional tools every day that meet the demands of our project, while also giving us visibility with other teams and international partners. At our last competition in Spain, we were proud to represent Milwaukee and PLACIDE right there on the track.” -Alexis Philippe, Mechanical Captain, COMETS Electric Motorcycle Team
Developing Engineers Through Hands-On Experience
Behind the motorcycle is an experience that mirrors many of the realities future engineers will encounter throughout their careers.
Students must work within a defined budget, meet deadlines, collaborate across disciplines, manufacture their own components, analyze data and solve technical problems that are sometimes unexpected.
The seven technical departments allow COMETS members to develop an understanding of how the different systems of an electric vehicle interact.
This technical expertise is complemented by responsibilities related to management, finance, marketing and communications.
Competition therefore becomes a professional development experience in which students must not only know how to design a solution, but also how to manufacture it, test it, defend it and improve it.
A Partnership Supporting the Next Generation of Engineers
The support provided by PLACIDE and Milwaukee to COMETS is part of a broader commitment to the next generation of technology professionals at ÉTS.
The two partners have also supported other student teams, including OMER, which specializes in autonomous submarine design, and Chinook, in aerospace engineering.
These projects operate in very different fields, but share a common reality: students must turn engineering concepts into functional prototypes capable of meeting real-world requirements.
OMER: Another Demonstration of the Potential of Student Engineering
The partnership with OMER illustrates this broader commitment.
In 2025, OMER stood out at the International Submarine Races in Washington, D.C., earning several distinctions and setting a world speed record of 7.68 knots.
Milwaukee tools were used for various fabrication, assembly, adjustment and maintenance tasks.
For PLACIDE, supporting these teams is a concrete way to contribute to the development of future professionals while maintaining a strong connection with the realities of industry.
“At PLACIDE, we believe expertise is built both in the classroom and in the field. Supporting teams such as COMETS, OMER and other student projects allows us to bring future engineers closer to the realities of industry and give them access to professional tools in projects where they can truly put their skills to the test. Seeing this partnership follow them all the way to international competitions is a great source of pride for us.” -Vincent Mathieu, General Manager, Outillage Placide Mathieu
From the Workshop to the Track: Preparing for the Future of Mobility
Electric mobility presents challenges that go well beyond the motor itself. Weight, performance, thermal management, reliability, electronics, data acquisition and aerodynamics must all be developed as part of a cohesive system.
That complexity is precisely what makes competition such a demanding learning environment.
For COMETS, each new generation of motorcycle is an opportunity to challenge previous decisions, experiment with new solutions and push the limits of what a student team can design and manufacture.
For PLACIDE and Milwaukee, the partnership provides a concrete way to support this next generation by giving students access to professional tools and an environment that brings their education closer to the realities of the field.
From the ÉTS workshop to international race tracks, COMETS is turning electric motorcycle competition into a laboratory for innovation — and training, one motorcycle at a time, the engineers who will contribute to the mobility technologies of tomorrow.
COMETS by the Numbers
40 members
25 active members
7 technical departments
3 management departments
206 km/h — Atlas top speed
60 kW — Atlas power output
140 kg — approximate Atlas weight
80%+ of COMETS' tools are Milwaukee
4 PACKOUT towers
November 2026 — planned start of next prototype manufacturing
October 2027 — planned participation in MotoStudent 9
100+ teams expected
About COMETS
COMETS is a student team at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) dedicated to the design, manufacturing and development of fully electric racing motorcycles.
The team brings together students from different engineering and management disciplines around a multidisciplinary project covering design, manufacturing, electronics, programming, testing and international competition.
comets-ets.com
About PLACIDE
For more than 65 years, Outillage Placide Mathieu (PLACIDE) has supported professionals, businesses and organizations with their tooling, equipment and product needs.
Its approach is built on hands-on expertise, rigorous product selection and a commitment to being a true partner to professionals.
placide.com
About Milwaukee Tool
Milwaukee Tool develops professional-grade tools, equipment and accessories for professionals in skilled trades, construction and related industries.
milwaukeetool.ca
Media Contacts
Outillage Placide Mathieu
Marie Desjardins
Marketing Coordinator
marie@placide.com
+1 450 467-3565 x 227
COMETS – ÉTS
Alexis Philippe
Mechanical Captain
COMETS Electric Motorcycle Team
Alexis.philippe.2@ens.etsmtl.ca
Téléphone: 438-777-1745
https://linktr.ee/comets_emoto
To support this work, Outillage Placide Mathieu (PLACIDE) and Milwaukee provide the team with professional-grade tools and hands-on expertise. Today, more than 80% of the tools used by COMETS are Milwaukee products, supporting students both in their workshops in Quebec and at international competitions in Spain.
As development of the team's next-generation motorcycle gets underway, COMETS is preparing to return to Spain in October 2027 for MotoStudent 9, an international competition expected to bring together more than 100 teams on a MotoGP-level circuit.
An Electric Motorcycle as an Engineering Laboratory
COMETS brings together approximately 40 members, including 25 active members, organized across seven technical departments and three management departments.
This structure reflects the complexity of a project that brings together multiple engineering disciplines. Students work on areas including:
motorcycle dynamics and geometry;
chassis, suspension and braking;
power transmission and motor systems;
aerodynamics;
cooling of the motor, batteries and inverter;
high-voltage systems;
printed circuit boards and low-voltage systems;
ECU systems;
microcontroller programming;
data acquisition and analysis.
The project gives students the opportunity to take part in the complete vehicle development cycle: designing, simulating, manufacturing, assembling, testing, measuring and optimizing.
On the track, the engineering decisions made in the workshop ultimately have to prove their value under real-world conditions.
Atlas: 206 km/h and 60 kW
COMETS' current prototype, Atlas, is a concrete demonstration of this approach.
The motorcycle reaches a top speed of 206 km/h, delivers 60 kW of power and weighs approximately 140 kg.
To achieve this level of performance, the team developed, among other components, a CNC-machined aluminum structure, pre-impregnated carbon-fiber components, and a range of control and data-acquisition systems.
Thermal management is also a major engineering challenge. COMETS has a dedicated department focused on cooling the motor, batteries and inverter, while data collected from the motorcycle allows students to analyze its behavior and guide further improvements.
The objective is therefore not simply to go faster. It is to develop a motorcycle that is more powerful, more reliable and better understood and controlled by the team.
Professional Tools That Follow the Team to the Track
The partnership between PLACIDE and Milwaukee is directly integrated into COMETS' day-to-day work.
More than 80% of the tools used by the team are Milwaukee tools.
Students use M18 impact drivers and drills, an M12 blower, an M12 polisher and an M18 random orbital sander.
PACKOUT modular storage and transport systems are also an important part of the team's organization. COMETS has four PACKOUT towers used by its different departments to organize and transport equipment.
The tools also travel with the team to competitions.
The M12 blower, for example, can be used to cool the motorcycle between track sessions. The M12 polisher and M18 random orbital sander are used to prepare and polish molds for pre-impregnated carbon-fiber components.
The tools have therefore become an integral part of the development process, allowing students to manufacture, adjust, prepare, maintain and modify their prototype, including in the demanding environment of international competition.
A New Motorcycle in Development for 2027
While Atlas continues its development journey, COMETS is already working on its next-generation prototype.
The team is currently completing its design phase and plans to begin manufacturing in November 2026.
The new motorcycle will include:
a fully carbon-fiber structural chassis;
a structural flax-fiber subframe;
a complete aerodynamic package designed and simulated by COMETS members.
The objective is to create a more stable and reliable platform that will support the optimization stages that follow.
The new motorcycle is expected to compete at MotoStudent 9 in Spain in October 2027.
With more than 100 teams expected from different countries, the event will give students another opportunity to test their engineering decisions against those of international teams.
A Partnership That Extends Beyond the Workshop
For COMETS, the partnership with PLACIDE and Milwaukee goes beyond the tools themselves.
During its most recent competition in Spain, the team was able to represent its partners directly at the competition venue, including through Milwaukee apparel and the visible use of Milwaukee equipment and PACKOUT systems.
This presence helped generate interest among other participating teams.
The partnership gives students the opportunity to represent a professional tool brand in an international environment, while providing PLACIDE and Milwaukee with a tangible presence in a setting where students and future engineers put their tools to the test every day.
“This partnership gives us much more than equipment. It allows us to use professional tools every day that meet the demands of our project, while also giving us visibility with other teams and international partners. At our last competition in Spain, we were proud to represent Milwaukee and PLACIDE right there on the track.” -Alexis Philippe, Mechanical Captain, COMETS Electric Motorcycle Team
Developing Engineers Through Hands-On Experience
Behind the motorcycle is an experience that mirrors many of the realities future engineers will encounter throughout their careers.
Students must work within a defined budget, meet deadlines, collaborate across disciplines, manufacture their own components, analyze data and solve technical problems that are sometimes unexpected.
The seven technical departments allow COMETS members to develop an understanding of how the different systems of an electric vehicle interact.
This technical expertise is complemented by responsibilities related to management, finance, marketing and communications.
Competition therefore becomes a professional development experience in which students must not only know how to design a solution, but also how to manufacture it, test it, defend it and improve it.
A Partnership Supporting the Next Generation of Engineers
The support provided by PLACIDE and Milwaukee to COMETS is part of a broader commitment to the next generation of technology professionals at ÉTS.
The two partners have also supported other student teams, including OMER, which specializes in autonomous submarine design, and Chinook, in aerospace engineering.
These projects operate in very different fields, but share a common reality: students must turn engineering concepts into functional prototypes capable of meeting real-world requirements.
OMER: Another Demonstration of the Potential of Student Engineering
The partnership with OMER illustrates this broader commitment.
In 2025, OMER stood out at the International Submarine Races in Washington, D.C., earning several distinctions and setting a world speed record of 7.68 knots.
Milwaukee tools were used for various fabrication, assembly, adjustment and maintenance tasks.
For PLACIDE, supporting these teams is a concrete way to contribute to the development of future professionals while maintaining a strong connection with the realities of industry.
“At PLACIDE, we believe expertise is built both in the classroom and in the field. Supporting teams such as COMETS, OMER and other student projects allows us to bring future engineers closer to the realities of industry and give them access to professional tools in projects where they can truly put their skills to the test. Seeing this partnership follow them all the way to international competitions is a great source of pride for us.” -Vincent Mathieu, General Manager, Outillage Placide Mathieu
From the Workshop to the Track: Preparing for the Future of Mobility
Electric mobility presents challenges that go well beyond the motor itself. Weight, performance, thermal management, reliability, electronics, data acquisition and aerodynamics must all be developed as part of a cohesive system.
That complexity is precisely what makes competition such a demanding learning environment.
For COMETS, each new generation of motorcycle is an opportunity to challenge previous decisions, experiment with new solutions and push the limits of what a student team can design and manufacture.
For PLACIDE and Milwaukee, the partnership provides a concrete way to support this next generation by giving students access to professional tools and an environment that brings their education closer to the realities of the field.
From the ÉTS workshop to international race tracks, COMETS is turning electric motorcycle competition into a laboratory for innovation — and training, one motorcycle at a time, the engineers who will contribute to the mobility technologies of tomorrow.
COMETS by the Numbers
40 members
25 active members
7 technical departments
3 management departments
206 km/h — Atlas top speed
60 kW — Atlas power output
140 kg — approximate Atlas weight
80%+ of COMETS' tools are Milwaukee
4 PACKOUT towers
November 2026 — planned start of next prototype manufacturing
October 2027 — planned participation in MotoStudent 9
100+ teams expected
About COMETS
COMETS is a student team at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) dedicated to the design, manufacturing and development of fully electric racing motorcycles.
The team brings together students from different engineering and management disciplines around a multidisciplinary project covering design, manufacturing, electronics, programming, testing and international competition.
comets-ets.com
About PLACIDE
For more than 65 years, Outillage Placide Mathieu (PLACIDE) has supported professionals, businesses and organizations with their tooling, equipment and product needs.
Its approach is built on hands-on expertise, rigorous product selection and a commitment to being a true partner to professionals.
placide.com
About Milwaukee Tool
Milwaukee Tool develops professional-grade tools, equipment and accessories for professionals in skilled trades, construction and related industries.
milwaukeetool.ca
Media Contacts
Outillage Placide Mathieu
Marie Desjardins
Marketing Coordinator
marie@placide.com
+1 450 467-3565 x 227
COMETS – ÉTS
Alexis Philippe
Mechanical Captain
COMETS Electric Motorcycle Team
Alexis.philippe.2@ens.etsmtl.ca
Téléphone: 438-777-1745
https://linktr.ee/comets_emoto
Contact
Outillage Placide Mathieu
Marie Desjardins
1-450-467-3565
https://www.placide.com/en/
Alexis Philippe
Mechanical Captain
COMETS Electric Motorcycle Team
Alexis.philippe.2@ens.etsmtl.ca
Téléphone: 438-777-1745
https://linktr.ee/comets_emoto
Marie Desjardins
1-450-467-3565
https://www.placide.com/en/
Alexis Philippe
Mechanical Captain
COMETS Electric Motorcycle Team
Alexis.philippe.2@ens.etsmtl.ca
Téléphone: 438-777-1745
https://linktr.ee/comets_emoto
Contact
Multimedia
COMETS at the International Competition
Members of COMETS gather at the competition site, representing École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) and their partners on the international stage. Their participation reflects the teamwork, technical expertise and commitment required to design, build and compete with an electric racing motocycle.
Behind the Scenes: Preparing the moto for the Track
COMETS team members make final preparations to their electric motorcycle ahead of competition. From assembly and adjustments to technical checks, hands-on work and professional-grade tools play an essential role in bringing the team’s engineering ideas to life.
In Action: Pushing the Limits of Electric Motorcycle Performance
The COMETS electric motorcycle takes to the track, putting the team’s engineering, design and performance innovations to the test. With a top speed of 206 km/h and 60 kW of power, Atlas showcases the technical expertise and dedication of ÉTS students.
Categories