Accelerator Centre and NAVBLUE launch Aerospace Accelerator Program with Region of Waterloo

On Feb. 1, the Accelerator Centre and NAVBLUE, in collaboration with the Region of Waterloo, announced the launch of the inaugural Aerospace Accelerator Program. The program will run out of the Accelerator Centre’s space in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park and is designed to support and accelerate the development of innovative and sustainable aerospace solutions.

Applications for the Aerospace Accelerator Program are being accepted through Feb. 22, 2024. Selected companies will have access to potential test facilities, mentorship, networking opportunities and access to investment communities. The program aims to find companies whose solutions align with the Region of Waterloo’s aviation and aerospace priorities.

In a press release for the announcement, Karen Redman, Chair of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, said local partnerships, innovation, aerospace and the Region’s international airport are cornerstones for future economic growth.

“We are fortunate to be home to many world-class aviation and aerospace companies like NAVBLUE and are excited to partner with them and the Accelerator Centre to grow Waterloo Region’s aviation and aerospace cluster,” said Redman.

“We are fortunate to be home to many world-class aviation and aerospace companies like NAVBLUE and are excited to partner with them and the Accelerator Centre to grow Waterloo Region’s aviation and aerospace cluster.”

Karen Redmond, Chair, Region of Waterloo

While the new program’s focus on aviation and aerospace is a first for the Accelerator Centre, it is not the organization’s first collaboration with the Region of Waterloo. Tabatha Laverty, Vice President of Marketing and External Relations at the Accelerator Centre, said the new program evolved from their long-term partnership on innovation.

“We’ve been doing cleantech programming with support from the Region to foster the clean economy here locally, including our UN Sustainable Development Program at evolvGREEN program. As that project was winding up, we started talking about what we could do with the Region that goes beyond economic development to help foster innovation and leverage relationships with corporate partners,” said Laverty.

The idea for an aerospace accelerator came from conversations with Matthew Chandy, Director of Innovation & Economic Development at the Region of Waterloo.

“We talked about the priorities of the Region from an innovation standpoint. We talked about waste management, housing and infrastructure, but the conversation always returned to the airport. The Region has this incredible asset in the airport that is underutilized in many ways. We kept coming back to making the Region of Waterloo a hotbed for aviation and aerospace innovation,” said Laverty.

“This is the kind of unique collaboration that happens with you have different types of organizations co-locating in the R+T Park. These are three different types of organizations that might not otherwise have the opportunity to work together.”

Mike Pereira, Director of Real Estate and R+T Park, University of Waterloo

The next step was finding a corporate partner with expertise in aviation—which only took a quick walk up the stairs to NAVBLUE’s offices in the Accelerator Building. NAVBLUE develops flight operations solutions and services for airlines and aircraft operators and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of aerospace leader Airbus.

Mike Pereira, Director of Real Estate and R+T Park at the University of Waterloo, said the Aerospace Accelerator Program is a textbook example of why companies choose to locate in the R+T Park.

“This is the kind of unique collaboration that happens with you have different types of organizations co-locating in the R+T Park. These are three different types of organizations—a local government, a world-class accelerator and a global aerospace leader—that might not otherwise have the opportunity to work together,” said Pereira.

Laverty added the Accelerator Centre couldn’t ask for a better partner than Airbus. In the program’s announcement, Marc Lemeilleur, CEO of NAVBLUE, said the aerospace leader is excited to partner with the Accelerator Centre (AC) and the Region of Waterloo.

“Bringing new technologies to market in the aviation industry is complex. Working with AC allows us to combine NAVBLUE’s flight operations expertise and Airbus’ design and manufacturing knowledge to provide mentorship and support the development of new technologies,” said Lemeilleur.

The Aerospace Accelerator Program is open to Canadian-based companies, but Laverty said they are giving preference to companies with a connection to Waterloo Region, whether that is being a graduate of the University of Waterloo or a demonstrated passion for growing the Region’s economy.

“We have almost 100 startups in Waterloo Region who are building aerospace solutions today. There’s a lot of opportunity to put Waterloo on the global aerospace map,”

Tabatha Laverty, VP, Marketing and External Relations, Accelerator Centre

“We have almost 100 startups in Waterloo Region who are building aerospace solutions today. There’s a lot of opportunity to put Waterloo on the global aerospace map,” said Laverty.

Visit landing.acceleratorcentre.com/aerospace to learn more about the program and application requirements.