Aerospace accelerator ready for launch at Waterloo region's airport

A new program aims to help with the development of cutting-edge aerospace technology in the Waterloo region through education and mentorship.

The Accelerator Centre is preparing its new, nine-month Aerospace Accelerator Program for launch. The program is a collaboration between the centre, the Region of Waterloo and Waterloo software company Navblue. Applications will be open until Feb. 22.

The program will "foster the growth and development of cutting-edge aerospace technologies while contributing to the economic and technological advancement of the region, the region said in a media release.

Accelerator Centre CEO Jay Krishnan said it's challenging for a startup to break into the aerospace industry.

"One, entrepreneurs, when they sell their technology and innovations, for it to get adopted, you need to end up speaking to the right person, and that's always tricky because the higher up you go, the more busy they are," Krishnan said.

"And the second reason is airports, and the aviation sector in general, operates on a whole bunch of parameters that are significantly mission-critical. So the forgiveness there is very low, and therefore you don't want to keep introducing new interventions and new innovations."

He added, "It's an industry that's slow, but in reality, the mission-criticality of it is what drives the pace of adoption."

High success rate

The goal for the program is to help bridge those gaps and not only put entrepreneurs in front of the right audience, but also help them develop a proof-of-concept, Krishnan said.

He said one of the reasons the centre launched this new accelerator program was the overall success it's had mentoring entrepreneurs over the last 15 years.

"In general, 40 to 50 per cent of entrepreneurs fail, and that's an optimistic number," Krishnan said. "At the Accelerator Centre, our startups that graduate from our organization have a survival rate of 96 per cent."

Another factor was the region's desire to work with the Region of Waterloo International Airport, which Krishnan said is "arguably one of the fastest-growing airports in the country."

"You take a step back and look at airports across the world, places like Singapore, which handles 80 million people a year or Incheon in Japan, which is 70 million people a year," he said. "They're all known for something. They're known for fantastic facilities, they're known for incredible customer interface. They're known for the ability to to to manage traffic in and out very quickly."

So, he said, that raises the question: What does Waterloo region's airport want to be known for?

"One of the cool things about Canada is that we're really good with people and the planet," he said.

"We want to interweave those two and look at technologies and innovations that come from from our neck of the woods, and try and find out, 'Well, where is the next piece of sustainable material that's going to come from that makes that reduces the carbon footprint, or where is the next piece of aviation fuel that's going to come and and and and reduce the carbon footprint?'"

Krishnan said airport representatives are on the jury that's evaluating applications to the new accelerator program; 10 companies from the Waterloo region will be selected to participate.

The program itself runs from March to November, 2024.

Successful applicants will work with mentors, and toward the end of the program, they'll showcase the technology they've built.

"That then gets them visibility to investors who can invest in these companies," Krishnan said. "The airport and the airlines can adopt these technologies, and it gives them a resting place as a as a proof of.concept."