Quebec aerospace sector takes the lead with formation of research consortium

A consortium of major Quebec-based aerospace firms and universities is forging ahead with a provincially assisted research initiative after similar proposals for federal funding proved unsuccessful. Consortium Research Innovation Aerospatial Quebec (CRIAQ) has secured commitments of $35.2 million in funding over five years to undertake collaborative, pre-competitive research in six areas and will be holding a forum later this month to define specific projects to be pursued. Long term plans include expanding across Canada to include other clusters of aerospace research.

“This is like a dream come true. We’ve wanted to do this since 1997,” says Dr Hany Moustapha, manager of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s technology and collaboration programs and a key architect of the CRIAQ initiative. “The Montreal aerospace sector has worked hard on this and we have matured as a group. This is all about being competitive with the Europeans and other global competitors.”

The consortium is comprised of Pratt & Whitney Canada, Bell Helicopter, CAE Inc, CMC Electronics Inc (formerly Canadian Marconi Co), Bombardier Aerospace, THALES (formerly Sextant Avionique) and six universities (see box). Research will be conducted at member facilities until a permanent building is constructed. Before that happens, however, details on infrastructure requirements must be finalized and a funding application is made to the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The CFI has just announced a major round of awards and results from the next competition are not expected for another two years (see page 1).

Industry will contribute 25% of CRIAQ funding committed so far, with the remainder secured from participating universities and the government of Quebec. The latter includes $5.2-million from Valorisation-Recherche Québec (V-RQ) and $1 million annually for three years to support networking from Fonds NATEQ — Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (formerly Fonds FCAR — Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et l’aide à la Recherche). NATEQ funding will be matched by industry.

A six-person board of directors has been established to quide CRIAQ through its formative stages, (see box) and they will provide continuity for the first official board, which is to be chaired by John Holding, senior VP engineering for Bombardier Aerospace.

Moustapha says the idea for a research network for the aerospace sector was pitched to the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program twice in the late 1990s and twice in the early 1990s only to be turned down for funding each time. In the most recent instances, the NCE applications enjoyed the full and enthusiastic backing of the industry and several universities, but to no avail.

“We were refused because they said the proposals lacked detail. That’s baloney and I told (NCE officials) this at the time,” says Moustapha. “This time we went to V-RQ and we were promised money if put in an application. Aerospace is a major provincial priority.”

Aerospace currently receives considerable support from the federal government through Technology Partnerships Canada. But industry has long contended that assistance for fundamental research in niche areas is also required. Last Fall, the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada released an innovation paper that spelled out a whole range of federal support it contends is required for the sector to thrive and grow as part of a reinvigorated national aerospace program (R$, October 24/01). In addition to basic research, the sector is seeking funding for pre-competitive technology development as well as demonstration and process improvement.

CRIAQ’s six research themes address some of these requirements. The industry has agreed that CRIAQ will focus its collaborative research efforts on:

• low-cost manufacturing and materials;
• modelling and simulation;
• icing and acoustics;
• system integration;
• avionics; and,
• microelectronic and mechanical systems (MEMS).

NEW NRC AEROSPACE CENTRE ALSO INVOLVED

CRIAQ’s activities will add to the considerable critical mass of the province’s aerospace research, which is also being enhanced with the construction of an Aerospace Manufacturing Technology Centre (AMTC). The recently approved $46-million facility is part of the National Research Council’s Institute for Aerospace Research, and will be built on the campus of the Univ of Montreal. Construction begins this summer for a Fall ’03 completion date. Equipment is already being purchased and temporarily housed in facilities of the Institute’s corporate and academic partners.

Collaboration between CRIAQ and AMTC is expected to be close. The NRC is planning to contribute its expertise in welding technology and other areas and will be participating in a February 27 forum at Pratt & Whitney’s R&D facility.

“The NRC mandate is to strengthen the supply chain in Canada,” says AMTC director Dr Jean-Pierre Immarigeon. “The AMTC wants to fill this gap and create an environment where new technologies can be brought here from abroad and made available for demonstration purposes. We can also help to further develop these technologies for use in the supply chain to the point where they can supply the big companies.”

Immarigeon says CRIAQ will help to lower the barriers between academia and industry as all players realize that partnership is the key to progress in the sector.

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