Press release
Over $5 million to fund collaborative projects supported by CRIAQ
Montréal, June 12, 2025 – At its Annual General Meeting, CRIAQ is pleased to announce a $5 million investment from the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy (MEIE) to support collaborative aerospace research and development (R&D) projects.
With its strong value proposition within this strategic sector, CRIAQ has fully played its role as a catalyst by helping launch fourteen collaborative R&D projects (see appendix) between academia and industry, with a combined value approaching $20 million.
Deeply committed to its mission, CRIAQ is a strategic ally of the Quebec government in bringing together the key players of the research and innovation ecosystem. Through collaborative projects, CRIAQ helps make innovation a driving force to enhance the competitiveness of Quebec’s aerospace sector.
Quotes
“For nearly 25 years, CRIAQ has been accelerating aerospace innovation and fostering connections between academia and industry, while supporting the emergence of new talent. In today’s uncertain business climate, collaborative research is a powerful tool for companies to develop new markets. The CRIAQ team is proud to have helped launch these projects, with many more on the way.” — Guillaume Côté, PhD, President and CEO of CRIAQ
“By connecting stakeholders throughout the aerospace innovation cycle, CRIAQ plays a significant role in Quebec’s economic growth. The R&D phase is often very costly for businesses, and our government is proud to help fund promising collaborative research projects that will benefit society as a whole.” — Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism, and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region
About CRIAQ (criaq.aero)
Created in 2002, the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Québec (CRIAQ) is a unique model for collaborative aerospace research, bringing together companies of all sizes, universities and research centers. Its mission is to increase the competitiveness of the aerospace industry by stimulating technological innovation and corporate commitment through collaborative R&D. CRIAQ also aims to develop a new generation of innovators to reinforce Quebec’s technological leadership in cutting-edge aerospace applications: digital aviation, advanced air mobility and sustainable aerospace.
Source: The Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Québec (CRIAQ)
Information: Stéphanie Dion, stephanie.dion@criaq.aero, 514 825-5145
Appendix – Description of the Projects Supported by CRIAQ
|
Companies | Project Description | Total value | Funding Granted (MEIE) | |
| Polytechnique Montréal
École de technologie supérieure |
Airbus Canada | Contrail drag properties with SAF combustion in an advanced carbon-rich combustion chamber | 933 128 $ | 212 743 $ | |
| National Research Council Canada
Polytechnique Montréal |
Airbus Atlantic Canada | High-performance machining of aerostructures with industrial robots | 1 953 831 $ | 398 714 $ | |
| University of Sherbrooke | Pratt & Whitney Canada | Development of a generic automated process to evaluate machining system performance | 727 072 $ | 81 808 $ | |
| Concordia University | Pratt & Whitney Canada | Development of environmental barrier coatings (EBC) via atmospheric plasma spraying | 1 191 618 $ | 269 618 $ | |
| Polytechnique Montréal | MDA Corporation | Beam management based on traffic and propagation for high-throughput satellites | 769 877 $ | 178 237 $ | |
| Concordia University
McGill University |
Pratt & Whitney Canada | New generation of environmentally friendly plain bearing systems | 952 694 $ | 209 594 $ | |
| Polytechnique Montréal
McGill University University of Toronto |
Siemens Energy Canada | High-pressure hydrogen micromixing combustion for gas turbines | 5 396 118 $ | 1 130 218 $ | |
| Polytechnique Montréal
University of Québec in Montréal Queen’s University |
Bombardier
Thales Canada L3Harris MAS Mannarino Systems & Software Opal-RT Montréal Metropolitan Airport |
Virtual test bench for cybersecurity testing of aircraft systems | 1 650 611 $ | 747 911 $ | |
| Polytechnique Montréal
Concordia University National Research Council Canada CDRIN (Digital Imaging R&D Centre) |
Bombardier
Rockwell Collins Canada Flight Test Excellence Centre |
Symbiotic intelligent agent for conflict prevention between humans and automation | 1 048 221 $ | 467 046 $ | |
| Polytechnique Montréal
Concordia University |
Pratt & Whitney Canada | Development of friction systems for turbomachinery | 1 775 623 $ | 400 623 $ | |
| University of Sherbrooke | Exonetik
Safran Trusted 4D |
Fixed-wing aircraft collaboration for load lifting | 487 182 $ | 219 432 $ | |
| Polytechnique Montréal | Bombardier
Airbus Atlantique Canada |
Topological optimization of aerostructure components and non-conventional fuselages | 881 762 $ | 203 886 $ | |
| University of Québec in Chicoutimi
École de technologie supérieure |
Bell Textron Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada |
Testing of innovative anti-icing technologies in a representative helicopter testing environment | 1 604 488 $ | 364 488 $ | |
| Polytechnique Montréal | Volta Space Technologies | Optical power transfer and communication for drones | 435 644 $ | 193 904 $ | |
| Total : | 19 807 869 $ | 5 078 222 $ | |||
