Ottawa will invest nearly $350 million to support the decarbonization of the aerospace industry.
The investment will enable the creation of Canada’s Sustainable Aerospace Technology Initiative (INTAD), a pan-Canadian network that will be industry-led to fund collaborative research and development projects with companies across the country. INTAD will finance projects related to various technological fields such as aircraft architecture or sustainable fuel.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, made the announcement on Monday at the Paris Air Show.
It will therefore be up to the industry and not to the government to determine the most promising projects. “Our mission is to coordinate and accelerate the development of technologies in the field of sustainable aviation,” said INTAD Acting Board Chairman Walter Di Bartolomeo in a statement. , adding that the initiative will promote cross-industry collaboration, intellectual property creation and talent development.
Against the backdrop, the decarbonization of industry remains a central theme at Le Bourget, which officially began on Monday.
Before the official start of the show, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, announced annual aid of 300 million euros (433 million) for the horizon 2024-2030 to encourage the development of a carbon neutral aircraft as well as an aid nearly 200 million euros (289 million) to develop the sustainable fuel sector.
Pressure is mounting on the aviation sector, which is responsible for 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions could triple by 2050, according to industry growth projections, if industry does not find ways to reduce its footprint.
While this is a small proportion of total emissions, the sector’s environmental footprint is much larger when considered on an individual consumption basis, as a relatively small portion of the world’s population flies .
