Aerospace giants to co-develop innovative solutions in sustainability, productivity, and digitalisation with startups and SMEs through inaugural Aerospace Open Innovation Challenge

JTC and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) have jointly unveiled the Aerospace Open Innovation Challenge (AOIC) 2024 to foster collaboration in innovation between industry players and promising startups and SMEs within the aerospace industry.

As the first-ever aerospace-focused innovation challenge of this scale, AOIC marks a significant industry-wide effort in uniting prominent players, including those in Seletar Aerospace Park, to spearhead the transformation of the industry.

A total of seven global corporates – Airbus, Bell Textron, Collins Aerospace, GE Aerospace, Jet Aviation, Singapore Component Solutions, and ST Engineering – will launch 12 challenge statements in the areas of sustainability, productivity, and digitalisation to crowdsource ideas to address global aerospace challenges (see Annex A). Industry leaders have committed to setting aside more than S$500,000 to support the co-development and piloting of solutions, providing the expertise and resources to nurture promising SMEs and startups in the aerospace field.

The inaugural AOIC was announced by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, during the Singapore Airshow 2024. It is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and key industry partner, the Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) (AAIS).

JTC also announced plans for JTC aeroSpace Four (AS4), the first standard factory at Seletar Aerospace Park which will include green infrastructure solutions to support sustainability goals (see Annex B). These include EV charging infrastructure, and more green spaces within the development. To further enhance current solarisation efforts, JTC AS4 will also include solar-ready buildings and linkways, contributing to the total energy generated that could power JTC’s industrial developments and common areas at Seletar Aerospace Park.