Airbus sets up innovation center in SZ

AIRBUS, a global leader in the space and aeronautics sector, announced Thursday the establishment of a new global innovation center in Shenzhen, which is aimed at defining the future of flight by identifying the next big changes that will transform the aerospace sector.

The Airbus China Innovation Center is Airbus’s second global innovation center following the A3 innovation center in Silicon Valley, the United States. It is set to be officially open by the end of this year and will serve to strengthen Airbus’ innovation eco-system worldwide.

“We have great aspirations and great expectations for setting up our innovation center here. Our main objective is to engage with the talents in Shenzhen, a city with a remarkable entrepreneurial ecosystem, on problems that are relevant to Airbus’ core businesses,” said Paul Eremenko, chief technology officer of Airbus, at the ceremony for the signing of an MOU with Invest Shenzhen.

“I might argue that Shenzhen is the real Silicon Valley. It was born as the world’s fastest, most flexible and most vibrant place to build hardware, starting with electronics, but increasingly in other domains, including aerospace, as evidenced by the world’s largest commercial drone maker, DJI,” added Eremenko.

According to Luo Gang, chief executive officer of the new innovation center, Shenzhen is one of China’s leading cities in the field of high technology. The establishment of the innovation center will undoubtedly benefit from the city government’s support, policy planning, talent resources, favorable investment and financing environment, and especially the legal environment concerning the protection of intellectual property rights.

“If we can say the past decade was a golden decade for Airbus, then I’m confident to say that the next decade will be a diamond decade. Our cooperation with China will focus on four areas, including commercial aircraft, helicopters, aerospace and innovation. China will no doubt be the engine in shaping the future of the sky,” said Eric Chen, president of Airbus China.

According to the MOU, Airbus and Invest Shenzhen will establish a long-term strategic partnership on innovation. Both sides will join hands to accelerate research and development, application, industrialization and commercialization of in-flight experiences and urban air mobility.

Over the past decades, Airbus has been providing Chinese customers with the most modern and comprehensive fleet of aircraft on the market, which represents about 22 percent of the company’s total production worldwide.

By the end of August, over 1,480 Airbus aircraft had been put into service on the Chinese mainland. The number is targeted to reach 2,000 by 2020, pushing the company’s market share to above 50 percent.