Five new facilities—including an Airbus Protospace innovation hub, a drone innovation Centre, a hydrogen-propulsion research centre, a drone assembly plant, and an AI-driven machining facility—are set to be established at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport as part of the growing YMX Innovation campus.

ADM Aéroports de Montréal made the announcement during the recent International Aerospace Innovation Forum, highlighting a series of partnerships and projects that underscore the rapid expansion of YMX Innovation, located within the YMX International Aerocity of Mirabel. The developments span key areas such as advanced air mobility, sustainable energy, robotics, and autonomous systems, reinforcing Québec’s position in the global aerospace sector.

Among the initiatives, Airbus will establish Protospace, a facility focused on experimentation, productivity, and training, while also collaborating with Exo-Drone on automated drone surveillance. The National Research Council of Canada will launch its advanced air-mobility initiatives through the new drone innovation centre, supporting research, development, and commercialization of drone technologies. The H2CanFly consortium will create the ARCTIC research centre dedicated to hydrogen propulsion, and Volatus will open a drone assembly plant. WatchOut has completed its facility and is installing equipment for AI-powered machining systems, said ADM. The campus will also host mechanical engineering students from Cégep de Saint-Jérôme and support a province-wide academic network focused on advanced air mobility.

“Thanks to these new partnerships and the remarkable momentum of the past year, YMX Innovation is solidifying its role as a catalyst for Québec’s aerospace industry,” said Yves Beauchamp, ADM’s president and CEO. “ADM is committed to creating the right conditions so that every player in the ecosystem can innovate, grow, and thrive. Together, we are shaping the aerospace industry of tomorrow and positioning ourselves to reach even greater heights.”

Vincent Courtois, head of A220 manufacturing engineering for Airbus, said the high-velocity Airbus incubator facilities are designed solely to provide engineers with the autonomy to develop disruptive concepts, build, and test in real-time, shortening innovation cycles.

“As an already-strategic partner of ADM, this co-location in Mirabel strengthens our existing operational presence with already more than 4,600 employees, securing the necessary infrastructure to support the continued production ramp-up of the A220, support development activities and sustainability research,” he said.

“This Airbus innovation space embodies industrial agility, moving projects from initial concept to physical demonstrator with remarkable speed, and critically, serves as a vital risk-management tool. Our future ambition is for the Mirabel Innovation and prototype space to become a key area of Canada’s innovation strategy, acting as a bridge to the global tech community, sustainability research, and competence development for the aerospace industry as a whole.”

Pascal Désilets, executive-irector of Espace Aéro, said the numerous projects in Mirabel, one of the group’s three hubs, demonstrate that its innovation zone is already “bearing fruit.”

“This is precisely the kind of collaboration that the various partners in the ecosystem hoped to foster by participating in the creation of Espace Aéro,” he said. “By bringing together so many stakeholders around shared innovation infrastructure, we are propelling Quebec’s aerospace sector forward and strengthening its position as a global leader in our industry.”

Roxanne Therrien, mayor of Mirabel, Que., in which the Greater Montreal Area airport is located, welcomed the new partnerships, adding that they further strengthen the city’s position as a leading aerospace innovation hub while booting the city, Quebec and Canada’s international profile.

Pictured: YMX Innovation campus at Mirabel Airport

Rendering: Shutterstock