Embraer and two of its partners, the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) and the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) have announced a $10 million (R$48 million) joint investment in an Engineering Research Center (ERC) based in Brazil. The center will explore the future of air mobility over the next five years.
The partnership, which was announced by Embraer and gained approval on May 26, 2022, is focused on “innovative technological solutions that will maximize the competitiveness in the global innovation ecosystem”.
The investment is expected to create “a favorable environment for knowledge dissemination, highly qualified human resources training and production of high-impact scientific publications”, according to Embraer’s statement.
“Partnerships as the ERC guide and enable the conditions for the technology’s transfer among industry players, stakeholders, and the third sector, and strengthen connections and innovations through partnership models and intellectual property management,” the statement explained.
“These partnerships also generate new business incubation and stimulation of entrepreneurial activity in which the research results are applied,” it continued.
According to Embraer, the research will focus on three main aspects – low carbon aviation, autonomous systems and advanced manufacturing.
Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer’s senior vice president of engineering, technology, and strategy said that the manufacturer expects the ERC to become “a benchmark of enterprise-government-academia cooperation toward the zero-carbon aviation” in the future, “generating value to society as a whole”.