“Demo Day” event underscores the viability of Airbus’ BizLab business accelerators

After six months of hard work and intense coaching, Airbus’ BizLab operation in Hamburg, Germany showed off the “fruits of its labour” at this global aerospace business accelerator’s first “Demo Day” event. 
Five start-up companies and three internal Airbus project teams presented their new aviation products in July – all developed with invaluable support from the Hamburg BizLab, which was launched in late 2015 to speed up the transformation of innovative ideas into valuable businesses. Airbus also has established BizLab operations in Toulouse, France and Bangalore, India. 
"By working closely with the start-ups, we want to leave the beaten Airbus path, promote different perspectives, encourage change and open up to third-party developers," said Bruno Gutierres, head of Airbus BizLab. "Many companies fail because they are not able to respond to new requirements. Our aim is to bring innovation into our company from the outside while promoting internal ideas." 
The Demo Day’s objective was to convince internal decision makers, external partners, customers and investors of the new technologies’ market potential. 
Among the five start-up company projects showcased at Demo Day was Velmenni’s wireless technology for high-speed data transmission using visible light and Synergeticon’s digital platform for the paperless recording of measurement data. Rounding out the group were software solutions from Jetlite (improved cabin lighting that limits jetlag), Teraki (programme to reduce aircraft data) and Zinkcloud (data system that helps mitigate the impact of production non-conformities). 
The three internal Airbus projects consisted of AirbusOn, which offers applications for mobile devices such as smartwatches for cabin, cargo handling and maintenance staff; the innovative Retrolley that separates and compresses onboard waste; and Tied Foam Core – a technology designed to manufacture innovative, weight-optimised sandwich materials. 
With all eight teams having now developed a successful business model for their innovation, a decision will be made in the next three months as to which will take the next step as an Airbus pilot project. 
“We are always interested in new approaches and innovative start-ups,” said Alexander Katzung, head of BizLab Hamburg. “Those who are interested in kind should contact us via the BizLab website: www.airbus-bizlab.com.”