- Paris Air Show, June 20, 2023 – Daher today announced the launch of its Imagineering by Daher open innovation program in a new approach that aims to stimulate the transformation of its activities and the decarbonization of the aeronautics sector by leveraging collective intelligence.
In a context where industry – and aeronautics, in particular – must respond to technological changes and the challenges of decarbonization while also managing a supply chain weakened by the health crisis and international tensions, Daher is strengthening its open innovation to support the startup ecosystem and the scale-up of production volumes.
Convinced of the strength of collective intelligence and encouraged by its experience with the DaherLab project launched in 2014 – which already has facilitated the emergence of more than 100 manufacturing projects – Daher steps up to deploy Imagineering by Daher as its new open innovation program. Imagineering by Daher is structured around five key imperatives: #explore, #connect, #test, #scale and #communicate.
This program also is an integral part of Daher’s new “Take off 2027” strategic plan, focusing the company’s actions on even greater cross-functional, multi-local innovation with the support and expertise of its three regional techcenters in France:
- Log’in: the Toulouse-based innovation acceleration platform for tomorrow’s logistics industry;
- Shap’in: the center of excellence in Nantes dedicated to new-generation composite aerostructures; and
- Fly’in: the forward-looking development center in Tarbes for tomorrow’s general aviation industry.
For each of the Imagineering by Daher projects, a calculation of the financial and environmental impact will be systematically carried out and validated with the stakeholders. Examples include projects already completed using the artificial intelligence solution developed by the startup Kipsum to reduce energy consumption in industrial buildings by 15-25%, and the recycling of glass wool scraps from the manufacture of aeronautical insulation blankets as the result of local circular economy solutions from Re-vert.
“The DaherLab allowed us to explore new technology and product usage trends while running more than 100 projects during the past 10 years that tested potential solutions in real-world conditions,” commented Sébastien Leroy, the Director of Open Innovation at Daher. “But in today’s fast-changing economic and ecological landscape, we need to set new industrial sector ambitions in responding earlier to emerging challenges, working collectively on restarting projects, and accelerating the industrial rollout of innovations by strengthening the links between Daher and its innovative ecosystems.”
#Explore: Monitoring new and emerging trends in Daher’s own industry and beyond
The Imagineering by Daher team will identify emerging trends and analyze their potential impact on the aerospace industry by conducting studies and foresight surveys across a broad spectrum of sectors, including luxury goods, cosmetics, sports and automotive.
#Connect: Creating more synergies between industry players
Encouraging and facilitating internal and external synergies and business collaborations are key goals of this new program. The creation of an Imagineers community open to all will be made possible by upscaling the open innovation team which – historically based in Paris – will now have a presence in all Daher regional techcenters and international operating sites.
#Test: Growing together
PoC (Proof of Concept) comes with its own limitations. Future collaboration must go beyond this stage to include prototyping, MVP (Minimum Viable Product) programs, pilot projects, etc., depending on the degree of solution maturity and the ability of Daher and its market to incorporate them.
#Scale: Accelerating rollouts
On successful completion of test phases, Imagineering by Daher will focus on accelerating the rollout of solutions through strategic alliances in the form of partnerships, venture capital injection or corporate venture building.
#Communicate: Making careers more attractive
Imagineering by Daher also will work to make its industry sector more attractive to talented potential employees by highlighting the close links between innovation and manufacturing, as well as the large and rich diversity of career opportunities. Imagineering by Daher will implement an inspirational communications strategy with messaging that targets today’s new generations by showcasing the many fascinating projects and players at work in its ecosystems.
“Imagineering by Daher embodies the company’s commitment to meeting the challenges of its industry and the ecological transition – and doing so with real determination,” explained Gabriel Raffour, the Imagineering by Daher Program Manager. “Imagineering by Daher is a bold and powerful new tool that will allow us to explore new avenues, forge stronger links, and substantially accelerate the testing and rollout of even more groundbreaking ideas.”
