$22.3M for photonics research cluster

Ottawa, ON – The National Research Council Canada (NRC)’s Ottawa-based photonics cluster has received $22.3-million in renewal funding from the federal government.

Launched in 2002, the NRC initiative was undertaken to advance the region’s ability to perform collaborative R&D that results in high-value commercialized products.

Technology clusters are broadly based community partnerships among industry, universities and colleges, and all levels of government, focused on building a competitive advantage for Canada through research and innovation.

The photonics initiative has seen an increase in the number of start-up companies, the relocation of a US-based firm that moved part of its operations to Ontario to take advantage of R&D tax credits and Ottawa’s photonics cluster, deeply engaged community partners who collectively launched the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre, and an increase in the number of formal research collaborations among industry, university-based researchers and NRC research teams.

“The excellence of Ottawa’s photonics cluster is rooted in a tradition of community cooperation, and our support will help maintain and build upon the cluster’s reputation as one of the world’s top five photonics clusters,” said Dr Pierre Coulombe, president of NRC. “Activities undertaken by NRC and its community partners have substantially reduced prototype development costs for Canadian firms, thereby reducing start-up costs for local firms while increasing investments from the risk capital community.”