Airbus China Innovation Center (ACIC) is the company's first innovation center in Asia and second worldwide after A3 of Silicon Valley in the United States.
It will join hands with local companies to explore technology breakthroughs, new business models as well as new growth opportunities in the sector, said Airbus.
For example, it has partnered with China's telecom giant Huawei to work on applications that will enable future passengers to enjoy Internet 10 times faster than the current level. It's also working with Royole, a pioneering startup in flexible screens, to explore the use of flexible display technology inside plane cabins.
With its full operation, ACIC will focus on designing, testing and certifying new technologies related to five key areas of the hardware lab, cabin experience, connectivity, manufacturing innovation and urban air mobility (UAM).
Airbus inaugurates its Innovation Centre in China at an office opening ceremony in Shenzhen, China.
Airbus and Shenzhen Municipal Commerce Bureau also committed to jointly explore the UAM solutions in Shenzhen.
By the end of this year, Shenzhen is expected to become China's first city to introduce the UAM services with helicopters in joint efforts of Airbus and local partners, according to Airbus.
To date, more than 20 percent of Airbus' commercial aircraft goes to the Chinese market. By the end of 2018, around 1,700 Airbus airplanes were serving in the Chinese market.
Why Shenzhen?
Shenzhen, China, one of the world’s leading innovation hotspots.
"Shenzhen is the Silicon Valley of China, with many high-tech companies as well as promising partners," said Tom Enders, Airbus CEO, "Shenzhen is famous for its speed, which is certainly good for our company. We need to be more open to innovation at a faster speed."
As a pioneering city in China's reform and opening-up, Shenzhen boasts global competitive advantages in technology research and development, industrialization and international expansion. It is also a key city in China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
It is home to a slew of globally competitive Chinese companies such as Huawei and Tencent, and new energy car manufacturer BYD, as well as burgeoning start-ups in various emerging industries including AI, telecommunication, consumer electronics, etc.
Known as the innovation hub of China, Shenzhen has also been a magnet for foreign companies to set up Research and Development Centers.
Over the past years, international tech giants including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Intel and Samsung have established R&D centers or offices in the city.
"It (Shenzhen) allows us to find any raw materials we want within one kilometer. This is not possible in the U.S., Europe or anywhere in the world," said Cyril Ebersweiler, founder of HAX, the famous incubator dedicated to accelerating startups with a hardware element.
Cre: China Daily
