For the second consecutive year, an Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) company has been selected to International Airlines Group’s (IAG) Hangar 51 global accelerator program.

SynapseMX is one of 13 companies IAG selected for the accelerator in collaboration with Iberia, Vueling, and IAG Cargo.

SynapseMX, whose tools give commercial aircraft maintenance teams the resources they need to collaborate, execute, and monitor work in real-time, is a startup in the ATDC Accelerate portfolio. ATDC Signature portfolio company Volantio was a Hangar 51 cohort finalist in 2018.

For this current year, IAG received 474 applications from 50 countries, and 36 startups presented their innovative products and services before 250 senior aviation and travel industry executives and a high level judging panel, including four airline CEOs, at a pitch day in Madrid.

The 13 successful startups will be embedded in the heart of IAG for 10 weeks where they will be working side by side with mentors and experts from across the Group gaining access to resources to develop, shape, and scale up their business.  The innovative projects include next generation voice artificial intelligence and new carbon capture technology to effectively remove CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.

The initiative is based in Spain for the second time after the huge success of its previous Spanish program in 2017. The selected startups will co-work with IAG teams across Europe.

The Hangar 51 finalists represent seven categories, including airport operations and logistics, which is SynapseMX’s designation.:

“We’re delighted to be hosting the largest ever group of fantastic teams in this year’s Hangar 51 with an amazing array of new products showcased by global start-ups from North America, Europe, Israel and Africa,” said Dupsy Abiola, IAG’s head of global innovation.

“In line with IAG’s focus on sustainability, this year we’re exploring innovative carbon capture technology to remove CO2 emissions directly from the atmosphere which will play a vital part in the aviation industry’s plans to tackle climate change.

“Hangar 51 provides unique advantages to start-ups. It aims to rapidly validate their products on real-world business challenges to accelerate their growth. Disruptive start-ups can benefit from IAG’s size, global exposure and expertise to help drive faster product innovation and gain funding from the Group’s multimillion-pound venture fund. This is a great opportunity for start-ups seeking to highlight the potential of emerging technology and new ways of thinking while IAG explores innovative applications to transform customer experience.”

The Hangar 51 accelerator programme’s demo day will be held in Barcelona in January 2020.