Ontario Tech earns designation as NATO test centre for development of civilian and military technologies

Ontario Tech University is home to one of the world’s most sophisticated research and development facilities, and it has recently earned another prestigious designation.

Ontario Tech’s ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel and Core Research Facility was recently designated as an approved test centre the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA).

Top engineers and technicians from around the world come to ACE to test and develop products for a wide range of industries, including automotive, architectural and aerospace. ACE has been certified to test controlled goods for many years, and is one of 13 new facilities across the country that will develop technologies for both civilian and military use as part of the DIANA Alliance. 

• Link to Government of Canada NATO DIANA announcement (March 15, 2024).

“This acknowledgement as one of the best and brightest hubs of innovation in the NATO Alliance will welcome new research collaborations between ACE, Ontario Tech researchers, and students,” says John Komar, Executive Director, ACE Core Research Facility. “The possibilities are endless. ACE’s Climatic Aerodynamic Wind Tunnel and its capabilities for aero/thermal management of full-scale products and/or personnel under extreme weather conditions make it ideal for high-performance testing and research.”  

Worldwide, DIANA brings together universities, industry and governments to work with start-ups and other innovators to solve critical defence and security challenges. DIANA partners with more than 180 accelerator sites and test centres across the NATO Alliance, where innovators can access world-class R&D infrastructure to de-risk, demonstrate and validate proposed concepts and technologies. The DIANA application process is rigorous.

“As a controlled goods facility, it’s a great accomplishment and honour to be selected as an approved test centre and help fulfil DIANA’s mandate to keep NATO populations safe and secure,” says Andrew Karski, Sales Manager, Defence and Security, ACE Core Research Facility. “As a test centre that offers innovative security solutions on a global scale, ACE will support dual-use technologies, such as a battery for military applications, that also focus on big data, artificial intelligence, propulsion, and aerospace.”

About ACE at Ontario Tech University

ACE’s five test chambers enable aerospace and defence product development under some of the most extreme climate conditions found on Earth. Prior to being accepted as a NATO DIANA test centre, ACE has worked with many companies in Canada and around the world for aerodynamic, thermal management, climatic, noise, vibration, and structural testing.

ACE is the first commercial research, development, and innovation centre of its kind in the world, for it is a place where industry, researchers and students collaborate to create, test, and validate paradigm-shifting innovations. ACE engineers and technical staff develop strategies, and design and build special test setups for complete systems, sub-systems and components used in development, production and research applications.

Media contacts

Bryan Oliver
Communications and Marketing
Ontario Tech University
289.928.3653 (mobile)
bryan.oliver@ontariotechu.ca

Andrew Karski
Sales Manager, Defence and Security
ACE Core Research Facility
Ontario Tech University
905.809.7417
andrew.karski@ontariotechu.ca