McMaster Innovation Park

McMaster Innovation Park (or MIP) is a 54-acre research facility located approximately 2 kilometers from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. McMaster Innovation Park is an important part of the innovative ecosystem in Hamilton by supporting startups, business, research and offering collaborative space for each sector to co-locate, connect and commercialize; a place to transform ideas from vision to commercial reality. Entrepreneurs, firms, researchers, industry partners, business mentors and support facilities can connect and facilitate commercialization. MIP is committed to using sustainable design principles, transforming former brownfields into a premier research park at a LEED silver or higher level. MIP has a vision to be an internationally recognized focal point for innovation, creativity, learning and research excellence aligned with the research strengths of McMaster University. MIP currently houses three buildings: the Atrium@MIP, CanmetMATERIALS and the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre. MIP envisions 10 buildings on site within 10 years with 1,500-1,800 people working full-time. MIP is also host to the United Nations University - Institute of Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).

History

In early 2005, McMaster University announced its plans to build a research park on property previously used by an appliance manufacturing company. Later in the year, the Province of Ontario allocated $10 million in funding to the project and MIP was well into the development stages. Also in 2005, the Federal Government announced that it would be moving the CanmetMATERIALS Technology Laboratory to MIP, making the park a focal point for innovation in technology for the entire country. In October 2009, The Atrium@MIP had its grand opening, meaning the park itself was officially open. By February 2011, the CanmetMATERIALS Building was complete and the federal government had moved from Ottawa into MIP. The MARC Building began construction in 2011 and was completed in fall of 2013. Tenants have moved in and started working on their state-of-the-art automotive technology research.

The Atrium@MIP

The Atrium@MIP is the hub of innovation at the park. It offers a variety of business opportunities and is a place of business expansion in Hamilton. The building houses an eclectic mix of over 114 tenants ranging from start-up companies and accelerators to advanced research labs. It was the first completed multi-tenant building at McMaster Innovation Park. The Atrium@MIP boasts an award winning design, 186,000 square-foot, 5-level office, laboratory, conference center and fitness facility.

The Atrium@MIP multi-tenant building is the only remaining office building that was part of CAMCO's Manufacturing plant, which operated in Hamilton for almost 100 years. MIP has now transformed what once was the site of Westinghouse/Camco Warehouse and Manufacturing plants into a premier research park. In doing so, the McMaster Innovation Park has remained cognizant of the site's tradition as a center of innovation and manufacturing since 1913. MIP houses several displays showing historical retrospectives of the site and of Westinghouse's success in Hamilton. The demolition and site reclamation began 2005 and was completed in 2009. Since then the building continues to be a large part of the innovation community in Hamilton with over 37,000 people coming through for meetings, event and conferences in 2014.

CANMET-MTL

The CanmetMATERIALS research centre is dedicated to metals and materials fabrication, processing and evaluation. It has the mandate of developing and deploying technologies to improve all aspects of producing and using value-added products derived from metals and minerals. They are dedicated to metals and materials fabrication, processing and evaluation and will bring new opportunities for established industries and developing enterprises to Hamilton, Ontario.

CanmetMATERIALS is part of the Department of Natural Resources Canada and relocated from Ottawa to McMaster Innovation Park in 2011 to strategically locate itself at the center of the Canadian manufacturing sector. This state-of-the-art, award-winning, LEED Platinum building of 167,000 square feet located at 183 Longwood Rd. South houses over 100 staff who undertake over 100 collaborative research and development projects per year with industry, academia and other government departments.

McMaster Automotive Resource Centre

The McMaster Automotive Resource Centre is one of Canada’s leading research facilities in electric and hybrid vehicles where researchers, students and industry professionals are working to resolve the issues facing the automotive industry. Together, these teams of engineers, scientists, social scientists and their students are developing sustainable solutions for the industry including the development of hybrid and electric powertrains, building highly efficient and cost-effective powertrain components and identifying light materials to make cars more fuel efficient.

The MARC building was developed in 2013 within an existing building at 200 Longwood Rd. South. The $26-million facility occupies approximately 90,000 square feet on two floors and is one of very few in the world located in an academic setting allowing both private and public sectors to work together to develop, design, and test hybrid technology. The redeveloped space includes state-of-the-art commercial garage space with multiple bays ready to receive cars for experiments and testing.

Future Projects

McMaster University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology are collaborating at McMaster Innovation Park to develop a project centre focused on the fast emerging cell therapies industry. This investment will help create jobs, attract top talent to the region and keep Ontario at the forefront of scientific discovery. This project centre, the Centre for Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (BEAM), will develop innovative technologies to automate production for cell therapies, significantly lowering the cost to treat degenerative diseases like cancer. The Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI, located in Liepzig, Germany, has the objective to find solutions to specific problems at the interfaces between medicine, life sciences and engineering for partners active in medicine-related industries and businesses. The Institute works closely with hospital institutions, performing quality tests and clinical studies in cooperation with its many partners. The collaboration between the Fraunhofer Institute and McMaster University represents MIP’s vision at its best. The joint creation of BEAM represents the nucleus of that new industry with the potential for development partnerships with industry and the birth of spin-off companies to commercialize new technologies.

The Emerging Technology Centre (ETC) is a project at development at McMaster Innovation Park. This new, 80,000 square foot built-to-suit, state of the art facility will attract researchers from all over the world to collaborate with McMaster University. The ETC will feature: 40,000 square feet of lab space, 5,000 square feet of lab incubator space and an atrium area designed for researchers to meet and collaborate. The building focuses on the research and emerging technology and will be a great addition to the innovation park.