Markham-based NordSpace Corp. is leading a Canadian consortium that has been awarded $3.2 million from Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen). The funding will support an $8 million project designed to develop Canada’s first AI-powered hybrid additive-subtractive manufacturing line tailored for advanced space propulsion.
The consortium includes Miltera Machining Research Corp., Pegmatis Inc., Prime Powders Inc., and Indigenous-owned Bear Paw Manufacturing. Together, the group plans to establish a completely domestic supply chain capable of producing high-performance turbopumps for next-generation rocket engines, addressing a notorious bottleneck in launch vehicle production.
The consortium intends to localize the entire manufacturing lifecycle. Prime Powders and Bear Paw Manufacturing will domestically produce aerospace-grade superalloy metal powders, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers. These materials will then be used in large-format metal 3D printing, monitored by Pegmatis’ proprietary AI-driven, in-situ quality control sensors, before undergoing final precision 5-axis CNC machining by Miltera.
The initiative directly supports the federal government’s recently released Defence Industrial Strategy, emphasizing a “Build-Partner-Buy” framework designed to keep critical intellectual property and supply chains within Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“The Government of Canada’s investment in this project helps advance the country’s sovereign space capabilities and is an example of putting the Defence Industrial Strategy into action,” said the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, in the press release.
For NordSpace, the NGen funding marks a transition from lab-scale research to industrial production. SpaceQ previously reported on the company’s early steps into this sector, noting the October 2025 launch of its Advanced Manufacturing for Aerospace (AMA) Lab. This was followed by a $335,000 grant in January 2026 specifically earmarked for additive manufacturing development.
Securing a reliable, domestic engine manufacturing pipeline is a critical component of NordSpace’s broader launch ambitions. Relying on foreign suppliers for complex turbomachinery often introduces supply chain vulnerabilities and export control hurdles. By localizing this capability, NordSpace is building the hardware backbone required to support the launch cadences projected for its planned operations at the Atlantic Spaceport Complex in Newfoundland and Labrador.
This manufacturing announcement is the latest in a series of federal nods for the company’s vertically integrated strategy. Earlier this spring, NordSpace was selected alongside two other companies for funding under the $105 million “Launch the North” IDEaS challenge, and recently secured a separate DND grant to advance payloads for its Kestrel satellite constellation.