Space to boost Swedish start-ups
ESA’s latest business incubator opened last week in Sweden to welcome entrepreneurs with novel spin-off business ideas for the wealth of technologies and systems developed under Europe’s space programmes.
“One of the central roles of Europe’s space programmes is to improve the quality of life on Earth,” noted Jan Woerner.
“We support progress and growth across Europe by making our knowledge and technology available to be used also outside space.
“Through ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme with its business incubation centres we help to create new jobs and businesses by spinning-off Europe’s investments in space research and development and make them available to innovative entrepreneurs.”
The new ESA Business Incubation Centre Sweden was opened on 18 December by ESA Director General Johann-Dietrich Woerner and Swedish Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson, together with Peter Egardt, Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) President, Olle Norberg, SNSB Director General, Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technical and Quality Management and Head of ESA’s ESTEC research and development centre, and Jens Lundström, Arctic Business Incubator CEO and ESA BIC Sweden Manager.
The new incubator is co-funded by ESA, SNSB and the funding partners from the industrial association Almi Företagspartner.
It is managed by a consortium of Arctic Business Incubator in Uppsala in the capital region, Uppsala Innovation Centre in Luleå in the north and Innovatum incubator in Trollhättan in the west.
The consortium is well equipped to host it because each partner has more than10 years’ experience of business incubation at their centres. Over the years, more than a hundred young companies have turned their ideas into viable businesses in Sweden thanks to their support.
“Small companies, start-ups and entrepreneurs come with their own great ideas. In the centres we then support them with technical advice from ESA and business advice from our partners to get going and create viable new companies in Europe,” said Franco Ongaro.
“We will also work to find ways to bridge the maturity gap between the creative idea and a successful proposal.”
The Centre has three branch offices, inLuleå, Uppsala and Trollhättan, which over the coming five years will nurture 40 new start-ups to create viable businesses and jobs in Sweden.
ESA’s incubators issue several calls a year looking for space-connected projects, open to individual inventors, entrepreneurs and small companies from any ESA Member State.
“Projects with business potential can get hosted in our incubator and with years of experience in helping entrepreneurs we will support both for business and technical aspects,” explained Jens Lundström.
“In addition to office space, each will also receive €50 000 in pre-seed funding and we will help them to get additional funding through our financial partners. They will also have access to international networks, support from national research institutes and our industrial partners and receive business coaching."
ESA business incubation initiative was started in 2003 under the Agency’s Technology Transfer Programme Office, which provides space solutions – technology, systems and expertise – developed as part of Europe’s space programmes for terrestrial non-space sectors. Many technological innovations from space have turned out to be key to successful businesses here on Earth.
These transfers boost Europe’s global competitiveness, forge numerous start-up companies, benefit regional economies and lead to new European jobs and growth.
24 locations in nine countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UK and Sweden.
Every year the centres support more than 100 new start-ups, in addition to the 350-plus companies already fostered, creating thousands of high-tech jobs throughout Europe.
