GO WHERE NO STARTUP HAS GONE BEFORE

The main objective of the Danish ESA BIC is to create and strengthen communities of successful space-related start-ups in Denmark by supporting 40 start-ups during the period of 2020-24. The activities will contribute significantly to growing clusters of space-based companies in Denmark.

In addition, it is also a key objective for the Danish ESA BIC to create opportunities for cross-fertilization between ESA BIC start-ups on one hand and existing space as well as non-space companies on the other – e.g. by facilitating the exchange of technologies between space and non-space sectors and by promoting increased applications of space-based services in non-space sectors.

Both of these objectives directly contribute to the realization of the overarching objective in the Danish government’s national space strategy: to increase growth in the private sector. The ESA BIC DK consortium, led by the Technical University of Denmark, comprises partnerships of companies, science parks and knowledge institutions in all of the Danish regions. Three ESA BIC DK incubation hubs have been established in the regional hotspots where the potential synergies between R&D, existing industry and high-tech entrepreneurial ecosystems are most promising:

• Aalborg in the North Denmark Region with the University of Aalborg (AAU)

• Aarhus in the Central Denmark Region with the University of Aarhus (AU)

• Kgs. Lyngby in the Capital Region, where DTU also hosts ESA BIC DK management

These regional incubation hubs provide broad geographical support for new space start-ups in Denmark while also facilitating cross-fertilization for these start-ups on a national level. It is an important ambition of the Danish ESA BIC to develop and leverage a close collaboration between industry and universities to the benefit of new competitive start-ups. It is also a strategic priority for ESA BIC DK to build and utilize a fruitful network collaboration with other ESA BICs in the Nordic and Baltic countries.

ESA BIC Denmark is funded by the following partners:

• European Space Agency and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education

• The Danish Industry Foundation and Otto Mønsted Foundation

• DTU, University of Aarhus and University of Aalborg

• Terma A/S and GomSpace A/S

• CenSec

ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BIC)

ESA BICs goals are to create jobs and develop regional economies via the ESA BIC programme in their Member States. Nurtured by ESA Space Solutions since 2000, ESA BICs turns space-related business ideas into commercial companies, and provide technical expertise and business development support. With the arrival of new space and the trend of entrepreneurs taking up the challenge to establish new ventures powered by space, ESA BICs now include upstream activities as well as taking spin-off companies into its incubation programme.

ESA Space Solutions

Since the early 2000s, ESA Space Solutions has sought entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in using space technologies or developing applications to create new products and services in a non-space environment. Initiated as support to Europe’s space programmes, several technological innovations have turned out to be key to successful solutions for terrestrial markets. The transfers from Space to Earth enhance the know-how and competitiveness of Europe by creating new start-up companies and leading to new jobs and growth. The programme provides multiple entry points such as ESA Business Incubation Centres, where entrepreneurs can further develop their business plans and grow their new ventures, the ESA Business Application programme where we support businesses from ideation to pre-commercialisation and ESA Technology Brokers that provide solutions to the industry through access to a wide range of advanced technologies developed by the space industry.