The LOSTESC Programme: assisting European industry

The European Space Agency, together with the European Commission and six business consultancy companies, are co-funding LOSTESC, the Leveraging on Space Technologies to enhance SME Competitiveness Programme.

This programme is designed to assist innovative European Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs) working in the space industry to bring their skills and ideas to the attention of larger industrial groups, and to adapt technology developed primarily for the space industry to other uses. Many SMEs have the built-in capacity to perform research and technology development. This can often lead to outstanding innovations in specialist areas, which could be of use to industries both inside and outside the space sector.

The programme has three main targets:

• to identify 23 promising technologies in the aerospace sector with potential applications in other industrial fields
• to prepare proposals for the funding of these technologies by the European Commission
• to assist in promoting these technologies so that they can attract new business globally as well as in Europe

The 23 most promising projects will be selected by the end of March and submitted for funding in April and September 2001, and in January and March 2002. Funding will be provided over a one to two year period for 100% of the costs undergone by the aerospace SMEs (acting as research and development providers) to adapt the technology for other uses.

Awareness seminars

Seminars to increase awareness of this Programme and to identify SMEs with technology suitable for adaptation to non-aerospace applications have already taken place in Portugal, France and Spain with the support of the SMEs’ national focal points.

The Awareness Meeting for Italy will take place on Monday, 5 March 2001 as part of the conference “Competitive Supply Chain in Italy for Successful Aeronautical Industries” at the Centro Sviluppo Matriali in Rome. The LOSTESC Programme as well as various other European aeronautical and aerospace projects will be presented. Participants will include representatives from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Ministry of Research as well as leading Italian aerospace companies such as Alenia Aerospazio and FiatAvio. Details can be obtained from Innova (Italy) by contacting Ron Weerdmeester (email: r.Weerdmeester@innova-eu.net), telephone (0039) 06.68.80.32.53, telefax (0039) 06.68.80.69.97.

The Awareness Meeting in Austria will take place in Vienna on Monday, 19 March 2001, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich), room 8, Wiedner Hauptstraße 63, 1045 Wien. Details can be obtained from Mind Consult (Austria) by contacting Ursula Pretterhofer (Ursula_Pretterhofer@mindconsult.com) or Christian Hartmann (email: Christian_Hartmann@mindconsult.com), telephone (0043) 316.67.67.280, telefax (0043) 316.67.67.2810.

The seminars have been found extremely useful, as many are unaware of the procedures for joining the LOSTESC Programme. They also provide an opportunity to discuss the difficulties, challenges and issues related to obtaining funding for research and technology development from the European Commission.

The six consulting firms involved in the LOSTESC Programme and creating the national points of co-ordination are Yellow Window (Belgium), Innova (Italy), Zabala (Spain), Printinova (Portugal) and Mind Consult (Austria). This consortium is led by Technofi (France).

Companies interested in building new business relationships with European partners and in exploring the use of technologies designed for the aerospace sector in other markets can obtain further information on the LOSTESC Programme by contacting either one of the six national contact points or directly the LOSTESC Front Desk at Technofi.

LOSTESC Front Desk

Tiziana Pagano at Technofi
e-mail: tpagano@symple.tm.fr
telephone: (+) 33 493 65 34 44