Austria to boost space spin-off

“We promote progress and growth through supporting start-ups creating new businesses based on our space technology and satellite services,” said ESA Director General Jan Woerner in the welcome to the Austrian member of ESA’s Europe-wide network of incubators. 

“One of the central roles of Europe’s space programmes is to improve the quality of life on Earth. By making our knowledge and technology available to innovative entrepreneurs through our Technology Transfer Programme and its business incubation centres we help to create new jobs and businesses by spinning off Europe’s investments in space research and development.”

ESA Business Incubation Centre Austria was opened by Jan Woerner, the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, Jörg Leichtfried, the regional Styrian Minister for Economic Affairs Christian Buchmann, and the Mayor of Graz, Siegfried Nagl.

“We are exploring the Universe, because we also benefit from this down here on Earth, for example for weather forecasting, mobile phone services, radio or satellite TV,” said Jörg Leichtfried.

“With the new ESA business incubator we give start-ups the chance to develop new ideas and products based on space technology that make our lives here on Earth easier, more convenient and safer.

“One example is a parachute for drones which, with the help of satellite navigation, automatically opens in case of a crash.

“Austrian technology is now an integral element of important space missions, such as those researching planets and technology on rockets and satellites. With the ESA Business Incubation Centre Austria we will further strengthen our local companies active in the space sector.

The centre is managed and operated by the Science Park Graz and supported by the regional governments of the State of Styria and the State of Lower Austria, the City of Graz, Graz University of Technology and other universities within the region.

The cooperation with several industry clusters secures lasting exchange between industry, small and medium companies, scientific research centres and start-ups.

Entering incubation

Four potential candidates for the centre presented their projects at the event.

Drone Rescue System, the Austrian winner in the European Satellite Navigation Competition 2016, is developing a safety system for drones that takes over and lands the vehicle safely in case of emergency or malfunction.

easE-Link is developing a system to automate and accelerate electric vehicles charging and to avoid frequent plugging in and out.

Robotic Eyes will enable 3D real-world experiences on any device based on remote sensing data.

Refarmo is a project from Slovenian entrepreneurs incubated in Graz, which proposes to use Sentinel satellite data to optimise the irrigation of agriculture fields, vineyards and golf courses, to reduce water usage and improve production.

With a permanent open call and several selection campaigns during the year, entrepreneurs are invited to apply. The next deadline is February.

Austrian incubator

During the initial five-year period, the centre will support 50 new start-ups during their two-year incubation either at Science Park Graz or at accent Gründerservice’s incubator in Wiener Neustadt. All activities will be managed and coordinated by the Science Park Graz.

With about 15 years of experience in business incubation, Science Park Graz and accent together have supported more than 200 technology and innovation start-up projects.

The ESA Integrated Applications Promotion Ambassador Platform, AP-Austria, forms an integral part of the Austrian ESA business incubator. AP-Austria supports companies to target new services, to identify Austrian, European and international partners, and to facilitate the entry into ESA's ARTES applications programmes which offer funding for development of commercially oriented downstream applications up to market validation. Science Park Graz will soon launch an Open Call targeting Austrian entities for small ARTES applications.

Started by ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme in 2003, the incubation initiative has now grown to 16 centres in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, UK, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Czech Republic, Ireland, Switzerland and Austria, fostering over 130 new companies yearly and creating high-tech jobs throughout Europe.

The initiative profits from space technology and expertise to generate new businesses and jobs in Europe, which also boosts local economies and Europe’s competitiveness. Thanks to these start-ups and their entrepreneurs, leading-edge technologies and expertise from Europe’s space programmes are used to create smarter terrestrial applications.

More information on ESA Business Incubation Centre Austria here.