ESA Investment Forum 2008
Invitation to investment companies
Find out how your company can participate in shaping the huge profit potential of future high-tech space technology spin-offs at the ESA Investment Forum, to be held at ESTEC in the Netherlands on 14 - 15 April 2008.
Commercially available products such as ABS, ceramic brakes and the air bag are all based on technologies which were originally invented for space applications. The importance of spinning off sophisticated space technologies to businesses of the future is ever rising, with satellite based services being one of the most promising sectors of future business profit.
ESA Investment Forum supports the funding and growth of such opportunities by bringing start-up companies using space technology, applications or services in a non-space environment together with finance and investment communities, and highlights the commercial benefits of satellite and space technology in applications on Earth.
Organised by ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office (TTPO) in collaboration with EC-projects FinanceSpace and INVESaT, the first ESA Investment Forum took place on 24 April 2007 at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands. The event attracted more than 100 participants from all over Europe, including representatives from finance and investment communities, the European Special Applications Fund and presenting start-up companies.
20 start-up companies presented their business plans to demonstrate the investment potential in spinning satellite and space technology back into Earth applications. The cases presented covered a broad spectrum of technologies originating from space - sensors, optoelectronics, navigation data, remote operations, satellite communication and imaging technology – and their application in diverse industrial sectors such as automotive, medical, navigation, offshore, security, energy, environment, healthcare, wireless services, multimedia, gaming, sports, communications and transport.
The feedback from the participants was entirely positive; the Forum gave a good overview of the potential commercial benefits emerging from the space sector, the selected business cases were impressive and the start-ups established valuable contacts in the investment communities.
In view of the success of the ESA Investment Forum 2007, ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office is already planning next year’s event.
The ESA Investment Forum 2008 will take place at ESTEC at Noordwijk in The Netherlands, 14 – 15 April 2008.
For start-up companies and SMEs interested in presenting at the ESA Investment Forum 2008 and investment companies interested in attending, please pre-register to receive an invitation by contacting the Technology Transfer Programme Office at ttp @ esa.int.
ESA Investment Forum
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) of ESA
2200 AG Noordwijk ZH
The Netherlands
