European startups and SMEs that want to utilize space technology to improve everyday life are set to benefit from a major funding increase for the European Space Agency (ESA) programme that supports them.

At the ESA Ministerial Council Space19+ held in November 2019 in Spain, Member States approved a budget increase of 35% for ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions (ESA BASS) over the next three years. 

ESA BASS is the only optional programme element within ESA to which all 22 Member States have signed up.

The increased funding for the ESA BASS not only shows the continuation of appreciation and confidence the member states have into the programmes but also the increased request for additional support of the small and medium sized companies using space to increase their competitive angle. The funding will enhance support to entrepreneurs, ultimately boosting the member states economy by providing high level jobs and competitive new products and services.

A clear message of trust and encouragement at the ESA Ministerial Council Space 19+ Funding Success – December 2019

ESA programmes and funding are decided every three years by ministers with responsibility for space activities in the Member States within Europe. The last Council meeting, named as Space 19+, was held in Seville, Spain, and resulted in record funding for European space investments.

Funding to benefit Startups and SMEs across Member States

"Each of the 22 Member States recognise the value of business-focused elements in their space investments, and have ultimately chosen to participate in the ESA BASS programme,'' says Nick Appleyard, ESA’s Head of Business Applications and Space Solutions.

“At ESA, we celebrate the diverse business cultures and languages across Europe. Wherever you are, there is an ESA Space Solutions office near you, staffed by our local partners who speak your language and understand your business environment. They can offer direct support in the form of business incubation and startup funding, alongside advice on the technical capabilities of space and the support programmes that ESA can offer to a growing business” adds Mr. Appleyard. 

How BASS provides support

ESA BASS is part of ESA’s Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (TIA) Directorate. TIA funds its projects and programmes, including ESA BASS, through the ARTES programme.

“Space is now the backbone of the digital economy,” says Frank M. Salzgeber, Head of ESA’s Innovation and Ventures Office. “The increased funding over the next three years will enable the ESA BASS network across Europe to support even more companies to create new products and services that will keep Europe at the forefront of that digital market.”

Our funding lets us provide support to SMEs and startups that want to exploit space technology or use space data, whether or not they already work in the space sector. We do this in a number of ways, by providing funding for studies and projects or by incubation in our 20 ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs). These are based in over 60+ locations in 17 countries and have supported over 800 start-ups.

We understand that finance is a major issue for startups, so we provide funding schemes plus signposting and introductions to potential investors. Through our Technology Brokers and Ambassadors partners present across Europe, we also open up opportunities for collaboration between organisations in the space sector and entrepreneurs. 

The ESA BASS team is now looking forward enthusiastically to working with more startups and SMEs over the next years. For more information about how we can support you, please visit business.esa.int 

“Just a little gathering of 25,000 changemakers, including 4,000 startups and 2,000 investors on November 21–22, 2019,” is how Slush summed up the event where ESA BIC Finland put in a stand that gathered the Nordic partners from across the ESA Business Application and Space Solutions (BASS) network together with the ESA BASS team and ESA Earth Observation Programme (EOP). 

Slush 2019 with its whopping 25 000 attendees was possibly the biggest start-up event (ever) and one where sustainability, deep tech and investment were the themes ‘du jour’.

Slush according to Slush 

Slush has grown from a 300-person assembly to a community of true global magnitude. Slush began as a student-driven, not-for-profit movement created to support the next generation of ground-breaking entrepreneurs. Stellar success and global interest has turned the two-day event in Helsinki into a weeklong affair with multiple side events focused on start-ups, scale ups, investors and founders.

ESA BIC Finland organised the ESA stand in collaboration with ESA BASS, ESA EOP and the Nordic ESA BICs. The state-of-the-art über-interactive stand included AR/VR demos, one from EOP Phi Lab showcasing the capabilities of EO and its relevance to start-ups. 

The stand also benefitted from Astronaut in training Matthias Maurer who provided the buzz and drew in crowds with demos of some of the innovation technologies (Matthias was so taken with the Ntention glove that he couldn’t resist a quick tweet.) 

The ESA BICs in residence also brought along their stellar incubates, including:  Awake.AI, Aurora Propulsion Technologies, Arctic Astronautics, Arctic Space Technologies AB, Centropy AB, Mooringo AB and Eningo AB Gilytics, ClearSpace, ANYbotics, Golbriak Space OÜ.

The ESA BASS team also attended one of the side events organised by an ESA BIC Finland’s alumni Collective Crunch. The workshop introduced the topic of Digital Forestry. Participants could meet ‘cool, calm and hassle-free’ Linda, their AI platform and witness Collective Crunch’s trajectory from the ESA BIC to BA seeing first-hand the ‘Slush effect’ as well as the entire supply chain in the forestry sector. Themes of Carbon Capture and Storage were palpable in the workshop as emerging new trends. 

Slush as a large-scale event offered a multitude of matchmaking and networking opportunities as well as flagging up hot topics such as ocean tech and everyday environmentalism. 

Sustainability was also the start and end note for the event. Slush was founded with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as their foundation, so they make sure this is reflected at all levels of their operations – meticulously analysing the impact of their global events. (Slush Helsinki is an EkoKompassi/ EcoCompass certified event, using only biodegradable disposables, partnering with environmentally–friendly suppliers, serving only tap water, and using recycled or reused materials.)  

So what was the ESA BASS takeaway message? 

Space technology is the future for business formation whether start-up or scale-up in a sustainable – in all its forms (business and environment-wide) – way.  

See you in Helsinki on the 19-20 November for Slush 2020 …

Read more about the Sustainable Development Goals in Space as a Superpower