This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of making impact through innovation with the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs). After more than two decades of catalysing the commercialisation of space technologies through entrepreneurship, a celebration event will be held in Munich, Bavaria, to reflect on this journey. Entrepreneurs, experts, innovators will come together on the 13th and 14th February 2025 to commemorate the past success and impact of the ESA BICs, complete with start-up highlights, an award ceremony, networking opportunities, and a look towards the future.
From Noordwijk to Europe’s Largest Incubator Network
Originally founded in Noordwijk, the ESA BIC network has expanded into Europe’s largest network of incubation centres for space-related start-ups. Through tailored support – in the form of technical direction, business mentoring, legal and IPR advice, workshops, training, investment opportunities, and funding – the centres help start-ups develop business ideas into commercially successful companies. Start-ups come from both upstream and downstream parts of the value chain – for example ClearSpace, incubated at ESA BIC Switzerland, is pioneering the first space debris removal mission (ClearSpace-1), Caius incubated at ESA BIC Greece uses satellite imagery and geospatial data to map hiking trails and natural environments.
From agriculture and healthcare to transport, insurance, climate change solutions, and human spaceflight, ESA BICs support anyone with a link to space. In this way, the ESA BIC network enables the transfer of cutting-edge space technologies to sectors where they can have the greatest impact, bridging the gap between space exploration and tangible, everyday business solutions.
“As Europe moves into a new economic era, space is emerging as a critical sector for innovation, private investment, and societal impact. The ESA BIC programme has been instrumental in this shift, empowering entrepreneurs to turn bold ideas into businesses that benefit not only the space sector, but the world beyond. The 20th anniversary of ESA BICs is not just a celebration of the programme’s past achievements, but also a recognition of the incredible future that lies ahead“, said ESA Director General (DG) Josef Aschbacher.
Similarly, Geraldine Naja, Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness shares: “The commercialisation of space is no longer a distant vision—it is happening today. Through initiatives like ESA BICs, we are empowering entrepreneurs to take space technologies and ideas from the drawing board to the marketplace. This is how we’re unlocking space’s true potential to drive innovation across sectors and solve global challenges”.
“At ESA BICs, we believe in letting start-ups stand on the shoulders of giants. By providing them with the tools, mentorship, and resources needed to thrive, we are not just helping them survive—we’re enabling them to drive major trends and innovations that push the entire space ecosystem forward. With 85% of start-ups surviving their first 3 to 5 years, it’s clear that this approach works, allowing these young companies to not only succeed but also shape the future of space commercialisation”, comments the Head of the Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Office at ESA – Cornelis (Niels) Eldering.
The Rise of Commercial Space in Europe
Despite Europe’s fragmented market, the ESA BIC network has delivered significant socioeconomic benefits to Europe, ensuring its position as a global leader in space-based innovation. By the end of 2024, ESA BICs have supported over 1,800 start-ups. In 2023 alone, a survey showed 232+ MEUR of revenue generated, 556+ MEUR of investment raised, and 5075+ full-time high-value jobs created and sustained.
As a result, clusters of space-related start-ups have emerged. ESA BICs therefore directly foster the growth of the commercial sector, develop new markets, and allow a greater diversity of players to enter the field. The increasing involvement of smaller private companies working on innovative technologies in the space ecosystem has been dubbed NewSpace: a transformation in the way we view and use space. A core part of NewSpace is making space technologies more commercially viable, and the ESA BIC network plays a crucial role in enabling this transition through knowledge and technology transfer, assisted market entry, and extended accessibility and opportunities.
New Programmes, Bigger Goals, and Global Partnerships
As the celebration event will show, the ESA BIC network has been rapidly growing and adapting to a fast-changing and disruptive space sector. Extended support, such as larger funding amounts, accelerator programmes, and international networking opportunities are all enabled by the ESA BIC network. Today, there are 32 ESA BICs in 22 participating states. Recognising the important role that collaboration plays in the growth of the space sector, the ESA Partnership Initiative for Commercialisation (EPIC) was launched in 2022. Our partners include Airbus, Altair Engineering GMBH, Ellipsis Drive, Euroconsult, Iceye, Idaero Solutions, OVH Cloud, Planet Labs GMBH, Sinergise, Thales Alenia Space, and UP42 GMBH.
Space for All
Female founders have also been supported to overcome the barriers and biases of the field. For example, Dominique Waddoup from Birdshades – who now offers knowledge transfer herself – pioneered human-wildlife coexistence through a window film that led to an 80% reduction in bird impacts, where narrowed pointers from ESA BIC Austria allowed for faster development. Another success story includes Cristina Aleixendri from Bound4blue, who highlights ESA BIC Barcelona’s role in transforming their wind propulsion technology for ships into a global sustainability solution.
Further demonstrating how ESA BICs are instrumental in turning visionary concepts into impactful solutions, is Hans van ‘t Woud from Blackshore who, alongside ESA BIC Noordwijk, transformed an academic project into a thriving business with applications from food security, to efficient farming by mapping a changing world through citizen science.
A Vision for the Future: Space for Earth
Looking to the future, the ESA BIC network will continue to evolve in line with global trends. The network is increasingly focusing on start-ups that not only use space technology but also contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by ensuring that sustainability is part of the evaluation criteria at the selection of new start-ups. Driving this is the recognition that the future of the ESA BICs is not just about space—it is about using space-based innovations to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Join us in celebrating 20-years of ESA BICs: where space meets business, and business drives change for Earth.
This article was written for the occasion of the 20 years anniversary of the ESA BIC network in Europe. For the full overview of this celebration, go to the LinkedIn group by clicking on the button below.
Join the LinkedIn group
