{"id":16908,"date":"2026-06-26T09:55:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T07:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908"},"modified":"2026-07-03T12:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T10:52:21","slug":"a-new-milestone-for-esa-commercialisation-in-spain-inaugurating-esa-business-incubation-centre-castilla-la-mancha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908","title":{"rendered":"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 19 June 2026<\/strong>, the ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Castilla-La Mancha<\/strong> was officially inaugurated during a launch event held at the Parque Cient\u00edfico y Tecnol\u00f3gico de Castilla-La Mancha<\/strong> (PCTCLM)<\/strong> in Albacete, Spain.<\/p>\n

The event brought together representatives from ESA<\/strong>, national and regional institutions<\/strong>, academia<\/strong> and industry<\/strong> to mark the opening of a new hub for space-driven entrepreneurship in Spain.<\/p>\n

This inauguration reflects the continued expansion of ESA\u2019s commercialisation activities in Spain. In particular, ESA\u2019s ACCESS programme<\/strong>, designed to accelerate the commercialisation and competitiveness of European industry, together with its ScaleUp <\/strong>element, supporting companies in their growth phase, is creating additional opportunities to develop and bring space-enabled solutions to market.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ESA Commercialisation Officer, Nicolas Helssen, at ESA BIC Castilla-La Mancha inauguration event<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A new ESA BIC powered by PCTCLM<\/h2>\n

The ESA BIC Castilla-La Mancha is powered by the Parque Cient\u00edfico y Tecnol\u00f3gico de Castilla-La Mancha (PCTCLM)<\/strong>, which will host and operate the centre from its facilities in Albacete. Acting as a central node within the regional innovation ecosystem, PCTCLM connects companies, universities and public institutions, supporting the development of high-value technological initiatives.<\/p>\n

The centre is backed by a regional consortium including Arribes<\/strong>, the University of Castilla-La Mancha<\/strong>, FIDAMC<\/strong> and BM&C<\/strong>, and builds on the strategic positioning of Castilla-La Mancha. During the event, representatives highlighted the region\u2019s strong industrial and logistics base<\/strong>, competitive operating conditions<\/strong>, and connectivity to key economic hubs in Spain<\/strong>. The availability of talent<\/strong>, growing aerospace activity<\/strong>, and access to funding<\/strong>, particularly through European programmes, were also emphasised as enablers for startup development.<\/p>\n

The new ESA BIC is expected to contribute to the creation of technology-based startups, while fostering the attraction of investment and qualified talent to the region<\/strong>. By integrating into ESA\u2019s European-wide commercialisation framework, the centre will enable entrepreneurs to benefit from funding<\/strong>, technical expertise<\/strong> and business support<\/strong>, as well as improved access to markets<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Launch event highlights<\/h2>\n

The event opened with a welcome session led by the Director of PCTCLM, Agust\u00edn Moreno<\/strong>, followed by a welcome address by Cornelis Eldering<\/strong>, Head of ESA Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation Services, and contributions from ESA Commercialisation Officer Nicolas Helssen<\/strong>, outlining the importance of space-based entrepreneurial activities for the region\u2019s strategy. Jos\u00e9 Maria P\u00e9rez<\/strong>, Head of National Programmes at the Spanish Space Agency, underscored the centre\u2019s strategic importance in the region as a key catalyst for advancing innovation across Spain\u2019s wider ecosystem.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jos\u00e9 Maria P\u00e9rez, Head of National Programmes at the Spanish Space Agency<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Philip Thomas<\/strong>, Head of the ScaleUp division at ESA, congratulates the ESA BIC Castilla-La Mancha: \u201cThe expansion of the ESA BIC network in Spain underscores the importance and significance of the ESA BIC to unlock space commercialisation at a regional level<\/strong> in participating ESA Member States.”<\/p>\n

An inspirational message was also delivered by Pablo Alvarez Fernandez<\/strong>, Spanish astronaut from ESA.<\/em> This was followed by a presentation of the ESA BIC programme and its implementation in Castilla-La Mancha by Irene S\u00e1nchez<\/strong>, manager of ESA BIC Castilla-La Mancha.<\/p>\n

The second part of the event featured institutional interventions from Amador Pastor Noheda<\/strong>, Regional Minister for Education, Culture and Sports of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha; Manuel Serrano L\u00f3pez<\/strong>, Mayor of Albacete; Juli\u00e1n Garde L\u00f3pez-Brea<\/strong>, Rector of the University of Castilla-La Mancha; Juan Carlos Cort\u00e9s Pulido<\/strong>, Director of the Spanish Space Agency and Chair of the European Space Agency Council; and Emiliano Garc\u00eda-Page S\u00e1nchez<\/strong>, President of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha.<\/p>\n

Interventions highlighted the importance of coordinated action between regional, national and European levels to foster a strong space innovation ecosystem and recognised the ESA BIC Castilla-La Mancha as a strategic instrument to further position the region within the space economy.<\/p>\n

Strengthening ESA\u2019s footprint in Spain<\/h2>\n

The inauguration of ESA BIC Castilla-La Mancha marks a further step in the evolution of ESA\u2019s presence in Spain<\/strong>, where incubation, access to technologies and scale-up support are increasingly aligned. By combining regional strengths with ESA\u2019s programmes, the new centre contributes to embedding space innovation across sectors and supporting the international growth of competitive European ventures.<\/p>\nDiscover more on ESA BICs<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 19 June 2026, the ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Castilla-La Mancha was officially inaugurated during a launch event held at the Parque Cient\u00edfico y Tecnol\u00f3gico de Castilla-La Mancha […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":16911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249],"tags":[430,768,910,255],"directorate":[431],"sts-api_categories":[],"esa-fields":[],"class_list":["post-16908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-access","tag-business-incubation-centre","tag-castilla-la-mancha","tag-scaleup","directorate-commercialisation-competitiveness-support"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha - ESA Commercialisation Gateway<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha - ESA Commercialisation Gateway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On 19 June 2026, the ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Castilla-La Mancha was officially inaugurated during a launch event held at the Parque Cient\u00edfico y Tecnol\u00f3gico de Castilla-La Mancha […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ESA Commercialisation Gateway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T07:55:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T10:52:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"878\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Miriam Musacchio\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Miriam Musacchio\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Miriam Musacchio\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e1b5791bf28db4ff5b08368350ceed7b\"},\"headline\":\"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T07:55:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-03T10:52:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908\"},\"wordCount\":723,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ACCESS\",\"Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC)\",\"Castilla\u2013La Mancha\",\"scaleup\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908\",\"name\":\"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha - ESA Commercialisation Gateway\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T07:55:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-03T10:52:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e1b5791bf28db4ff5b08368350ceed7b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":878},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?p=16908#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/\",\"name\":\"ESA Commercialisation Gateway\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e1b5791bf28db4ff5b08368350ceed7b\",\"name\":\"Miriam Musacchio\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/96c92342c8be66805f5221f743c4b60a266fb6f7d6a7cd88823e6ea132fb1293?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/96c92342c8be66805f5221f743c4b60a266fb6f7d6a7cd88823e6ea132fb1293?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/96c92342c8be66805f5221f743c4b60a266fb6f7d6a7cd88823e6ea132fb1293?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Miriam Musacchio\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/commercialisation.esa.int\\\/?author=23\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha - ESA Commercialisation Gateway","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha - ESA Commercialisation Gateway","og_description":"On 19 June 2026, the ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Castilla-La Mancha was officially inaugurated during a launch event held at the Parque Cient\u00edfico y Tecnol\u00f3gico de Castilla-La Mancha […]","og_url":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908","og_site_name":"ESA Commercialisation Gateway","article_published_time":"2026-06-26T07:55:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-03T10:52:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":878,"url":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Miriam Musacchio","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Miriam Musacchio","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908"},"author":{"name":"Miriam Musacchio","@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/#\/schema\/person\/e1b5791bf28db4ff5b08368350ceed7b"},"headline":"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha","datePublished":"2026-06-26T07:55:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-03T10:52:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908"},"wordCount":723,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg","keywords":["ACCESS","Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC)","Castilla\u2013La Mancha","scaleup"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908","url":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908","name":"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha - ESA Commercialisation Gateway","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-26T07:55:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-03T10:52:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/#\/schema\/person\/e1b5791bf28db4ff5b08368350ceed7b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Photo-5-CLM-new-1.jpg","width":1500,"height":878},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?p=16908#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A new milestone for ESA commercialisation in Spain: inaugurating ESA Business Incubation Centre Castilla-La Mancha"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/#website","url":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/","name":"ESA Commercialisation Gateway","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/#\/schema\/person\/e1b5791bf28db4ff5b08368350ceed7b","name":"Miriam Musacchio","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96c92342c8be66805f5221f743c4b60a266fb6f7d6a7cd88823e6ea132fb1293?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96c92342c8be66805f5221f743c4b60a266fb6f7d6a7cd88823e6ea132fb1293?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96c92342c8be66805f5221f743c4b60a266fb6f7d6a7cd88823e6ea132fb1293?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Miriam Musacchio"},"url":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/?author=23"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16908"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16951,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16908\/revisions\/16951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16908"},{"taxonomy":"directorate","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdirectorate&post=16908"},{"taxonomy":"sts-api_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fsts-api_categories&post=16908"},{"taxonomy":"esa-fields","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commercialisation.esa.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fesa-fields&post=16908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}