ABOUT US
We, the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre Barcelona is a business incubator with an incubation program related to space technologies.
We are is located in the RDIT building in the Mediterranean Technology Park (PMT) in Castelldefels, in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.
We will support 18 incubatees over a period of 3 years between 2023-2025.
There was an ESA BIC in Barcelona between 2014 and 2018 that incubated 27 start-ups. Now it has launched again, with the idea of bringing continuity to the space sector development.
On the one hand, the ESA BIC Barcelona is managed by a consortium formed by the Mediterranean Technology Park as a Main contractor, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia as the Technical Office and the Government of Catalonia as a key partner.
On the other hand, our acceleration program is in partnership with Ajuntament de Barcelona, Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB), Diputació de Barcelona and Consell Comarcal del Baix Llobregat.
So we are going to create synergies with the strategy for the promotion of the aerospace sector that are defined and are being deployed under the NewSpace Strategy for Catalonia.
The aim of this initiative is to contribute value to the territory, promoting the development of a space sector, the generation of jobs and to have a positive economic impact on the territory.
Our main objective is to support entrepreneurs with a space-based business idea, helping to create and grow clusters of space related start-ups.
For that reason,we will select promising start-ups with a space related business idea to take part in the Business Incubation Programme in order to help these become successful companies until they are ready to leave the incubation phase and continue operating and growing without our support.
Why Barcelona?
Barcelona, as well as Madrid and Castilla y León, was one of the winners, of the CDTI (Centre for Industrial Technical Development) calls for locations of an ESA Business Incubation Centre.
Some of the benefits of being in Barcelona area are…
First of all, the fact that the UPC – with their expertise and knowledge- will lead the Project, and provide experience in technological transfer. Also, our acceleration program will be framed in the acceleration strategy that the UPC develops in the global framework of the UPC Innovation Ecosystem (research groups, technical and scientific structures and talent programs).
The Mediterranean Park of Technology is an innovative environment with a concentration of knowledge and talent, that is going to favour the capacity for innovation and competitiveness of companies.
The area of Barcelona, is a pole for relevant knowledge in the aeronautical field which help companies to be linked to research staff and to have access to the talented teams of the UPC.
The incubation program in the space sector is linked to the strategies that the Government of Catalonia is promoting and developing for the NewSpace in Catalonia and it is a strategic priority for the territory. The aim of the NewSpace Strategy is to position us as one of the most important Space Hubs and We are going to promote it.
So,the global approach of our initiative is to work for the implementation and integration of the Barcelona node in the national and European ESA BIC’s network, collaborating globally to attract international talent and specifically promoting the competitiveness of our area.
In conclusion:
It is our intention to become an essential part of the space innovation ecosystem, connecting players together and building strong space clusters.
The ESA BIC Barcelona seeks entrepreneurs who develop applications using space-based systems (such as satellite navigation, earth observation, or satellite communication), also who use space technologies in a non-space domain, and who develop innovative products and services for the space sector.
