ISA Italian Space Agency : 500,000 euros for aerospace

Half a million euros for funding technology transfer projects from the aerospace sector for industrial uses, as well as promoting a generation of digital start-ups based on free access to Earth observation data from satellite systems. The funds will be coming from ASI and the Lazio Region, with support from ESA, for what will be the first incubator of its kind in Italy. Today, Lazio Region president, Nicola Zingaretti, Italian Space Agency president, Roberto Battiston, and ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) director, Franco Ongaro, signed an agreement confirming their commitment to co-funding the ESA Bic Lazio incubation program, designed to support innovative business start-ups from the regional space research ecosystem.

'Today, satellite data from Copernicus and Galileo offer a wealth of potential resources and applications of commercial interest. We have developed more than 20 projects and others will follow, aiming to transform satellite data into commercial products', said Mr Battiston. He continued: 'We are renewing the agreement for the third time, which means the fifth and sixth year of an agreement that allows us to invest 500,000 euros in the sector for aerospace product applications. Today we attended the presentation of a range of very interesting projects, demonstrating how well this initiative is working.'

The initiative, which is supported by the Lazio Region, is part of implementing the Lazio Smart Specialization Strategy (or S3), tied to the European Horizon 2020 program. The event was attended by Lazio Region Economic Development and Productive Activities councillor, Guido Fabiani, and Director of ESA's European Space Research Institute (ESRIN). Josef Aschbacher.

'There are so many different stories in this incubator that show how, through technology transfer, aerospace science can change and improve our everyday lives, and this is happening in Lazio, in our region, which is great not only because of its past, but also because of what it is trying to be in the future', commented Mr Zingaretti. 'It shows that Rome is a great capital with immense potential if it manages to valorise its vocations. This is another reason why we have presented a new tender for around 8 million euros to support this huge production potential', concluded the governor. 'We need to believe in it, and that's what we're doing.'

'Lazio Region is performing its planning role to the full, rather than simply managing resources, making itself available to the industrial sector and the world of research', commented Mr Fabiani. 'The Region's goal is to valorise all the potential in the industrial system, bringing a wide range of resources and initiatives into play. Lazio is the first and only region in Italy to host an incubator for the European Space Agency.'

Following the success of the first two protocols, thanks to the agreement a new call to tender will be launched today targeted at start-ups and researchers, with 250,000 euros from the Region and 250,000 euros contributed by ASI. A total of 500,000 euros for supporting new companies that intend to apply aerospace know-how, technology and data in other industrial sectors. The announcement is for aspiring entrepreneurs, researchers, university professors and technical staff at research centres or universities (public and private) as well as start-ups launched within the last 5 years, with a maximum funding of 50,000 euros per project.

The goal is to multiply the success obtained in the two previous editions - which led to 20 technology start-ups being successfully launched on the market, as well as valorising research and development activities from a financial standpoint thanks to the filing and use of new patents on which the business projects were based - and to attract entrepreneurs working in the Earth Observation area, stimulating the creation of a new generation of digital start-ups based on free access to data from the new Sentinel satellite constellation in the European Copernicus program. The winners will be hosted and assisted at ITech (Spazio Attivo Roma Tecnopolo) by Bic Lazio, in Via Giacomo Peroni 442-444, for two years.

At ITech, the start-ups will be supported by Bic Lazio tutors and will receive technical feedback from ESA and ASI mentors, offering their own network and skills. 'We are really happy, because this is definitely one of the first agreements of its kind in Europe. Certainly the first in Italy', commented Franco Ongaro, Director of ESTEC. 'It has proven to work very well in recent years. This morning we saw some extraordinary ideas from companies that have a great future ahead of them. It is a pleasure to be able to renew our commitment. These companies will be supported by ESA's space observation centre, which is the closest, and by ESTEC, which is further away but which offers all of ESA's technological know-how.'