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The state is supporting selected start-ups related to space technology with a total of 950,000 euros. By transferring technology from space travel to commercial applications, start-ups are strengthening Baden-Württemberg as a successful aerospace location and as a business location overall.
On July 11, 2024, Economics Minister Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut announced the approval of the state's share of the ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) start-ups with a total of 950,000 euros for 2024 and 2025 at the central event of the state campaign Start - up BW - the Start-up BW Summit . The start-ups supported as part of the ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg will each receive 50,000 euros for the implementation of their business models. The funding will be borne equally by the European Space Agency ESA and the state of Baden-Württemberg.
"The ESA Business Incubation Centre Baden-Württemberg is the central contact point for start-ups related to space technology in our state. I am delighted that with this funding we are supporting 38 young and innovative space-related companies in the development and application of space technology for terrestrial products or services," emphasised Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg, on site.
38 start-ups receive support
With the funding now announced, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is ensuring the required doubling of ESA funding of 25,000 euros per ESA BIC start-up and is supporting a total of 38 start-ups in their highly innovative start-up projects related to space travel.
"Start-ups make a significant contribution to increasing the economy's innovative capacity through their ability to quickly transform new ideas and technologies into business models. By transferring technology from space travel to commercial applications, start-ups strengthen Baden-Württemberg as a successful aerospace location and as a business location overall," said the Minister of Economic Affairs.
State campaign Start-up BW
With Start-up BW, the state government, under the leadership of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism, has been bundling its funding measures specifically for technology-oriented start-ups since 2017, uniting the regional start-up ecosystems in the state and taking measures to strengthen start-ups in an even more targeted manner. The Start-up BW Accelerators , which support highly innovative start-ups in the very early stages of their founding, play a key role in the state's Start-up BW campaign. The total of 18 Start-up BW Accelerators, which are specialized in content and spread across Baden-Württemberg, have been funded by the state with over 17 million euros since 2017 and have supported around 1,800 start-up teams with almost 4,000 applications. The start-ups supported since 2021 alone have been able to acquire around 210 million euros in funding and financing and create around 2,900 new jobs in future industries.
ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg
Since 2007, the Reutlingen Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) has been taking on management tasks in the space sector for all twelve IHKs in Baden-Württemberg. The proximity to established companies as well as to universities, administration and politics creates an ideal constellation for achieving success in knowledge transfer and developing new business models in the future field of space travel.
Initially, the office for the innovation competitions Galileo Masters, European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) and Copernicus Masters and, from 2018, the ESA BIC, the Business Incubation Centre of the European Space Agency ESA, was located at the Reutlingen Chamber of Industry and Commerce. There are 29 ESA BICs across Europe.
The ESA Business Incubation Centre is supported as part of the state campaign Start-up BW. The ESA BIC is the Start-up BW Accelerator, which acts as a central contact point in the state for start-ups that transfer technologies from space to commercial applications outside of space.
Since January 1, 2022, up to 15 start-ups per year will be admitted to the ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg, a total of 60 for the period 2022 to 2025, compared to 30 for the period 2018 to 2021.
By far the biggest focus of the incubated startups in the ESA BIC Baden-Württemberg is ecological sustainability, the area described as Green Space, followed by the healthcare sector.
