Our website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience and to collect information about how you use this site to improve our service to you. By not accepting cookies some elements of the site, such as video, will not work. Please visit our Cookie Policy page for more information on how we use cookies.

Start-ups using space tech invited to apply for funding

7th September 2016

MaynoothWorks Centre Manager, Owen Laverty added: "Bringing the ESA Space Solutions Centre to MaynoothWorks is a significant component in our value add to the entrepreneurial and research community in Maynooth and beyond. The ESA network, brand and funding (in cooperation with Enterprise Ireland) will provide considerable opportunities to launch and scale." 

The Space Solutions Centre has two strands, providing enticing opportunities for both new and established companies. Each of the 25 start-ups that successfully apply will receive €50,000 in seed funding, along with expert technical assistance and opportunities to access other funding mechanisms. The centre will also offer ten rounds of €40,000 funding to support technology transfer for established companies that want to develop demonstrators for new products and services using space technology. Companies can work from any of the four host institutions. 

Speaking at the event Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD said: “The Centre will give Irish entrepreneurs and start-ups a unique opportunity to access the funding, expertise and networks they need to grow their businesses and create jobs. We are proud of the fact that four of the country's leading science and technology institutions are at the forefront of such an innovative and exciting initiative. With the support of the European Space Agency, Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ireland can look forward to the rapid expansion of the Irish space sector in the coming years.”

David Gibbons, Manager of ESA Space Solutions Centre Ireland, emphasises that companies do not necessarily have to develop products for use in space. “This is an open call for companies and entrepreneurs to start talking to us, even if they are not sure whether they fit,” says Gibbons. “So much technology that we use every day originally came from space programs. People get hung up on the idea of technology that will be used on satellites or space-craft, but this is about applying space technology more broadly to create good products, good companies and more jobs.”

“Companies that successfully apply for the incubation programme will remain in the Centre for two years, and after that would be expected to gain High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) status,” explains Gibbons. “As well as the seed funding of €50,000 the companies will also gain access to a range of ESA space programmes and other funding mechanisms, and be able to take advantage of the brand value of ESA. Being part of the ESA family opens the door to a host of commercial opportunities and ESA resources such as the use of satellite data.”

Julie Sinnamon, Enterprise Ireland CEO, stated that Enterprise Ireland is delighted to be partner with the European Space Agency in supporting the development of high potential start up companies in this emerging sector, through the ESA Space Solutions Centre. Enterprise Ireland will bring its resources to the partnership to assist start- up companies in the development of new products for the global space market, supporting export sales and job creation, with a strong focus on regional entrepreneurship. 

Companies and entrepreneurs are invited to learn more at a workshop in Maynooth University, on 9 September. Further information is available here. More information about the application process is available from ESASpaceSolutions.ie.