The Tender Evaluation Board of ESA BIC (Business Incubation Centre) Brindisi, the evaluation committee composed of representatives from ESA, ASI, DTA and the incubator’s partners, met a few days ago at the headquarters of the Aerospace Technology District (DTA) for the selection of the applications submitted to the second cut-off date of 2024. The candidate start-ups pitched their space-related business idea, assessed by the commission on a number of criteria, including: background and experience of the team, technology developed, connection to space, market opportunity, business model. Selected proposals will then be able to enter the incubation programme. The start-ups admitted to the two-year programme will receive a contribution of EUR 50,000. Below are the four start-ups selected in recent days and admitted to the Esa Bic Brindisi programme.
Archimedes: Development of a digital platform facilitating the development of decentralised applications with satellite modules (communication and positioning) for IoT (Internet of Things) systems.
Four experts in engineering and software development with a proven track record of realised innovative projects, including the realisation of a vehicle that participated in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge 2023.
Origin: Sicily
aSpace: Development of a software solution using Earth Observation satellite data and Artificial Intelligence algorithms to create customised fertiliser mixtures for the agricultural sector, adapted to specific soil characteristics.
A mechanical engineer with entrepreneurial experience in the agricultural sector and technical experience in the field of satellite remote sensing.
Origin: Apulia (founder from Nigeria)
AInexAir: A multifunctional device to improve drone flight capabilities, with positioning, satellite data sending/receiving and mission safety functionalities.
6 professionals with proven technical, managerial and entrepreneurial experience, some of them founders of the startup ABZero.
Origin: Tuscany
Dymension Space: Innovative software solutions for managing the design and manufacture of complex systems, such as spacecraft.
One aerospace engineering graduate, one software engineer and one business development manager.
Provenance: Apulia
The other two start-ups that have already entered the incubation programme and were selected in early 2024 are the following:
FlyingDEMon: solutions in the field of detection and environmental monitoring of radioactive elements derived from technologies already used for deep space observation Spin-off from Uniba, consisting of a physics professor and other researchers.
Origin: Apulia
VersoSat: development of transmitters for small satellites to enable communication with satellites of large commercial SATCOM constellations and optimise the exchange of data to and from the ground.
One telecommunications engineer and two space engineers
Origin: Apulia and Lombardy
Giuseppe Acierno, president and general manager of Dta points out: ‘In just six months we have incubated six new companies from Apulia and other regions of Italy in our premises. They are all companies that have passed a tough selection process thanks to their highly innovative services and products. We will continue our work with the aim of creating a concentration of new space companies that we will support in their growth path. We are convinced and committed to making the Bic (Business Incubation centre) Brindisi one of the most advanced realities in attracting space start-ups in the entire national context. Once again, our ambitions and bets are becoming reality’.
ESA BIC Brindisi is the first and only space startup incubator in Southern Italy belonging to the European Space Agency’s network of Business Incubation Centres. Directed and managed by DTA (Aerospace Technology District), ESA BIC Brindisi operates with the support of the Politecnico di Bari, the University of Bari, the University of Salento, various industrial partners and the Italian Space Agency. The programme is co-financed by the Apulia Region for the exclusive benefit of incubated start-ups. The European Esa Bic network consists of 29 centres. The Italian Esa Bic network consists of 5 centres: ESA BIC Turin, ESA BIC Lazio, ESA BIC Milan, ESA BIC Padua and ESA BIC Brindisi.
ESA BIC Brindisi è rivolto a start-up e team informali che sviluppano soluzioni e servizi con un collegamento allo spazio. Ciò comprende l’utilizzo di sistemi basati sullo spazio (come la navigazione satellitare, l’osservazione della terra e la comunicazione satellitare), l’adattamento di tecnologie spaziali per applicazioni non spaziali (spin-out) e l’innovazione di prodotti e servizi per l’industria spaziale.L’obiettivo primario dell’ESA BIC di Brindisi è quello di potenziare e guidare gli imprenditori nella traduzione di concetti legati allo spazio in iniziative commerciali valide. Questo obiettivo viene raggiunto attraverso la fornitura di competenze tecniche, assistenza nello sviluppo del business e legale, finanziamenti zero-equity e supporto al networking e all’internazionalizzazione.L’iniziativa mira a creare e coltivare un cluster di startup legate allo spazio nel Sud Italia. ESA BIC Brindisi condurrà campagne di selezione periodiche per identificare le idee imprenditoriali più promettenti in collaborazione con l’Agenzia Spaziale Europea e l’Agenzia Spaziale Italiana.
