Space-based startups in Denmark and across Europe are experiencing notable growth. However, to truly elevate the sector in the coming years, there is a pressing need for more innovative ideas - from both companies already working with space technologies and those outside the space domain who can creatively apply space-based knowledge to terrestrial products and services.

ESA BIC, the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre, plays a key role in supporting startups with space-related ambitions.

During the TechBBQ conference last week, we had the opportunity to interview Dr. Stefan Gustafsson, Commercialisation Manager at ESA, to hear his perspective on what’s needed to spark the next wave of innovation in Denmark and across Europe.

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Interview with ESA's Commercialisation Manager, Dr. Stefan Gustafsson

1. Stefan Gustafsson: What do you see as the biggest challenge for the commercial space sector in Denmark and Europe over the next few years?

"We need to be able to think big from the first day and compete to win. This is not only about the individual business ideas, it is the whole innovation ecosystem, including how we from institutions and governments work to support the innovation ecosystem".

"Europe have lots of good ideas and great tech start-ups. In fact, there are slightly more new ‘deep tech’ startups per year in Europe than in the US. But we need to take better care of them".

"Our ‘traditional’ processes are good at supporting ‘incremental’ development, reducing risks step by step. But I suggest moving towards a system where we let the industry do more of what they are good at, which is building and delivering things, and then accept the fact that sometimes this may go wrong. We use the products to test them and learn from them. Next generation will then be better".

"There is a fragmentation of support systems and requirements that are difficult to navigate through. Often, there are regional or national structures, which complicate and limit the possibilities of finding the best partners, which may be abroad".

2. How do you assess the need for startups that supply technologies and services to the traditional space industry?

“This is truly crucial! Startups have innovation potential that we need to use, or we will lose out. In the past, many innovations came from large research labs, but that is not how it works any more. Still, the large companies with their experience are crucial to have as part of our ecosystem.”

“There is an important role for the larger companies to onboard ideas from startups and share the risks with them. Startups shouldn’t be misused as ‘cheap idea sources’"

- And how do you assess the need for startups that apply space-based technologies to create new products and services for use on Earth?

“Both spin-off and spin-in are important. And we need to think about this as early as possible. If we work on a spin-off when technology is already mature, the idea may be 10 years old or more already. There’s a great potential in co-developing technology for space and non-space use from an early stage.”

3. What is the current status of space startups in Europe?

“We have a healthy portfolio of ESA BIC-supported startups that is soon reaching 2000 companies, and it continues to grow.”

“What we have to decide is if we want to focus on growth in the first place, being open to all good new ideas, or become more specific, targeting areas which are strategically important for the European space efforts. Both ways are valid.”

4. If an established company or a new startup has a promising idea, how can ESA BIC support them in bringing it to life?

“We have a network of ESA BICs in nearly all ESA member states. We have partnered with the best teams in each of those countries and are now present at around 100 locations, ready to help promote good ideas.”

“ESA BIC provides an incentive funding of 60.000 EUR, it provides access to facilities, a ‘home’ for the startup company, and offers expertise and advice in all relevant areas, including business development, financing, technology and internationalisation. ESA also has its own investor network, and ESA BICs are connected to potential investors. The local ESA BICs or the ESA Technology Brokers can advise on this.”

5. How can Europe strengthen its resilience in the space sector and related technology domains?

“During the last decades, we have mostly been focused on efficiency in developing technology and doing business. But we see that much development and production moves out of Europe. This is crucial to address. In everything we do, we have to balance the need for efficiency with the need for resilience and effectiveness in a wider context.”

“Considering the space area in general, I agree with the many voices that raise the concern of European autonomy.”

“We need to take a long-term view on this.  In addition to starting from the ‘problems of today’ and looking ten or more years ahead to define problem areas in which we need solutions, we should also look even further ahead to try and identify early which innovation ecosystem we need to have in place to provide technologies we may need in the future – systems that we really don’t know much about yet.”

The interview with Stefan Gustafsson was conducted by Morten Garly, journalist and communications advisor at DTU Space.

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