European Space Centre launches Business Incubation Centre in Bavaria

The State of Bavaria, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the European Space Agency (ESA), and Kreissparkasse München Starnberg, a local bank, have supported the opening of an ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) in Oberpfaffenhofen, a hub of aerospace research, operations and related companies.

Oberpfaffenhofen becomes the fourth ESA BIC, as the Agency steps up its Technology Transfer Programme in a bid to incorporate aerospace research and expertise into start-up companies. The goal of this new business development centre, to be run by Anwendungszentrum

GmbH, is to support the formation of 40 companies in the next four years. The partners of the ESA BIC will contribute a total of €6.3 million. In addition, the new Aerospace Technology Park Oberpfaffenhofen has been set up to provide the infrastructure, including 18,000 square metres of office space, needed to accommodate these companies.       

The aerospace cluster in the area includes the DLR Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics and the DLR Institute for Communications and Navigation, which will complement the local start-ups and promote both the commercialisation and use of aerospace technologies in other growth areas.

“The aerospace industry is as dynamic as ever in Bavaria. Here, new companies have an opportunity to succeed, and [the] history of achievements in the region is set to continue on the European stage. I hereby welcome the European Space Agency as a new partner in Oberpfaffenhofen,” said Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Zeil at the opening ceremony.

Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Chairman of the DLR Executive Board, said ESA’s commitment represents a key stimulus for Oberpfaffenhofen as an aerospace cluster. “It brings with it a high level of international visibility and increased attractiveness for industrial firms.

In concert with the other ESA BICs in Darmstadt, Germany, Noordwijk, the Netherlands, and Frascati, Italy, Oberpfaffenhofen will be part of a European network that is focused on aerospace marketing on an international scale.

A week earlier, ESA said it was setting up a new research centre at Harwell, in Oxfordshire, UK, to focus on three key areas: combining data and images from space satellites to create new applications, climate change modelling, and the development of new technologies to explore the Moon and Mars. A small number of staff will start work in the autumn, based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, to enable knowledge exchange and development to support the future ESA programme. As the facility grows, additional specialised facilities will be built and included in the overall International Space Innovation Centre.