“We are facing a unique opportunity for companies and organizations in the space sector to generate knowledge and innovation”
Pol Gibert, Secretary General of the Department of Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia
Barcelona to host the new Phi-Lab NET Spain facility to support space innovation
02 Oct 2024
The new centre will foster collaboration between academia, industry and investors to consolidate Spains’s space leadership.
The city of Barcelona will host the Phi-Lab NET Spain, a new facility aimed at supporting space innovation as part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) ScaleUp program. It was unveiled during the NewSpace Economy Congress 2024, held at La Llotja de Mar in Barcelona.
After the ESA CM22 Ministerial Council assembly, 23 ESA Members and Associate States pledged a total of €117.6 million to the ScaleUp program. With the backing of the Spanish Government, the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, working through the Spanish Space Agency, has allocated €12 million to the program. The Spanish Phi-Lab is set to implement an annual co-financing model, providing €1.1 million for projects. This financial support aims to promote cooperation among academic institutions, research centers, industry, and investment organizations.
The establishment of Phi-LabNET Spain@Barcelona, as a part of the Phi-Lab NET, is a key element of the ScaleUp Programme, a project aimed at accelerating the commercialization of space-related products and encouraging increased private investment in the space industry.
The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) won the bid to host a Phi-Lab in Barcelona as part of the ESA's call for proposals. The program, which focused on space technologies and their application to improve climate resilience, received significant co-funding from various consortium entities, with the Government of Catalonia being the main contributor, with over 8 million euros. The entities implementing the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia, including the IEEC, the i2CAT Foundation, and the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), will play key roles in this initiative.
Phi-LabNET Spain will be located in the RDIT building in the 'Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia' in Castelldefels, Barcelona, which is also home to the IEEC and the ESA-BIC Barcelona.
The presentation of Phi-LabNET Spain@Barcelona took place this Tuesday, featuring speeches by Juan Carlos Cortés, who serves as the Director of the Spanish Space Agency (AEE) and Vice-President of the ESA Council; Luca del Monte, who heads the Commercialization Department at ESA; Josep Colomé, who is the Director of the Area for the Promotion of the Space Sector of Catalonia at the IEEC; and Pol Gibert, who holds the position of Secretary General of the Department of Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia. Each speaker emphasized the importance of this new infrastructure for the national space ecosystem.
Pol Gibert said during his speech, "We are facing a unique opportunity for companies and organizations in the sector to generate knowledge and innovation. The NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia, as a driver of new lines of activity in the sector, could not be more aligned with this commitment, which also opens the door to a powerful collaboration with the rest of the ecosystem of the Spanish territory".
In this sense, Josep Colomé highlighted: "It is an honor for the IEEC to make the Phi-LabNET Spain@Barcelona, a successful center in promoting disruptive research for innovation projects. We count on a big team and an amazing consortium for this endeavor. And we also count on the collaboration of the teams at the Spanish Space Agency, the European Space Agency and the other members of the Phi-Lab NET, and the support of the Government of Catalonia". He added: "Today we start the mission to contribute to developing innovative spacetech solutions for climate resilience".
The NewSpace Economy Congress was held this week in Barcelona. It brought together more than 600 attendees from 18 countries and high-quality speakers, highlighting the importance of the space sector as a driver of technological and economic development.
About the ScaleUP program
The European Space Agency (ESA) ScaleUp program is an initiative designed to accelerate the commercialization of space and support the growth of private investment in space.
The ScaleUp program consists of two elements that support a company throughout its life cycle. The first provides innovation boosting, business incubation, business acceleration, intellectual property, and technology transfer services (ScaleUp Innovate) through instruments such as ESA BIC, TECHNOLOGY BROKER, and PHILAB. The second element facilitates the expansion of products into new markets (ScaleUp Invest).
Source: IEEC-Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia
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