AmCham, jointly with Design Terminal organized a webinar on May 23, presenting the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Technology Broker Program that connects firms from the European space industry with businesses that would like to innovate or facing technology challenges that could be resolved with a space solution. The guest speaker of the event was Lőrinc Páva, ESA Technology Broker at Design Terminal.
Mr. Páva, stated that space technology can be successfully used in many sectors - such as in agriculture, where satellites can be applied for example to monitor and improve crops’ management – therefore the program can be of interest for a large group of businesses. The Technology Broker Program provides a free service, but it is essential that companies contact the designated technology brokers once they have a specific need for a technology solution. In this case, they can help the company identify and contact the space firm providing the relevant technological solution. In general, the program connects a company with a space firm within a short timeframe, most often between 1 week and 1 month. However, the length of the process might differ depending on the request.
Moreover, he also introduced the ESA Spark Funding, a complementor program for the Technology Broker, primarily targeted at SMEs or larger entities who already have existing product lines and seek to integrate space technology into their existing processes or to create entirely new products/services. With the Funding they can gain up to 60,000 euros (equity free) support to realize the technology transfer.
The deadline this year is on June 15, on the other hand, the funding is planned to run also next year, so that companies interested in the longer term can apply also in 2024.