Incubation Initiative Extended to new UK Space Park

A space tech start-up programme developed by the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre United Kingdom (ESA BIC UK), will be extended to include the new Space Park Leicester, which is due to open in 2021. 

Co-ordinated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in collaboration with ESA, and partly funded by STFC and the UK Space Agency, this programme has so far helped 87 start-up companies turn their brilliant ideas into viable products and services. Of these, 73 of these companies have graduated from the centre and have collectively raised over £72 million in investment.

Due to open in 2021, the new £100 million Space Park Leicester, managed by the City’s University will help to drive vibrant, growing regional space clusters across the UK, which will be able to access to the University of Leicester’s established research excellence in astrophysics, space research and engineering, combined with its expertise in data science.

STFC’s Dr Sue O’Hare, Operations Manager at the ESA BIC UK, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Space Park Leicester to the ESA BIC UK, which is a significant milestone for the programme. UK start-ups are increasingly using space technologies to create game-changing products, as well as technologies for use on spacecraft and satellites. However, taking a product from an initial idea to manufacture and market is a massive challenge. The UK is the leading funder in Europe for space business applications, and the addition of Space Park Leicester to our business incubation programme provides an exciting opportunity to widen our support for start-ups across the vibrant and growing East Midlands space cluster and beyond.”