Bremen Startups in the City of Space

The space incubator ESA BIC Northern Germany has set itself the goal of supporting startups with their business development for at least one year. Who are the Bremen startups that are part of this business incubation program?* Find out here!

Over the past decades, Bremen has become a hub for the international aeronautics and space industry. In the City of Space, fresh, innovative ideas meet established companies and renowned research institutes.

Aviaspace Bremen e.V., which is particularly focused on supporting those innovation drivers, presented the startups that are already active members in the space incubator ESA BIC Northern Germany. In cooperation, Starthaus supports the start-ups in various areas, such as business development and financing.

We have summarized some of the incubatees for you here:

planblue

We encounter the feeling of seemingly endless expanses not only in outer space, but also in our oceans. To this day, the ocean floor is considered a largely unexplored area. This is exactly where planblue comes into play. With the use of intelligent software, complex data and information is collected about our seabed. To achieve this, the startup uses hyperspectral imaging,  which is often used by earth observation satellites. Want to learn more about planblue? Then click here.

Valispace

The Valispace Management Team: Marco Witzmann (co-founder & CEO), Louise Lindblad (co-founder & COO) und Nelson Monteiro (Software Architect) (f.l.t.r.) ©Valispace

Valispace swiftly and easily eliminates a well-known problem, according to founder and satellite engineer, Marco Witzmann (CEO), “some of the largest space projects are still documented in Word and Excel today. This eats up valuable working time and is prone to errors, as sometimes numerous individuals collaborate on a large project and the data must be maintained manually.” A problem that the Bremen Valispace tool solves. Unlike standard project management software, Valispace is specially designed for space engineers. All project participants can access the browser-based application, from all corners of the globe, and track changes made by their colleagues at a glance. In addition, the software promises to attract engineers from various industries in the future. Curious? Then take a look here to find ourmore.

Astronautin GmbH

One Day Astronaut Training with Claudia Kessler (centre).

Astronautin GmbH focuses on the organization and implementation of management workshops with elements taken directly from the training undertaken by astronauts. The participants become astronauts themselves and experience how invigorating it can be to step beyond their own limits. Special attention is given to women in leadership positions, who are empowered to move forward in their career through the workshops offered. Interested? Read more here.

Drift+Noise Polar GmbH

Convoy through the pack ice.

Navigating quickly and safely through the ice by ship with the help of data from space. This is made possible by Drift+Noise Polar Services GmbH. To find the right path in polar regions, it is not enough to rely on a good eye alone. In the infinity of the white expanses, seafarers constantly encounter shifting ice fields, impenetrable fog and sudden weather changes. Traditionally, so-called ‘ice pilots’ are responsible for gathering necessary chart material and keeping it up to date. This is tedious and and labour heavy manual work. Depending on the region, often times there is rarely up-to-date, reliable information available. In addition to this, there can sometimes be complications with transmission of the sea ice data, which in turn affects the quality and precision of the charts. You can read more about Drift+Noise here.

Helios

Dirk-Joost van Engelshoven, CEO Helios Aircargo Network.

The transportation of goods across the globe from point A to point B is essential for the survival of many sectors of the economy. This should be done as quickly, safely and as cost-efficient as possible. Due to this, the demand for air freight is exceedingly high. However, the market is dominated by a small number of large airlines with fixed long-distance networks that prefer to use their own fleets to transport goods. This makes it comparatively difficult for other airlines to gain a foothold in the competition. Not only this, but the lack of freely accessible air freight capacity on many routes results in many shipping companies unable to reach certain locations at all. An increasing number of shipping companies are therefore turning to e-logistics and e-freight technologies such as those offered by Helio Aircargo Network. Find out more about what Helios has to offer here.

Evoblade

Evoblade offers aerodynamic optimization of wind turbines with a retrofittable flow element: EvoFlap. With the help of this unique patented technology, significant yield increases for wind turbines are achieved. EvoFlap is made of a glass-fibre reinforced plastic and is mounted in the root area of the rotor blades. Regardless of the type of wind turbine or its manufacturer, this process can be done quickly and easily while the rotor blade is suspended. When modified this way, the trailing edge effectively reduces the disturbance of cross currents. As a result, the wind turbines generate an additional yield of up to 6% more than originally forecasted. The costs for the “upgrade”, also known in the industry as “retrofitting”, are thus amortised within approximately three years. Another advantage is that, under the right circumstances, the lower load on the rotor blade extends the service life of the turbine. Interested to learn more about Evoblade? Read about them here.

Navato Aerospace

Incubatee, Navato Aerospace beim ESA BIC Northern Germany.

Nanotechnology is a driver of innovation and takes place in a world that is unimaginably small in scale. This is the world in which the green startup Navato finds its place. Navato was founded with the clear goal of providing coating-free nanotechnology solutions across various industries. The associated company, Navato Aerospace GbR, is revolutionizing the aeronautics and space market for aircraft, satellite, launchers and ship materials. Learn more about Navato Aerospace here.

*This article lists all companies incubated in the ESA BIC Northern Germany business incubation program in 2020

ESA BIC Northern Germany

These start-ups all have one thing in common: they are part of the business incubation program of ESA BIC Northern Germany. The space incubator is part of the Europe-wide network of 29 centres for startups of the European Space Agency (ESA). Its goal: to accompany startups for a minimum of one year and support them in their business development. Every year, there are three application dates for young startups to apply to ESA BIC Northern Germany and take advantage of all that this program has to offer. The next application deadline is 23 August 2021, so if you are currently developing a business model related to the aeronautics and space industry, you should be quick and submit your application now!

Click here for more information

About ESA BIC Northern Germany

The Incubation Centre of the European Space Agency in Northern Germany (ESA BIC Northern Germany) is headquartered jointly with the Bremen aeronautics and space industries association AviaSpace Bremen at the BITZ, the largest innovation and technology centre for high-tech companies and startups in Bremen. The ESA BIC Northern Germany brings new startup opportunities to the region and thus strengthens the aeronautics and space sector in the German federal state of Bremen. Aviaspace Bremen supports the incubatees with its network, public relations work and targeted coaching not only during the incubation period, but also afterwards as alumni. Starthaus is the central point of contact in the Bremen startup ecosystem and supports the startups on all issues relating to business development and financing. The ESA BIC Northern Germany is managed by Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO), an international networking and branding company for the European space programmes that also manages ESA BIC Bavaria with three locations in southern Germany.

In the future, ESA BIC Northern Germany is set to expand to the northern German federal states of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, and Berlin-Brandenburg.