New ESA BIC lighthouse project in Schleswig-Holstein

ESA Business Incubation Centre Northern Germany expands to Schleswig-Holstein

The ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) Northern Germany is opening a new centre for space startups in Lübeck. The Lübeck Technology Centre with its accelerator GATEWAY49 will take over the incubation management of ESA BIC startups in Schleswig-Holstein. The contract between ESA BIC Northern Germany and Technikzentrum Lübeck was signed at Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen. The space incubator ESA BIC Northern Germany of the European Space Agency ESA is one of 29 centres for startups in Europe.

Signing the ESA BIC Schleswig-Hollstein contract: Dr. Frank Schröder-Oeynhausen (Managing Director of the Technical Centre & Co-Founder of GATEWAY49), Holger W. Oelze (Managing Director of AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V.) and Thorsten Rudolph (Managing Director Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) (from left to right).

The aim of ESA BIC Northern Germany is to support outstanding entrepreneurs in turning their space-related ideas into reality and building successful companies together. Utilising space technology can offer ambitious entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage within their sector. ESA BIC Northern Germany provides the support and funding that startup companies need to turn their ideas into profitable products and services using space technology, or to develop technologies for use in space.

New Space and the change in markets and value chains offer a great opportunity for northern German companies. “Startups and companies working on solutions for digital transformation will find the best framework conditions in this region,” explains Holger W. Oelze, Managing Director of AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V.  He is pleased to have found a reliable partner in the form of the Lübeck-based accelerator GATEWAY49.

“Our accelerator GATEWAY49 has been igniting startup ideas from Northern Germany since 2020. Now we are ready for the next stage: with the new ESA BIC Northern Germany hub in Schleswig-Holstein, we offer innovative businesses with a space connection the best possible environment to launch their ideas,” says Dr Frank Schröder-Oeynhausen, Managing Director of the Technology Centre & Co-Founder of GATEWAY49. The focus of the GATEWAY49 accelerator is on the targeted support of so-called early-stage startups that pursue business models particularly in the fields of life science, food, smart city, logistics and new digital technologies, and now also space travel.

“At the ESA BIC Northern Germany, we pave the way for new space startups by providing access to a strong network and concrete development partners from the space industry and other clusters,” explains Holger W. Oelze, Chairman of Aviaspace Bremen e.V. The combination of business and science, which is unique in Schleswig-Holstein, will make a decisive contribution to this. “Lübeck is a fantastic city to open a new ESA BIC Northern Germany hub. We can attract highly qualified graduates here and cooperate with innovative partners and outstanding universities. In addition, we are setting the course to expand the network of space-related startups in Schleswig-Holstein and thus create high-tech jobs in the region. A lighthouse for digital innovation with Europe-wide appeal will be created in Lübeck,” concludes Thorsten Rudolph, Managing Director of Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO).

Dr. Frank Schröder-Oeynhausen (Managing Director of the Technical Centre & Co-Founder of GATEWAY49), Dr. Barbara Cembella (Director ESA BIC Northern Germany), Holger W. Oelze (Managing Director of AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V.), Petra Oetken (Head of STARTHAUS BREMEN) and Thorsten Rudolph (Managing Director Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen (AZO) (l.t.r.)

For more information can be found here:

https://esa-bic.de/ng/

https://www.gateway49.com/

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.

Since 2021, ESA BIC Northern Germany has also been offering its service to space-related startups in Schleswig-Holstein. The Technikzentrum Lübeck, Aviaspace Bremen and AZO jointly operate this extension of ESA BIC Northern Germany. There are also plans to extend ESA BIC Northern Germany to the northern German federal states of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Berlin-Brandenburg.