Technology transfer

ESA is Europe's gate into space and has always been a technology driver. ESA coordinates and supports the developments of European spaceflight - ensuring that the investments made in this permanently benefit all Europeans. In order to support the widespread use of aerospace technology, a Europe-wide initiative for the technology transfer from aerospace is performed in science and industry on the order of ESA. Companies profit from an actively operated technology transfer that permits product and process innovations in a large variety of sectors of the German industry. The technical achievements of aerospace will release an enormous innovation potential for the benefit of industry and consumers in future as well.

The initiative aims to bring innovative SMEs to ESA and reduce barriers for new entrants. EurA AG was selected as the point of contact for Germany. We support you in answering questions, managing your access to European space travel by providing local basic information about ESA, its programmes and companies. Furthermore, we support SMEs in registering with esa-star, ESA's new registration and administration facility for external companies. Contact us: esa-sme@eura-ag.de

The INNOspace network Space2Agriculture serves as a communication platform between space and agriculture. This strengthens cross-sector dialogue, identifies commercialisation potential for space services and technologies in agriculture, and ultimately opens up new applications and markets along the entire value chain. At the same time, the communication platform will also create new opportunities for space travel in the "upstream" sector, since it will generate high-quality knowledge in exchange with potential users in agriculture, which will flow directly into the technology planning of space travel companies in Germany and can thus also create new business areas and services.

In order to make space know-how available for other industries, the Space Management of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.) (DLR) launched the INNOspace® initiative in 2014. The INNOspace® network Space2Motion opens up a communication platform between the aerospace and automotive industries.  The main objectives of the network are the mediation and support of contacts between the space and automotive industries for the commercial exploitation of space technologies as well as the identification and definition of technology needs and problems of both sectors and the promotion of mutual technology transfer (spin-off, spin-in).

The initiative supports use of the know-how, scientific and development results of companies, institutes and research facilities that these acquired in the scope of various projects.

Small and medium-sized enterprises that often lack the required R&D capacities receive competitive advantages from access to advanced technologies.

The technology providers are available to the technology seekers as cooperation or development partners.

For the technology companies, utilisation of the existing know-how from different industries leads to new products more quickly and cost-efficiently than completely new developments would. You identify cost savings potentials.

The effectiveness and efficiency is documented by more than 250 successfully initiated spin-offs to date. The partners involved in the transfer have acquired considerable turnover potentials to date.