Basque Country opens ESA incubator call offering space start-ups up to €60,000

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The European Space Agency's incubation programme in the Basque Country, ESA BIC Euskadi, opens its call on 26 October. It is run by SPRI together with the region's BICs and other local innovation bodies, and it offers start-ups and founding teams working on technology with a space application up to 60,000 euros each as a non-repayable grant, plus between 12 and 24 months of support.

The support is measured in hours: up to 20 for technical testing and validation, up to 50 of business coaching, and 10 of intellectual property and legal advice. Participants also join the wider European ESA BIC network and can be based at the BICs of Álava, Bizkaia or Gipuzkoa on preferential terms.

Applicants may be teams still preparing to incorporate or tech start-ups up to five years old, and they must be established in, or effectively present in, the Basque Country. No aerospace background is required, only a clear link to space. There is no minimum technology readiness level, though TRL 3 or higher is treated as a sensible starting point, with TRL 6 as the target by the end. The call opens once a year, and finalists present to an evaluation committee.