Technology Transfer
Competition

Ready to take your idea and expand it into the space industry? Have you ever considered, how your innovation challenges can reshape the non-space sectors on Earth?

From navigation systems to healthcare applications and enhancing agricultural processes, space technology applications on Earth can pave the way for a more efficient and cutting-edge future.

Design Terminal is organising the Technology Transfer Competition in support of the ESA Technology Broker programme and Spark Funding opportunity, as a steppingstone towards generating novel ideas for successfully applying space technology on Earth.

We’re challenging you to come up with an innovative concept that could result in a breakthrough in space technology and secure you a 20.000 EUR non-refundable financial support to get you off the ground!

About the opportunity

As space innovation increasingly influences industries on Earth, new opportunities will emerge that promote ideation and Research & Development projects. The competition has two goals, first, to support the use of space technologies in non-space industries and second, to encourage companies to address their technological needs by using know-how developed for the space sector.

Submitted proposals do not need to be realised , the current competition should endorse an idea on the application of space technologies in new industries. The project proposal must establish a technology transfer that makes use of one of the following:

A patent from the ESA Space Patents Database or a software from the
European Space Software Repository – List of ESA IP’s and ESSR softwares

Who can apply?

Innovators and space enthusiasts, from any background and expertise can submit a proposal for a space technology transfer using one of the above-listed technologies. Whether you are a team of university students, colleagues, an entrepreneur, a startup, or anyone with a spark of creativity, join our competition with your innovative ideas.

TIMELINE

Representatives of top the 5 proposals will enrol in online mentoring in topics such as pitching, product-market-fit and technological viability, to successfully prepare them for the online Pitch event. At this occasion, a 3-membered industry and space evaluation board will rank the first three proposals that will secure a non-refundable financial support offered by ESA amounting up to 20.000 EUR.

Prize for the 1st place: 20.000 EUR
Prize for the 2nd and 3rd places: 7500 EUR

Application

Applicants must submit an idea-based project proposal. The one-page application document must contain your planned idea for the development with the following details:

  • Project title
  • Reference to the ESA IP or ESSR software
  • Describe the non-space technological deficiency or need you would like to solve
  • For what purpose do you want to solve this demand?
  • The envisioned project that space technology solves
  • What is the innovation, and in what ways do you want to apply the space technical solution?
  • Potential on Earth: who is the customer and what are the benefits?


  • When submitting your idea, you will need to describe the:

  • space technology to be used
  • the intended purpose of the space technology on Earth
  • the current circumstances of the application area and resulting challenges
  • the innovation involved in this space technology solution
  • potential market benefit in terms of the socio-economic impact of the application on Earth
  • The application is open until 2 October.

    Evaluation criteria

    The criteria for evaluating technology transfer proposals are the following:
  • novelty and innovation of the application
  • technological feasibility
  • product-market fit
  • industry impact and implementation of the of the proposer