New ESA initiative to fund SME satcom innovations
The European space agency (ESA) launched a second and expanded round of funding for research in satellite communications (satcom) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on 21 May. ESA's first round of funding, launched in 2001, is already supporting projects in fields including transportation management, tracking systems and interactive satellite advertising. ESA Director of applications, Claudio Mastracci, said he was impressed with the variety of ideas put forward last year. 'Building on our experience with the first initiative, we have fine-tuned the scheme to increase flexibility and the support we provide throughout the application process,' he explained. 'We look forward to seeing many more interesting proposals with the potential to enhance the competitiveness of the European and Canadian satcom industries.' Companies selected to join the scheme will be offered technical and financial support of up to 300,000 euro to develop their concepts to a level where commercial funding can be sought. The scheme might fund new uses for existing satellite technologies or support new systems and technologies with the potential to improve existing services. Two possible funding levels are available: a) Financial support of up to 100 per cent (maximum 300,000 euro) for the validation of concepts in the early stages of development, involving innovative technologies with high commercial and/or technical risks; b) Financial support of up to 50 per cent (maximum 150,000 euro) for integration and demonstration activities based on existing technologies, also involving high risk but with identified market opportunities. In recognition of the limited resources of small companies, ESA has created a fast-track application process allowing applicants to submit tentative ideas for initial feedback before producing a full proposal. Any SME from a country participating in ESA's telecommunications programme is eligible to apply. Participating countries are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.