Harwell:Technology Strategy Board to provide funding for R&D in space technology
Eleven early stage companies, developing innovative space products and services in a range of industry sectors, will benefit from offers of £1.1 million in funding from the Technology Strategy Board’s Harwell Space Launchpad funding competition. The competition supports innovative R&D projects connected to the cluster of companies based in and around Harwell, Oxfordshire.
The winning companies will develop products in areas as diverse as:
- satellite data-based surveillance capabilities for global oil spill response
- a portable and cheap breath analyser, for the detection of the cancer-causing H-pylori infection through analysis of exhaled breath, using technology derived from the ESA Rosetta space mission
- The development of a long-endurance, portable, remotely piloted aerial system for energy sector asset inspections worldwide, allowing for the remote inspection of electricity overhead power-lines and gas pipelines.
The funding, announced this week by the Technology Strategy Board’s head of space, Tim Just, at Venturefest Oxford, the business creation and networking event, will be match-funded by the companies from their own resources or from new finance from investors, banks, other lenders or through development contracts with customers, suppliers or other partners.
David Bott, head of innovation programmes at the Technology Strategy Board, said: “Although the examples of space technology transfer will make the headlines with this announcement, it’s equally important to note that this Launchpad competition not only provides SMEs with funding for R&D projects, but supports the growth of their businesses through connections with mentors and expert advisers, as well as increasing access to the investor community and ecosystem around Harwell.
"We want to draw companies, investment and people into the Harwell space cluster end encourage networking and cooperation.”
