A visit to the European Space Agency’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC) was organised recently by SBIC. Entrepreneurs from incubated startups at ESA BIC Noordwijk and participants of ESA Phi-Lab NL joined the lab tour, which fostered cross-fertilisation among two of ESA’s commercialisation programmes, as well as shining a spotlight on space tech innovations. Representatives from ESA and the Netherlands Space Agency (NLSA) also participated. Make use space tech or data in your startup
Space tech innovations
Around the same time as the team at ESA Technology was highlighting the innovative work of the bright researchers that are space-proofing ESA’s missions from inside the technical laboratories at ESA ESTEC, a delegation was making its way from SBIC to visit some of those very same labs, and hear about the ongoing research.
The tour was organised by Jacobo Domingo, the SBIC business development manager and programme manager of ESA’s only business incubator in the Netherlands. “It was a great chance for the teams of the two different ESA programmes to connect with each other, fostering cross-fertilisation within the commercialisation umbrella,” comments Jacobo. “Moreover, this allowed the entrepreneurs to discover the infrastructure of some of the labs within ESTEC, the people behind them and see some cool space tech in action!”
Development of space assets
One of the major benefits of ESA BIC Noordwijk’s location – along with all the facilities on the NL Space Campus – is being close to ESA’s biggest R&D facility, ESTEC. Despite the proximity, not all incubatees get the chance to step behind the walls of ESTEC except if taking advantage of technical support from ESA, so this tour was one opportunity that was welcomed.
The uniqueness of ESA BIC Noordwijk as the first ESA incubator can be explained by its origins. Niels Eldering, head of ESA’s Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation in the Commercialisation Services Department, has been there since the beginning of ESA BIC. Niels has previously commented about the early days: “The idea was to set up an incubator that would select promising startups with different application ideas from the space industry. And then support them with business and technical knowledge. Thus was born ESA BIC Noordwijk in 2004.”
As an update, he notes: “What we built over the past two decades is now accelerating before our eyes. We set out to create a home for Europe’s space entrepreneurs. Today, that home has grown into a thriving ecosystem. The ESA BIC network is proving that when we empower innovators, alongside our entrepreneurs, Europe can lead.”
Tour of ESTEC labs
Niels Eldering started the tour with an introduction in the Erasmus Innovation Centre, accompanied by his colleagues: Mercedes Sanchez, ESA BIC country manager for the Netherlands; and Roberto Cossu, responsible for coordinating and providing innovation support services to the ESA Commercialisation Network, including the ESA Phi-LabNET. Exploring the showroom, the delegation learnt facts about the International Space Station (ISS) and space exploration, with time for a photo shoot in the Columbus module demonstration model, stepping into a life-size mock-up of the ISS laboratory.
The tour then took in four of the ESTEC labs, with introductions from their respective representatives (listed in the order of visiting):
- Automation and Robotics Laboraties (link) – where rover models are tested focusing on robot roaming on the surface of the Moon and Mars. Alongside this, tracking of satellites and other space assets in space happens in the in-lab set up.
- Propulsion Laboratory (link) – where methods of controlling the motion of spacecraft are tested. There where live tests were happening during the visit enabling insights of the set ups in action.
- Materials & Electrical Components Laboratories (link) – where there is a myriad of machines and testing facilities for everything from environmental testing and containment pollution, along with a radiation test facility. Jacobo shares: “This is where we got to see how gamma radiation deteriorated a small astronaut figurine.”
- Mechanical Systems Laboratory (link) – where test methods involve thermal cycling and thermal balance in a vacuum or at ambient pressure and vibration testing. The tour visitors were introduced to facilities for cryogenic and thermal testing, as well as the new facilities that are currently in development.
Materials research and engineering
ESA’s materials and process engineer Malgorzata Holynska commented following the tour: “My colleagues and I are from the ESA ESTEC labs dealing with materials and components testing and it was great to welcome the visitors. This tour gave a very good idea of the available capabilities of the ESTEC campus and on-going projects, including demonstrations of specific products and equipment in action, as well as future plans. We will keep in touch for future exchanges and commercial/research projects of common interest.” Malgorzata also highlighted to the entrepreneurs about the need to plan well in advance as the ESA lab schedules are very busy.
It is of interest to note that one ESA BIC startup has already had its innovative materials included in a project at ESTEC. In 2024, ESA BIC alumnus Arceon‘s ceramic composites launched to the ISS for a space-based experiment – the Europe Material Ageing campaign (see filler box). It is a possibility that the researchers in the materials lab visited on the tour have handled Arceon’s material since it returned to Earth earlier this year. And, it is highly likely there will be other ESA BIC startups working with these ESA researchers in the future.
MATERIALS RESEARCH: The Euro Material Ageing (EMA) experiment involved a collection of material samples being exposed to the space environment on the outside of the ISS for 6 months. ESA’s Agnieszka Suliga kindly provided an update on the mission since the materials returned to Earth in Feb 2026: “A total of 63 ESA samples are now at ESTEC for the first post-flight checks. These include high-resolution imaging, mass measurements and tests of surface absorptance and emittance to see how the space exposure has aged the materials. In the next months, the samples will be sent back to the individual researchers for more detailed investigations by each team.” EMA project info
See the ESA Commercialisation Gateway news story by clicking the visual:
Inspiring testing capabilities
Incubated startups are always keen to get their innovations tested within the ESTEC labs. We caught up with one of the current ESA BIC Noordwijk incubatees that was on the tour for post-visit feedback.
Gian Mario Rossi is responsible for business development at ZemQuest. The startup’s solution enables the delivery of emission-free energy for industrial mobility with tech focused on a solid fuel cell where aluminium is the energy carrier.
“The labs tour at ESA ESTEC was a genuinely valuable experience. It gave me a much clearer understanding of the scientific areas relevant to our product and of the testing capabilities we could draw on as we develop it,” comments Gian Mario. “While we are still at an early stage, I can already see how some of this expertise, particularly the chemical studies, could support us further down the line, likely around TRL 6, when we expect to outsource part of that work.”
Interestingly, it wasn’t only the tech and research being carried out at ESTEC that created an impression, as Gian Mario explains: “My own background is more on the business development side, so for me the tour was especially useful in understanding how public funding flows into ESA and the rationale behind it. I was also impressed by the high professional standard of the testing equipment, which gave me a useful reference point in terms of complexity and real-world usability.”
The ESTEC tour gave me an understanding of the scientific areas relevant to our product and of the testing capabilities that we could draw on
Gian Mario rossi, zemquest
Establishing connections for future collaborations
This was the first such tour organised by SBIC Noordwijk to create awareness of what’s happening next door on campus – and hopefully it won’t be the last. “Having the tour open to both ESA BIC and ESA Phi-Lab participants was a real plus: it created a richer mix of perspectives and made the networking side even more worthwhile,” Gian Mario concludes. “To anyone considering the next tour, I would simply say: go for it! It is well worth the time – you come away with a much better sense of what ESA can offer. Having the chance to connect with the people behind the labs is something you really shouldn’t miss.”
We’ll hand over to Jacobo for his summing up after the tour. “Overall, the visit was a great chance to get to know the people responsible for these labs and to encourage potential collaborations between the companies inside the commercialisation programmes and ESA itself,” concludes Jacobo. “Plus, it’s always fun to see state-of-the-art space technology and be able to ask all the questions you can think of to the people responsible for running it. Great collaboration!”
Thanks to all for the time and giving the curious visitors such a warm welcome!
APPLY TO ESA BIC NOORDWIJK
The Dutch business incubation programme of the European Space Agency, ESA BIC Noordwijk, runs an open call for startups to apply to join as an ESA BIC incubatee and reap the benefit that brings – funding, plus technical and business support – as well as being part of our community at SBIC Noordwijk and being close to ESTEC. In this programme, entrepreneurs work with upstream space tech or space related technologies to create impact on Earth. The next selection deadline is 5 Oct 2026. esa-bic.nl
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