Space research: 5 new start-ups supported by the ESRIC

12 September 2023

Less than two years ago, in 2021, the initial call for the ESRIC (European Space Resources Innovation Centre) Start-up Support Programme, the first worldwide incubation programme entirely dedicated to space resources utilization, was rolled out. Now in its third edition, the programme is welcoming once again five new ventures that will start their pre-incubation journey.

A unique programme for space resources utilization

In the next three months, the five teams will go through a series of customised mentoring sessions, that will enable them to validate their technical concepts and align them with market opportunities. Just like their predecessors, they will have certain milestones to accomplish. At the end of the three-month programme one venture will be selected and supported to open a business entity in Luxembourg, hosted at Technoport.

Luxembourg is now a central player on the international stage of space resources, thanks to its vision and its commitment towards the development of the space sector and the sustained efforts from academia, research, and business. We are proud to have more than 80 space companies and institutes based here and the ESRIC Start-up Support Programme is playing a key role in attracting and supporting this booming new-space ecosystem.

Franz Fayot, Luxembourg Minister of the Economy

About the 5 selected ventures

Moliri Space – Estonia

The team aims to build solar power stations made from space resources in-situ. These stations would be able to produce electricity and have applications in both the terrestrial and space markets.

More: https://molirispacefactory.com/

Open Moon – Spain

A venture with a mission to digitalise the instruments on the Moon and in space, Open Moon is targeting a complementary cloud-based product ecosystem, facilitating the communication with certain instruments, as well as continuous monitoring, maintenance, and data analytics.

Orbital Mining Corp. – USA

Seeking to become an end-to-end integrated energy company on the Moon, Orbital Mining Corporation (OMC) aims to provide electricity generation, storage, and transmission. The current offering of OMC is called MoLISC, a modular battery providing a lightweight and power efficient solution matching the needs of electronic devices and subsystems engaged in SRU Moon operations. 

More: https://www.orbitalminecorp.com/

SolSys Mining – Norway

Lunafolia, a complete system for lunar SRU and agriculture, encompassing nutrient extraction, hydroponics, and plant-waste recycling, is the solution SolSys aims to develop. With this, the team wants to contribute to the reduction of costs to transport materials to the Moon, enabling long-term presence in space.

More: https://solsysmining.com/

WeSpace – Israel

We Space is targeting autonomous flying robotic systems, also known as hoppers, capable of high-speed driving on the Moon. The technology the team is developing would enable a cost-effective exploration of the lunar surface, essential for a better understanding of its formation and evolution.

More: https://wespacetech.com/

Space sector in Luxembourg

We are thrilled to witness the growing interest in space resources from such diverse start-ups. ESRIC’s mission is to become an international leader in the field, and this is the reason why we are growing our research capabilities simultaneously to supporting the development of commercial readiness for business visionaries wanting to innovate and be part of the new-space economy.

Dr Kathryn Hadler, the Director of ESRIC

Luxembourg has built a thriving space industry, comprised of companies and research labs and including a growing number of firms that build solutions for the commercial exploration and utilisation of space resources. In just three decades, the Luxembourg space sector has grown from nothing into probably the most dynamic in Europe. The country is building an environment encouraging space entrepreneurship to make space dreams real.

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