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EnduroSat, a Bulgarian deep-tech startup that builds and operates nanosatellites, has been in the business for more than five years. At the end of June 2021, its technology finally reached space.

Launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare flight, EnduroSat succeeded in getting the first of nine upcoming shared missions in orbit – a nanosatellite called the SPARTAN. The missions aim to showcase software solutions that will provide the company’s customers with easy access to space data, while also representing the next-gen space technologies.

SPARTAN’s mission is a joint effort with Kuwait, which also launched its first-ever space mission on June 30. According to EnduroSat’s founder and CEO, Raycho Raychev, up until a few years ago it was unimaginable to even think of putting other nations in orbit for a fraction of the current market cost.

“We are thrilled to see the innovations and the incredible work, that our partners and customers will do in orbit, thanks to SPARTAN. We believe that EnduroSat`s Shared Satellite Service is a paradigm shift that eliminates the entire complexity of getting sensors to orbit,” Raychev tells ZDNet.

EnduroSat’s recent success is also a testimony of the growth that companies from Central and Eastern European countries have achieved recently. Founded in 2015, in 2018 the company launched EnduroSat One, the first Bulgarian CubeSat mission. The Bulgarian startup has experienced annual growth of 300%, making it one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe.

Its beginnings were humble and met with skepticism from investors. Now, the company employs more than 80 engineers, developers, and scientists.

The ESA BIC Estonia is among the most active ones, having more than 20 space-tech startups that have already shown early-stage growth. Estonia has been an ESA member country since 2015, which has made it possible for Estonian startups to compete in numerous national space projects and public tenders.

According to Kadri Arrak from the Tartu Science Park Foundation, investing in a country’s human capital is by far the most important aspect when it comes to the success of these companies in the space industry.

“Attracting the brightest minds can make or break a community, a country. ESA BIC Estonia has been lucky enough to attract six foreign founders and created 88 new smart jobs in the region,” Arrak tells ZDNet.

Possibilities such as those that ESA BIC Estonia provides are helping to create, develop and scale these startups, she adds.

SKUDO, a space startup that offers cybersecurity solutions, is one of the many companies that have started their journey to the stars at the ESA BIC Estonia. The company’s founder, Stefano Alberico, recalls SKUDO’s beginnings and its cooperation with the ESA BIC, which started in May 2020.

“We designed an encryption solution entirely contained within a single FPGA chip, which allows protecting any data communication (e.g. satellite, drones, IoT, etc). Having a working technology, we needed access to the market and contacts with customers,” Alberico tells ZDNet.

“The contract with ESA helped to provide an important customer validation. The ESA BIC helps to provide a stimulating supporting ecosystem, funding, networking and all-around support.”

According to Alberico, when it comes to the developments of the space industry in CEE countries, the main challenge is the limited budget that is available for the space sector. That’s why companies are looking for international partners and projects.

Estonia is pushing hard to become a leader in cybersecurity, making security monitoring technologies a particularly active area for the country’s startups.

“However recently it has been moving also to the space segment with innovating technologies, such as digital communication, CubeSat modules, etc. SKUDO is negotiating for a new large contract where, in partnership with CGI-Estonia, we are going to bring and test our technology in space on an orbiting satellite, where we will provide an end-to-end encrypted data link (ground-satellite) based on our FPGA chip technology,” Alberico tells ZDNet.

Small instrumentation for space application, such as cameras and spectrometer instruments, is another area that offers a lot of potential for CEE countries.

“I have seen many developments in Estonia and neighbor countries as well that start with university CubeSats and then go into commercial applications with hardware components and using Earth observation data to provide useful info for clients,” Rauno Gordon, the founder of another Estonian space startup called SpaceWave, tells ZDNet.

Gordon’s company is working on developing fast and secure communication for nanosatellites. It has also started under the wings of the ESA BIC Estonia.

“Our company is making space hardware, so we needed some funding to start product design. That was the initial need, but the input from mentors, ESA experts in that area, and help from legal professionals was more needed than we initially thought. This helped us to set up the company and direct our product development to a more relevant direction,” Gordon explains.

As for the future of the space industry in the region, Gordon says that it is the most innovative companies that will create the most value for investment.

“In the short- and mid-term, the space sector can provide the most value in novel information, in services that rely on Earth observation data or provide novel connectivity solutions – like IoT or for autonomous systems.

“Longer-term space-sector values are fantastic SciFi scenarios, where all new technologies will play a part. The value which is created is global, which means strong export potential.”

Read original article @ https://www.zdnet.com/article/from-encryption-to-iot-this-regions-startups-are-forging-new-frontiers-with-space-technology/

The company is currently negotiating a contract which will take its technology in space on an orbiting satellite

SKUDO, an Estonian startup offering deep-tech cybersecurity and hardware based encryption for high level niche markets such as the space industry, is one of European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) Estonia success stories.

In an interview with Space Business Today, the company’s founder Stefano Alberico talked about SKUDO’s beginning and its development under the ESA BIC Estonia’s programs.

SKUDO’s story began in January 2020, when the startup entered the selection process of the ESA incubator, and subsequently was selected to participate and to work on its space applications.

“We designed an encryption solution entirely contained within a single FPGA chip which allows to protect any data communication (e.g. satellite, drones, IoT, etc). Having a working technology, we needed access to the market and contacts with customers.” Alberico tells Space Business Today.

Source: SKUDO

“The contract with ESA helped providing an important customer validation while the ESA BIC helps providing a stimulating supporting eco-system, funding, networking and all around support.”

According to Alberico, Estonia has been also pushing hard to become leading in the cybersecurity sector and space is also one of the possible application where the country wants to play an important leading role.

“SKUDO is negotiating for a new large contract where in partnership with CGI-Estonia we are going to bring and test our technology in space on an orbiting satellite, where we will provide an end-to-end encrypted data link (ground-satellite) based on our own FPGA chip technology.” Alberico told SBT.

Since Estonia is a full member of the ESA since 2015, this also allows Estonian startups to compete in many public tenders and national space projects. Additionally, companies can also take part in large international projects and help foster a strong local space economy, Alberico said.

However, when it comes to investing in space technology, the human capital is a very much important aspect as well, especially with small countries such as Estonia, which have a limited budget, Alberico tells SBT.

“It’s all about human capital, especially when the budgets are limited compared to other regions in the EU. People need to be very smart, creative and strong minded if they want to become innovative and competitive in this segment.”

At the moment, there are around 20 space-tech startups in the ESA BIC Estonia, and many of them are already showing early-stage growth.

Read original article here:  https://spacebusinesstoday.com/private-sector/skudo-the-estonian-space-startup-that-offers-cybersecurity-solutions/

The winner of the NewCo Accelerator Pitching Competition at Arctic15 2021 is UP Catalyst! The runner-up is FanSifter and on third place Kausal. Congratulations to the winners and many thanks to all the amazing competitors for great pitches!

UP Catalyst OÜ is producing sustainable carbon nanomaterials and catalysts in novel methods. Currently, carbon materials are expensive and have a major negative impact on the environment; they are either mined from fossil resources or synthesized in toxic processes from raw oil. Their game-changing production processes are based on CO2 electrolysis and biomass pyrolysis. It recycles waste materials such as wood chips, black liquor, sludge and CO2.

UP Catalyst’s products are superior to any other carbon nanomaterials in quality, product properties and competitive pricing. These materials are used in a wide range of industries such as, but not limited to batteries, fuel cells, water filters and many others.

The pitching competition focused on pre-seed to seed stage startups. A panel of international investors and experts judged startups. There was three stages to the competition, the application period, public Top30 voting, and the final 15 pitching at the online event.

See below the winner’s pitch at public Top30 voting round on YouTube.

Read original Article:  https://newcohelsinki.fi/en/news/the-winner-of-the-newco-accelerator-pitching-competition-2021/

Estonian energy company, Alexela and cleantech start-up, PowerUP Energy Technologies, unveiled the first-ever Smart Hydrogen cabinet at Alexela’s refilling station at the Kakumäe harbor in Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn.

The first of its kind smart hydrogen cabinet is targeted towards small application users of hydrogen including sailing boats, yachts, and campervans. To show mobility of the smart cabinet, it will soon be shifted to a more commercial harbour in Tallinn located in Pirita.

The smart cabinet is fully automated and filled with lightweight hydrogen cylinders, provided by PowerUP Energy Technologies. With almost no human contact, the smart cabinets will be operated by a mobile payments system application called Paytailor, which makes mobile payments easy for its customers. In addition to this, the application provides its customers a seamless experience of operating the smart cabinet. The customers can open the smart cabinet, choose the number of hydrogen tanks they want to rent, and make the payment, all via the application.

Powered by solar panels, the cabinet is a smart way for sailors, campervan owners, or any other small application users of hydrogen to easily rent out hydrogen cylinders using an app.

Cleantech start-up, PowerUP Energy Technologies, has provided type 3 and type 4 hydrogen cylinders for this venture. Speaking at the launch, Dr. Ivar Kruusenberg, Founder and CEO at PowerUP Energy Technologies said

“Hydrogen has a promising role to play in achieving decarbonisation targets globally.”

“With hydrogen presence in Estonia being fairly limited due to lack of large-scale hydrogen production in the country as well as very few fuel cells implemented in real applications, this smart hydrogen cabinet will be the first step in Estonia’s energy transition to the most sought-after clean energy fuel – Hydrogen. Through this collaboration, we are reassuring our commitment to provide clean and safe energy solutions for everyone”

The launch of the pilot hydrogen smart cabinet in Estonia is a simple and cost-effective solution to hydrogen distribution and based on the response from the customers in Estonia, it is planned to be duplicated in other European countries as well.

Talking about the smart cabinet launch Marti Hääl, Executive Vice President of the Estonian energy company Alexela, says that they have the readiness to supply hydrogen with the rising demand, Marti added:

“The hydrogen solution presented with PowerUP is an example of how the value chain of hydrogen is actually doable.”

“The task today regarding hydrogen is to get enough consumers to spur the production in order to achieve competitive value for the consumers. But definitely, we at Alexela are ready for hydrogen entering the transport sector wider.”

About PowerUP Energy Technologies
PowerUP Energy Technologies is an Estonia-based cleantech start-up that produces best-in-class hydrogen fuel cell-based electric generators and proton exchange membrane fuel cells. PowerUP’s technology is based on their co-founders’ 15 years of scientific research in the field of fuel cells and energy technologies. Their generators have diverse use cases in industries such as marine, telecommunication, military, construction, hospitals, off-grid homes, and rescue forces to name a few. UP® product range is sustainable since it emits zero-emission, compact and lightweight, operates silently and requires minimal maintenance. Their first commercial products include 200W and W400 portable generators and they are soon launching 1kW and 6kW generators. PowerUP Energy Technologies serves as a sustainable alternative to power generation in today’s world and helps its users in various industries to reach the global net-zero targets.

About Alexela
Alexela is an Estonian company that mainly deals in the field of energy. The company has a unique product portfolio in Estonia, which includes, electricity, natural and biogas, balloon gas, container gas and through 104 service stations throughout Estonia, also all alternatives for car refuelling. Alexela develops H2 terminal in Paldiski, Estonia and LNG terminal in Hamina, Finland and also innovative pumped hydro energy storage in Paldiski, to facilitate large-scale storage of renewable electricity produced in Estonia.

For further information, please contact:

Taarini Atal
Head of Public Relations
PowerUP Energy Technologies
taarini@powerup-tech.com
+372 58909107

Marit Liik
Communications Manager
Alexela
marit.liik@alexela.ee
+372 5664 9619

Orginal article: https://hydrogen-central.com/smart-hydrogen-cabinet-estonia-alexela-powerup-energy-technologies/

The eighth application round of the Estonian space business incubator finished in April. Four strong candidates presented their space-related business ideas to a jury of consortium partners from the European Space Agency’s Business Incubator in Estonian (ESA BIC Estonia). Due to the high level of the teams, the jury chose three space technology start-ups to join the incubation program. Together with the alumni and the companies that signed a contract last week, 19 of the 20 places are filled.

To date, all companies selected to join ESA BIC Estonia have signed agreements and started planning the next steps together with the business incubator team and mentors.

“Since its launch in 2017, the ESA Business Incubator in Estonia has proven that young companies founded by our entrepreneurs and researchers pass the thorough screening of the ESA BIC evaluation panel. They offer not only new ideas but also plans on how to monetize them,” said Madis Võõras, Head of the Estonian Space Bureau.

This time, two spin-off companies of the University of Tartu, LightCode Photonics OÜ and UP Catalyst OÜ, and 10Lines OÜ, which recently won the European Satellite Navigation Agency (GSA) business competition from the prototype to the product category, were selected. Sven Lilla, project manager of ESA BIC Estonia, pointed out that companies are becoming more and more aware of the nature and possibilities of space technologies. He sees that the research achievements of Estonian universities have a great potential to lay the foundations for new knowledge-intensive space companies. Lilla added that this time the companies had an exceptionally high technical and scientific background. They have great potential to support future space missions in the direction of creating a Moonbase. The University of Tartu has been a breeding ground for Estonian space companies and thanks to the world-class student satellite program ESTCube and Tartu Observatory. Currently, five spin-off companies of the University of Tartu are involved in the ESA BIC Estonia incubation program.

LightCode Photonics Ltd is developing a 3D camera, which enables autonomous machines to “see” better and thus ensure greater safety on self-propelled machines, both on land and in the air. UP Catalyst OÜ produces carbon nanomaterials and catalysts for various applications in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way through the electrolysis of carbon dioxide, the by-product of which is oxygen. This will provide an opportunity to produce oxygen on space missions in the future. 10 Lines OÜ is developing a robot that can mark lines on parking lots without any help, using precision navigation and satellite images.

Today, 19 companies have joined the ESA Estonian Business Incubator, nine of which are in the Tartu Incubator and ten in Tallinn. The cities have invested a total of € 620,000 in companies, which has helped create 88 high value-added jobs in the region. Companies have paid nearly € 980,000 in labour taxes and have a turnover of over € 3.7 million.

In the autumn application round with a deadline of October 28, there is one last place to fill in the ESA Estonia Tartu Business Incubator.

Estonian Business Incubator of the European Space Agency – creates new business opportunities.

The Estonian business incubator of the European Space Agency is the first of its kind in the Baltics. ESA Estonia Business Incubator is part of the world’s largest network of incubators, which includes 22 space business incubators in 60 locations across Europe. To date, the network has supported the creation and development of more than 1,100 space technology start-ups. The goal of the ESA Estonian Business Incubator operating in Tartu and Tallinn is to help 20 space start-ups within five years. The business incubator offers them 50,000 euros in product development support, industry-specific mentorship and access to the ESA network. The goal of the ESA Estonian Business Incubator is to create new jobs and develop the local economy.

The leading partner of ESA BIC Estonia is Tartu Science Park. In cooperation with Tehnopol, they offer space business incubation services in Tallinn and Tartu.

The consortium of the space business incubator consists of seven partners: Tartu Science Park, Tehnopol Science and Business City, City of Tartu, the City of Tallinn, the University of Tartu together with Tartu Observatory, Tallinn University of Technology and Kredex.

Read more about ESA BIC Estonia here: www.esabic.ee

Paris Space Week took place virtually for the first time this month. The exhibition provided a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on European space-related start-ups via the ESA BIC Challenge and to present the ESA Space Solutions network.

ESA BIC Nord France, in partnership with ESA Space Solutions, organised the ESA BIC Challenge, which took place on 9 March. This gave a chance for space-based start-ups to pitch to a jury made up of representatives from ESA Space Solutions, ESA Phi-Lab, ESA BIC Bavaria and ASTech Paris Region. Ten European start-ups presented their solutions in front of the jury and trade participants attending the show, providing the start-ups with an ideal opportunity to gain some visibility.

Paris Space Week, and especially the ESA BIC Challenge, brought us recognition, together with a positive emotional boost and the PR we need during our intensive sales activities,” adds Simon Litvinov.

The jury decided to award first place to the ESA BIC Estonia incubatee Precision Navigation Systems. CEO Simon Litvinov and his start-up seduced the jury on three main criteria: the originality of the innovation, the business opportunities and the presentation. Precision Navigation Systems is building sustainable global navigation satellite system (GNSS) infrastructure and correction services. Its main product, Stargate RTK, provides GNSS corrections for robotics, drones and IoT applications.

Stargate RTK aggregates multiple GNSS public and commercial correction services and provides access to them through a single interface. In addition, Stargate RTK provides value-added data tailoring services for innovative market applications such as unconventional protocols and data format support, and GNSS observation upsampling.

The benefits of ESA BIC incubation

Precision Navigation Systems have benefited from incubation at ESA BIC Estonia as it enabled the start-up to grow the business while it developed the program. “During the ESA BIC Estonia incubation, we came a long way and even had to pivot our business model at one point. ESA BIC gave us the support we needed, providing credibility, funding and access to mentors and the ESA network,” says Simon Litvinov, CEO of Precision Navigation Systems.

Precision Navigation Systems main product, Stargate RTK, provides GNSS corrections for robotics, drones and IoT applications.

Being announced as the ESA BIC Challenge 2021 winner will strengthen the Estonian start-up’s position in the space sector. “Paris Space Week, and especially the ESA BIC Challenge, brought us recognition, together with a positive emotional boost and the PR we need during our intensive sales activities,” adds Simon Litvinov.

Presenting the ESA Space Solutions Network

Paris Space Week also provided an opportunity to present the world’s largest ecosystem for space-related start-ups, which is led by ESA. ESA BIC Nord France organised a 45-minute session dedicated to displaying the role of ESA in space entrepreneurship, with a focus on what ESA Space Solutions offers. Three ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) – ESA BIC Bavaria, ESA BIC Northern Germany and ESA BIC Nord France – illustrated the strength of this innovative space ecosystem by explaining how they support start-ups in their region. Finally, the Earth observation department of ESA, ESA Phi-Lab, highlighted how it accelerates the business of start-ups using Earth observation data.

ABOUT ESA SPACE SOLUTIONS

ESA Space Solutions is the go-to-place for great business ideas involving space in all areas of society and economy. Our mission is to support entrepreneurs in Europe in the development of business using satellite applications and space technology to improve everyday life. Our programme is designed to provide multiple entry points such as ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs), ESA Technology Broker Network, and ESA Business Applications programme. Funding typically ranges from 50KEuro to 2MEuro and supports everything from space technology transfer, early-stage incubation programs, Feasibility Studies to large-scale Demonstration Projects.

Original article: https://business.esa.int/news/esa-bic-estonia-incubatee-wins-esa-bic-challenge-paris-space-week

Autonomous ecosystem builder SKYCORP has filed a patent submission with the European Patent Office, for its Internet of Drones enabling Drone Controlling Device.

This new patent-pending module provides enhanced communications, locational intelligence, command and control and means that drones can now be traced also when not operational, introducing additional redundancy, increasing safety, and enabling new applications.

The features are necessary when looking to integrate with Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) while looking to enable autonomous operations during remote beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.

“This idea started from tying our own holistic hydrogen drone ecosystem together while adding redundancy to communications and control channels for increased safety and autonomy. However, seeing as how not only off-the-shelf drones, but even far more expensive ones were occasionally getting lost, could not be traced and lacked the required redundancy, we decided to design towards being hardware agnostic. In the end we all need to get along in the sky and this can be one of the solutions for achieving it” said Marek Alliksoo, CEO and founder of SKYCORP, adding “this is just the first step and our IPR partner Moosedog Oy has been excellent in mapping our patent portfolio and executing the first patent required towards realising our full vision of a carbon neutral autonomous environment of drone-based services.”

For the first time in the history of the European Space Agency network of business incubators, the business idea evaluation panel took place virtually. The six teams that applied had the opportunity to present their space-related business ideas to a jury consisting of the European Space Agency and the Estonian space business incubator representatives and consortium partners. As the level of the teams was high, four space technology start-ups were accepted into the incubation program. Altogether with the alumni, 15 start-ups are part the incubator.

Representatives of the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre Estonia (ESA BIC Estonia) evaluate the applications of space start-ups twice a year, either in Tartu or in Tallinn. It works in the same way in the rest of Europe. Due to the current particular situation, such an approach is no longer possible, so it was decided to carry out a virtual evaluation panel.

“Estonia stands out in the network because we are proactive and solution-oriented. Today’s technologies make it possible to hold web-based meetings and conferences, which means that you no longer have to gather in one place physically,” explained Andrus Kurvits, the head of the business incubator and a member of the board of Tartu Science Park. “Last month, together with the European Space Agency, we supported the Global Hack virtual hackathon. Today, several companies created as a result are applying for the funding rounds offered by the European Space Agency “, Kurvits added. (More information: https://business.esa.int)

“The teams in this round are solving important ground-based problems through the innovative use of space technologies or systems.” Sven Lilla, Head of Operations of the incubator, summed up the evaluation panel. “They are a clear example of how Estonian companies continue to have innovative ideas and interest in using space solutions to implement them.”

The Head of Tehnopol Startup Incubator, Kadri Tammai said that many teams who applied and were accepted had very high level of technical skills, but they also need support, to evolve their solution into working and scalable business. „Our mentor network, practical training program and supportive community, makes our program unique and helps to achieve success faster, “ added Tammai.

The teams selected in the last round of evaluation are Skudo OÜ, Skycorp OÜ, Krattworks OÜ and ESTIMO-GNSS OÜ.

Skudo OÜ is developing a hardware encryption solution that can be used for secure data transmission from satellites to drones. Skycorp OÜ is working on autonomous new generation long-distance drones that use hydrogen fuel. Krattworks OÜ is creating an autonomous system for surveying forest fires by combining remote monitoring with drones. ESTIMO-GNSS OÜ has a cheaper alternative to the current GNSS-based structural monitoring solutions for buildings under development. Their signal-processing technology has a multiple application for mm-level precision real-time 6D-positioning of static and dynamic objects. They can develop a turn-key custom solution without utilizing 3rd party technologies or services.

European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre Estonia – creates new business opportunities.

The Estonian business incubator of the European Space Agency (ESA BIC Estonia) is the first of its kind in the Baltics. The space business incubator aims to create new jobs and develop the local economy. It is part of the world’s largest network of incubators, with 20 space business incubators in 60 locations, that have supported the growth of more than 700 space technology start-ups. The goal of the space business incubator in Tartu and Tallinn is to help 20 Estonian space start-ups reach the international market within five years by offering them 50,000 euros in product development support and experienced mentors.

ESA BIC Estonia’s leading partner is Tartu Science Park, which in cooperation with Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol offers space business incubation services in Tallinn and Tartu.

The ESA BIC Estonian consortium consists of seven partners: Tartu Science Park, Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol, City of Tartu, City of Tallinn, the University of Tartu with Tartu Observatory, Tallinn University of Technology and Kredex.

Read more about ESA BIC Estonia here: esabic.ee