A Luxembourg start-up is among the five selected to benefit from the support programme of the European Space Resource Centre. (Photo: Kleos Space/Archives)

A Luxembourg start-up is among the five selected to benefit from the support programme of the European Space Resource Centre. (Photo: Kleos Space/Archives)

Space centre Esric's first support programme for start-ups will launch in April with the following companies having been selected: Astroport Space Technologies, Anisoprint, Adventus Interstellar, Four Point and Orbit recycling.

The young European Space Resource Innovation Centre (Esric) was created in 2020 by the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (List) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The centre, which aims to achieve international recognition in space innovation, launched its call for projects last November.

It received 33 applications from 17 countries--two from Luxembourg. Five companies were selected, including one from the grand duchy:

- Astroport Space Technologies. The Texan start-up transforms lunar dust into bricks and materials for the 3D printing of lunar infrastructures.

- Anisoprint, based in Esch-sur-Alzette, is working on the development of equipment for the 3D printing of tools, components, repair parts and structural elements in composite materials in zero gravity and low gravity conditions. Their projects aims to support the development of space resources extraction.

- Adventus Interstellar, from Switzerland, builds rover-lander systems based on tensegrity, the internal balance of a structure created by the interplay of tension and compression forces within it. The project's goal is to set up very low cost space deployment services.

- Polish company, Four Point wants to remove space debris form Earth's orbit and transition it to the Moon for recycling via innovations in monitoring, big data analysis and autonomous machines for extraction and transport.

- German start-up Orbit Recycling also aims to remove space debris from Earth's orbit and transport it to the Moon for recycling.

The selection committee, made up of members from Esric, Technoport, LSA, List and ESA, assessed the applications according to the projects’ “relevance to the space resource market and/or business, technology, business objectives, planning and execution, and project team.”

These five start-ups will benefit from a three-month pre-incubation period starting in April 2022. The aim is to validate their technical concepts and align them with market opportunities. They will be supported in technical and legal aspects. In the end, the best project will be selected for a two-year incubation phase. The selected start-up will receive up to €200,000, to confirm the technical value of it project and to develop its business model. It will also be entitled to a third residency phase of up to 36 months to monitor its development.

Esric plans two calls for projects per year. The next one will be launched in June 2022 and will be publicly announced during Space Resources week, which will take place from 3 to 5 May in Luxexpo the Box.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.