The Pedro Nunes Institute (IPN) will launch a new financing program for national companies that are interested in developing services and products inspired by the space. In all, the institution has 600,000 euros to distribute to Portuguese startups. The incentive grants will be announced on the 10th of February, in an event that will be attended by Portugal Space, the Portuguese Space Agency.
The new IPN support framework aims to double the opportunities for startups that incubate at ESA BIC Portugal, supporting up to 12 national companies per year and maximizing the successful cases of technology transfer with new applications to finance proofs of concept in Portugal. Also noteworthy is the increased possibilities for financing projects that use satellite data through the ESA Business Applications platform.
IPN indicates, in a press release, that during Space19 +, the last ministerial council of ESA, Portugal allocated 12.5 million euros to the ARTES program (Telecommunications and Integrated Applications), with a view to reinforcing investment in the creation of applications and services that unite the space and non-space sectors, allowing the development of new business models.
At a global level, Portugal has increased its contribution to ESA to around 103 million euros. It is expected to create around one thousand qualified jobs in the next 10 years, namely in the areas of Earth Observation, Telecommunications and development of small satellites, whatever happens through a national strategy developed in consonance with the Portuguese Space Agency, the industry national and international and interface institutions.
