The INNOspace^® initiative – creating space for innovation

How do innovations from space flight enter other business sectors and fields of application? How can the space sector learn from developments in other industrial sectors? By information, communication and cooperation.
The German Space Agency at DLR launched the INNOspace^® initiative in 2013. INNOspace^® is an initiative within the “National Programme for Space and Innovation“ of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and has been part of the New Hightech Strategy of the federal government since 2014. INNOspace^® aims at creating stimuli and platforms for innovation and technology transfer between space and other business sectors. In this way, multiplier effects will help to tap new markets and to create economic added value in downstream markets and outside the framework of space flight.

INNOspace^® networks

The cross-sectoral cooperation between space and other business sectors offers a great potential for innovation. To this end, the German Space Agency at DLR has already founded their own networks: for the business sectors automotive, agriculture, and health.

Space2Motion
Space2Agriculture
Space2Health

The networks aim to establish cross-sectoral networking, to initiate synergies and strengthen them. New commercialisation potentials should be identified, technological cooperations intended, and joint funding plans initiated. The exchange of ideas with other business sectors facilitates the view on new developments and enables product and process innovations through active technology transfer.

Members of the networks are companies, start-ups, research institutions, universities, and associations, among them also major enterprises such as Airbus, Continental, BASF, John Deere, and others.

INNOspace Masters

Innovations originate through competition. For this reason, the German Space Agency at DLR has been hosting the annual innovation competition INNOspace Masters since 2015. The competition is fostering the development of spacebased innovations through the transfer of space technologies, services, and applications from space flight to other business sectors and vice versa. Together with the ESA Business Incubation Centres (BICs) Bavaria & Northern Germany, Hessen & Baden-Württemberg as well as Airbus, OHB, and DB Netz AG, INNOspace Masters is looking for innovative ideas for the future in five different competition categories. The competition addresses companies and founders, research institutions, universities, and individuals from all over Europe.

DLR Special Prize at Galileo Masters

Every year, the “Galileo Masters“ competition honours innovative ideas that are creatively using satellite navigation data. DLR awards a special prize. Instead of money, something considerably more valuable is awarded that money cannot buy: DLR experts invest 800 working hours in the winning project. Application is open to researchers, start-ups, and major enterprises.

DLR Special Prize at Copernicus Masters

Every year, DLR selects outstanding solutions using Earth observation data for commercial applications within the framework of Copernicus Masters. The award includes prize money of 5,000 euros. In addition, it is possible to obtain and use Copernicus data worth 10,000 euros. Galileo Masters and Copernicus Masters are organised by ESA and hosted by Anwendungszentrum Oberpfaffenhofen – a DLR spin-off.

DLR fosters the marketing of technology and know-how

DLR Technology Marketing

Those who work at DLR and see groundwork for potential products and services in their research projects, are entitled for support by DLR Technology Marketing in every project phase: from the idea to successful market launch to the further development of product-oriented technologies through to the foundation as a spin-off. With expertise, market knowledge, networks, coaching, and funding DLR Technology Marketing is the prime contact when it comes to the realisation of business ideas from research.

Spin-offs in the DLR

DLR’s spin-off team offers support in preparing and establishing spin-offs. This offer also addresses external founders wanting to market a DLR technology, for example:

Business model development, pitch training, business plan review, etc.
Search for market-relevant applications for technologies
Acquisition & co-financing of promotion programmes (Helmholtz Enterprise, EXIST)
Individual support by founding coaches
Networking with investors, experienced founders, incubators, etc.
and many more …

DLR has described its strategy for comprehensive support of its spin-offs in the DLR Spin-off Strategy.

DLR Entrepreneurial Lounge

The Entrepreneurial Lounge is the DLR network meeting for all former, current, and future DLR spin-offs. Establishing networks, finding fellow campaigners, exchanging experiences, presenting one’s own project: this DLR in-house event fosters the entrepreneurial spirit.

DLR Founders‘ Prize

Every year, the Association of Friends of DLR awards the
Horst Rauck Founders‘ Prize to promising young spin-offs with a DLR background that transfer DLR technologies from research to the market. They are rewarded with this prize for their innovative thinking, their entrepreneurial action, and their willingness to take risks.

DLR co-investment

With its Strategy 2030, DLR has created the opportunity to even more intensively support DLR spin-offs. Besides the already existing possibility of a pure investment under corporate law, now also a co-investment through DLR within the framework of financing rounds of young companies is possible. Under certain prerequisites, DLR can invest capital in DLR spin-offs at an early business stage jointly with at least one additional investor – and thus contribute to closing the financing gap of such hightech start-ups.

Cooperation with external partners

DLR is working closely together with other partners in order to give the best possible support to its spin-offs.

This includes, on the one hand, the cooperation with funding programmes such as Helmholtz Enterprise and EXIST, with which the founders can attract additional funding in case of a successful application.

On the other hand, DLR Technology Marketing supports the spin-offs in participating in external programmes such as Fraunhofer AHEAD, Step USA, ESA-BIC, etc., to enable the teams to optimally prepare their business.

At the “Falling Walls Venture“ conference in Berlin, every year the worldwide most promising research-oriented spin-offs present themselves. DLR has the right to nominate a spin-off from within its own ranks. The participation offers a great opportunity to find investors, supporters, and markets.

The INNOspace® initiative – creating space for innovation

INNOspace® networks