South Australia’s dedicated space incubator program continues to strengthen the state’s thriving space industry, with the latest cohort of innovative start-ups successfully completing the program and now looking to scale-up their operations.
Nine early-stage space start-ups recently graduated from the Venture Catalyst Space program – Australia’s first space industry incubator which aims to nurture and grow new space ventures and build capability in the sector.
The international and local start-ups are developing innovative ideas and technologies across a broad range of space areas, including thermal engineering solutions for deep space exploration, cutting-edge scalable subsystems for small satellites and portable parabolic antennae for satellite communications.
The Venture Catalyst Space program is run by the Innovation and Collaboration Centre and funded through the South Australian Government’s $1.5 million Space Innovation Fund.
Since establishing in 2018, the program has supported 19 early-stage companies, creating 50 new jobs in the local space industry. Of the 19 companies, 13 have gained additional investment and grants total totalling more than $11 million, which is propelling their operations to the next level.
The program has also successfully attracted six international space start-ups to date, while a handful of start-ups opening offices in Adelaide, bringing valuable new talent and skills to the state.
Applications are now open for the ICC’s 2022 Venture Catalyst Space program. International, interstate, and local start-ups are encouraged to apply.
Read the full media release here.
Image: Adelaide-based Venture Catalyst Space graduates gather at the Innovation & Collaboration Centre’s graduation ceremony. Back Row, L-R: Andrew Barton, Moonlode; Guler Kockak, SPACELIS; Jasmine Vreugdenburg, ICC Director; Adam Wickham, Locus Rose; Lloyd Jacob Lopez, Hex20; Tessa Ewens, Locus Rose. Front Row, l-r: Ryan Daley, Locus Rose; Giles Kirby, Firefly Biotech.
