At LEITAT we know that the sky is not the limit; technology breakthroughs have taken man even to the outer space. That’s why we are currently working towards applying our broad technology knowledge and research to the space sector.
Recently, over the last few years, the space sector has opened its doors to private companies and institutions. The big governmental agencies (NASA, ESA, ROSCOSMOS, JAXA…) need a way to justify to the public and media all the investment in space technology. And so, technology transfer seems to be a very profitable way to do it.
By spin-off, space agencies transfer their space know-how to big companies or SMEs in non-space sectors. Space agencies don’t have the time nor resources to apply their research to other sectors, so they resort to licensing to transfer their technology. This way, they get more value for money (reducing expenses for participant countries and, therefore, for citizens), and industrial companies reduce their RTD costs by purchasing existing technology.
By spin-in, space agencies take know-how from big companies, SMEs, research centers, and universities. Space agencies have broad expertise about space, but they don’t have expertise in other fields that can be applied to space. By collaborating with other entities and acquiring their technologies, space agencies save enormous costs, while the other institutions gain more value for their research while getting direct expertise in the space sector, expanding their know-how.
LEITAT has detected this synergic relationship trend and is currently improving its portfolio to dive into the space sector through spin-in strategies to expand our know-how to the final frontier of mankind, bringing the benefits back here on Earth.
The European Commission also considers space as a key sector to ensure European industrial leadership in the Horizon 2020 framework. 1.7 billion euros are being allocated to fund space R&D. LEITAT is currently identifying the opportunities in this sector and establishing strong networks to tackle the next European challenges that are about to come. And that’s because here at LEITAT, we always want to take our research even further.
If you want better results, you just need to aim higher.
