Representatives of the space companies selected for the Space Resources Business Accelerator.

Luxembourg, December 4th 2024

The new Space Resources Accelerator operated by ESRIC has announced the first cohort of its ground-breaking initiative, part of the BSGN Industry Accelerators. This cohort includes six ventures with proven technical and commercial capabilities that aim to develop applications to empower ESA’s lunar exploration efforts and drive progress across the entire space resources value chain. By joining this acceleration programme, the ventures will begin with a project preparation stage, during which they will refine and strengthen their proposals with in-kind support from ESRIC. The ultimate goal is to launch a project co-funded by ESA that will demonstrate their technologies in lunar conditions.

“With the addition of this first cohort from the Space Resources Accelerator (SRA) to the ones from our incubator – the Start-Up Support Programme (SSP), ESRIC will have engaged with more than 25 ventures since its inception in 2020. We are glad to work alongside the private sector to support their lunar exploration efforts and be in capacity to engage with ventures throughout their scaling journey, from idea to scale-up, through our various programmes.” states Kathryn Hadler, Director of ESRIC.

The first cohort is composed of the six following ventures each of which proposed a space resource enabling project. They were selected by a joint ESA-ESRIC evaluation panel.

Only one of the six startups selected for the first Space Resources Accelerator a is from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: Maana Electric, specialized in ISRU and power generation for both terrestrial and space markets, advancing towards its goal of producing solar resources on the Moon.

“We designed the Space Resources Accelerator in just one year, and I am particularly proud of the bridges we have built between technology and finance, as well as public and private endeavours. We were impressed by the high quality of the applications we received – primarily from Pre-Seed to Series A ventures across 14 countries in Europe and Canada, developing solutions in data, mobility, power, and infrastructure. These ventures are scaling rapidly, creating jobs, and attracting investors demonstrating the growing market for Moon-ready/compatible technologies. It is time for more space agencies and investors to join forces to support the Moon champions of tomorrow.” highlights Alexander Godlewski, Business Accelerator Officer.