£2.5million boost for UK space technology industry
Grant funding totalling £2.5million is being made available to twenty two innovative British companies to help them develop commercial products and services using space technology
The funding – from the UK Space Agency, the Technology Strategy Board and the South East England Development Agency– will support twenty eight fast track research and development projects, each lasting between 6 and 9 months. Match funding will also be awarded from the businesses involved, bringing the total R&D spend to nearly £5m.
Dr David Williams, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said: "The UK space industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country, contributing £7.5billion annually to the UK economy. The National Space Technology Programme will help us further this success by providing an opportunity for promising UK space technologies and applications to be developed to meet their full commercial potential and for businesses to explore collaborations with other sectors to establish services in new markets."
Iain Gray, chief executive of the TSB, added: "This new investment in research and development by the UK's space industry will help innovative British businesses to design and develop cutting edge products and technologies that will be in global demand, helping to drive UK economic growth and support high tech jobs here."
Organisations leading the collaborative projects include ABSL Power Solutions, AMPAC ISP UK, Astrium, CBIL, Clyde Space, e2v technologies, EADS-UK, Exemplar Associates, Logica, M Squared Lasers, Magellium, Mars Space, National Physical Laboratory and Zettlex UK.
Fourteen of the twenty two companies offered funding are small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs), while fifteen of them plan to use facilities available at the International Space Innovation Centre at Harwell and Guildford.
The grant funding has been awarded following the companies' success in the fast track part of the Space for Growth competition for collaborative R&D funding. The results of the other part of the competition, which will see grant funding of up to £2m awarded to each of a small number of flagship R&D projects, are expected to be announced in April 2012.
