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INNOspace Masters is an international innovation competition and part of the INNOspace® initiative. The German Space Agency at DLR initiated the competition in 2015 and organises it every year together with prominent partners from industry and ESA. The competition is open to companies of all sizes, start-ups, research institutions and universities as well as individuals worldwide and promotes ideas for the transfer of technologies and know-how from other industries to the space sector (spin-ins/New Space) or from space to non-space sectors (spin-offs). Industry partners include Airbus, Mercedes-Benz and OHB. Each of the five partners (DLR, ESA, Airbus, Mercedes-Benz, OHB) is providing a challenge for the competition (ESA even two, so six in total). Participants can choose from these six challenges the one that best suits their thematic focus and the maturity of their idea. The challenges cover the entire spectrum of the innovation process – from R&D projects, start-ups and new business models to market-ready solutions.
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Here are the most important dates for you if you are taking part in one of our challenges. The ESA BIC Challenge has a slightly different Evaluation Phase, with a shortened initial evaluation and an additional coaching phase.
Since 2015, almost 900 ideas have been submitted by 1999 companies, SMEs, start-ups, universities, research institutes, non-university research organisations and individuals from 44 countries. To date, 104 finalists have been selected and awarded prizes and grants totalling €11.7 million. This prize money will enable the winners to pursue their ideas in the long term and turn them into concrete innovation projects with the support of the respective challenge partners. The 2024 winners of the six challenges were announced at the Final Event in Berlin on 9 October 2024.
The German Space Agency at DLR has the task of implementing the German government’s space strategy in concrete programmes and projects, and of exploiting the potential for both technology transfer and the development of new markets. To achieve this, the DLR Space Agency launched the INNOspace® initiative in early 2013 to promote innovation, transfer and new markets. INNOspace Masters is part of this initiative.