The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the first EPIC European-Australian Space Startup Competition, a groundbreaking initiative designed to forge powerful partnerships and encourage innovation within the space industry.
Especially on the occasion of the 20 year celebration of the network of ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) and under the umbrella of the ESA Partnership Initiative for Commercialisation (EPIC), the Agency is looking forward to expanding the reach of European Space Start-ups and Scale-ups globally. This competition seeks to identify the most promising European space start-ups and scale-ups with potential business cases for the Australian market or collaborative projects with Australian partners.
A maximum of four companies will be selected to receive a sponsoring of €3,500 to attend the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, and will be accompanied by representatives from ESA. The winners of the initiative will thus be able to participate at IAC 2025, a prestigious event where the world’s space community gathers to access the latest advancements and trends, academic works, industry connections, and partnership opportunities, scheduled from September 29 to October 03.
How to apply
Participants to the competition are required to submit the following:
Business Proposal (500 words max): provide a high-level description of your space business, outlining the problem it addresses and your solution.
Market Relevance (500 words max): explain why your proposal is specifically relevant to the Australian space market (upstream or downstream) or how you intend to team up with Australian partners to address other export markets.
Support Needs (400 words max): describe the type of support you would need from European and/or Australian institutions.
Advantages of Partnership (400 words max): discuss the expected or potential benefits of partnering with Australian entities (commercial or institutional).
Team Overview: describe your company’s team, experience, and current investment situation. Additionally, applicants must produce a one-minute video clip introducing their team.
The five application points above are the basis for the evaluation the jury will use to select the winners. The evaluation criteria include the relevance of the solution to the Australian market, the potential to partner with Australian partners and the benefits generated by those partnerships. Lastly, they also include the ability of the team to take on the challenge of doing business with Australian partners. In an event of a tie, priority will be given to applicants that have not yet won an ESA space start-up competition in 2024 or 2025 (e.g. India, Japan, Singapore competitions, Prix Bulles Pierre Cardin).
Applications must be submitted via the dedicated form available on the official webpage of the competition by June 6, 2025 at midnight.
This competition is a unique chance for European space start-ups to step into the Australian market and connect with influential collaborators. ESA encourages all European start-ups to seize this opportunity for growth and recognition in the global space industry: the Agency looks forward to discovering innovative solutions and fostering meaningful collaborations across continents.
