Member Article

North East space industry set for boost with new NETPark incubator

The UK Space Agency has awarded Business Durham, the economic development company for County Durham, funding to support small businesses seeking to tap into the space sector as part of a UK-wide incubation programme.

The funding will support startup companies across the breadth of the space sector and grow space in regions throughout the UK by providing a supportive business environment to assist entrepreneurs to develop small companies, an important path in realising the space sector’s ambition to achieve a 10% share of the global space market by 2030.

The funded incubators will provide small businesses with access to facilities and resources and will be part of a network of incubators that will collaborate on events and initiatives.

The incubator in the North East will be based at the North East Technology Park (NETPark), in Sedgefield, County Durham, and will build on the success of the North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence, one of only three in the country, which is based at NETPark.

Dr Simon Goon, Business Durham’s managing director, said: “This is a fantastic investment to help support the North East’s smaller businesses as they tap into the flourishing UK space sector - an industry which is going to be worth £40bn by 2030.

“We can help businesses explore the huge potential of this global sector and elevate their ideas to the next level.”

Colin Baldwin, UK Space Gateway Programme Manager at the UK Space Agency, said: “North England, the Midlands and north Wales all have the potential to make a significant contribution to our thriving space sector.

“There are opportunities for a range of companies developing innovative products that can match the needs of the space industry. The incubators at Glyndwr, Sci-Tech Daresbury and Business Durham will build upon the growing interests in space and the role it can play to support other sectors within their local areas, both in technology developments and space-derived services.”

Colin added: “We’re committed to nurturing business and research in these regions, and showing small businesses how they can benefit from our £11.8 billion space industry.”