Member Article

Gravitilab receives £100k investment from British Design Fund

Space services startup, Gravitilab, is on a mission to make conducting research in space more accessible and affordable. The company has just secured a £100k investment from British Design Fund.

Gravitilab is a fast growing “Space as a Service” business based in the East of England. It was founded in 2018 and has already received a stream of investments and grants, including being a recent inductee into the European Space Agency BIC UK program.

The company provides a solution to the problem of recreating a space environment – one where there is no gravity – which is something that cannot be done in a lab on Earth. Using Gravitilab’s services, customers can carry out fundamental research, or testing and qualification of products and services destined for orbit. This not only helps reduce failure rates and associated economic costs but decreases space debris.

The company’s latest development - the LOUIS altered gravity drone system – can be ready at a month’s notice and offers up to 6 flights in a day. The technology has already grabbed the attention of multiple universities and research teams, ahead of its official launch in summer 2022.

Gravitilab technical director, Rob Adlard, explains: “There are currently very few ways to conduct research when you’re developing a product for use in space. Of those that do exist, the cost is prohibitively high, waiting lists can be years long and access to SME’s is almost non-existent. We knew there had to be a solution, which is where the idea for Gravitilab was born.”

Rob continued: “At Gravitilab, we’re passionate about making access to space and microgravity both accessible and affordable for the UK and the international space industry. Not only that, but through our suite of services, we are enabling scientific advancement and helping making space exploration more sustainable – all of which is part of our mission to democratise space.”

Damon Bonser, CEO, British Design Fund, commented: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Gravitilab to the BDF portfolio. Space exploration is a growing and highly attractive market which offers many opportunities and there is a clear need for the services Gravitilab is offering.

“What really appealed to us about Gravitilab is that the company has proven technology that’s solving an important problem and a very credible team. Enabling accessibility to this kind of testing is going to be a gamechanger for universities and researchers and will support scientific and engineering advancements.”

British Design Fund (BDF) works with ambitious British product start-ups who are ready to scale-up and build thriving stand-out businesses. Alongside capital investment, BDF provides expert mentoring to support such companies to accelerate their growth plans.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Creative Leopard .