Basque space startups can tap €60K grants under new ESA incubator call
What's the deal? SPRI-Agencia Vasca de Desarrollo Empresarial has opened the 2026 call for ESA BIC Euskadi, offering grants of up to €60,000 to early-stage space startups in the Basque Country. The call was published in the region's official gazette on October 26, 2026, with a deadline of November 27.
What's the endgame? ESA BIC Euskadi is the European Space AgencyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s business incubation programme in the region, run by SPRI. It targets startups and founding teams developing space technologies for new markets (spin-off) or adapting technologies from other sectors to space (spin-in).
The total budget is €360,000, co-funded equally by SPRI and ESA. Grants are awarded competitively, judged on the team, technology, value proposition, business model, and activity plan.
Who qualifies? Applicants can be companies under five years old or individual founders, provided they have not won funding in previous rounds of the programme. They must have an operating base in the Basque Country, secure approval from a Business Innovation Center and the TEB evaluation committee, and show a demonstrable link to the space sector.
What else do winners get? Beyond the cash, selected projects receive up to two years of incubation. That includes specialised technical and business coaching, support on intellectual property, and access to ESA's European network. Grants cover research and development, prototyping, proof of concept, and software and hardware work tied to space applications.
Why now? The programme sits within the Plan de Industria–Euskadi 2030, the region's bid to position itself as a European hub for space entrepreneurship. The call is open to firms that do not already belong to the aerospace industry, provided their technology can address space challenges.
The signal: The grant is modest beside Spain's wider commitments — the country has pledged €1.854 billion to ESA programmes for 2026–30, and ESA opened a new Castilla-La Mancha incubator in June. Its value is chiefly local: helping Basque founders fund early validation and plug into ESA's network, rather than serving as a major new source of sector-wide capital.
Read more: theofficer.es
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
