Basque aerospace ecosystem hosts the final stop of this year’s ESA Phi-Lab Spain Tour

The session on 26 November highlighted the Basque Country’s space ecosystem as a hub for innovation and collaboration. ESA Phi-Lab Spain showcased its commitment to advancing solutions supporting the challenge of climate resilience while sharing details about the forthcoming second cut-off date of its open call

Derio, 26 November 2025

The final stop of the ESA Phi-Lab Spain Tour took place today in Derio, co-organised by HEGAN, IEEC and TECNALIA and hosted at their facilities. The session brought together companies, startups and research groups for a day dedicated to space-driven innovation and climate resilience, marking the end of a month-long series of events across Spain.

The welcome was led by Ángel Doblado, Space and Defense Market Manager at TECNALIA, and Iñigo Lazkanotegi, Business Development Expert at TECNALIA. They highlighted that Euskadi is home to a “first-class technological ecosystem” and stressed that space has become a crucial driver of innovation.

“We are at a decisive moment. Building a more sustainable future requires effective, scalable and collaborative solutions” they noted.

Phi-Lab Spain: beyond funding — supporting ideas, incubating solutions

The programme presentation was delivered by Pepa Sedó, Head of the Development and Innovation Office at IEEC, who introduced ESA Phi-Lab Spain and stressed the strong capabilities of the Basque region. She encouraged local actors to bring forward proposals for the upcoming second cut-off date, reminding participants that Phi-Lab is not only a funding programme.

 “We aim to incubate projects and accompany teams throughout their development, offering tools and services that support their growth.”  

Estel Blay, Programme Manager at IEEC, followed with a detailed overview of the ESA Phi-Lab Spain Open Call. She clarified the focus on climate resilience — a concept that can sometimes be misunderstood: it does not simply mean “green projects”, but solutions that reduce vulnerability, improve preparedness or strengthen adaptive capacity. She also highlighted the broad technological scope of the call: although the first four selected projects are downstream, “we strongly encourage upstream proposals as well.” 

Helena Lasheras, Technical Manager at IEEC, then presented the four projects funded in the first cut-off date, showcasing them as examples of the type of innovative, space-based solutions that align with the programme’s objectives.

Basque strengths in space technologies and climate adaptation

Returning to TECNALIA, Ángel Doblado, provided an overview of their work in the space industry, citing three major lines of activity: new technological solutions, strategic collaborations and emerging areas of expertise.

He was followed by Efrén Feliu Torres, Climate Change Adaptation Manager at TECNALIA, who shared insights into their work on urban heat dynamics. He underlined the importance of generating “transferable and scalable workflows and applications” when designing solutions for climate adaptation, a message fully aligned with the mission of ESA Phi-Lab Spain. 

Representing HEGAN – Basque Aerospace Cluster, Ana Villate, Managing Director of HEGAN, presented the cluster’s strategic programmes, highlighting their role in driving cooperation within the sector. She noted that they work to create influence and foster joint actions that address the strategic challenges of their members, emphasising the importance of sustainable growth and collaborative development.

Technology transfer and commercialisation opportunities

Closing the presentations, Manuel Laborda (ESA Technology Broker) introduced ESA’s Scale-up programme, of which Phi-Lab is part, and explained the key role of the broker as a connector between diverse stakeholders. He outlined the programme’s focus on technology transfer, commercialisation and cross-sector collaboration.

After the talks, participants engaged in a speed-dating session and networking coffee, followed by a visit to the demonstration area, where they explored ongoing developments and prototypes in the Basque space ecosystem.

About ESA Phi-Lab Spain

ESA Phi-Lab Spain is a programme of the European Space Agency (ESA), supported by the Spanish Space Agency (AEE) and the Generalitat de Catalunya. The programme is part of ESA’s ScaleUp Programme, with a focus on promoting innovation and the commercialisation of space technologies to enhance climate resilience.

The programme is coordinated by the Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), which leads a consortium of twelve universities, research and innovation centres, and companies. These include the i2CAT Foundation, the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), the Fundación General CSIC, the KIMbcn Foundation, Arribes Enlightenment, the University of Valencia (UVEG), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), the Ricardo Valle Institute of Innovation Foundation (INNOVA IRV), the ESA MELiSSA Pilot Plant of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO).