The UK Space Agency has awarded just under 150,000 pounds to three business incubation centres across the UK which will support entrepreneurs and small companies in the space industry.

The Agency is working with UK industry to deliver world-class science innovation support, in line with the Government's Industrial Strategy, which emphasises the importance of science, innovation and skills.

The business incubation centres in the Solent, Scotland and the South West of England, will support start-up companies by providing advice and support, giving access to facilities and resources and collaborating on events and initiatives with other business incubators.

+ Just under 50,000 pounds has gone to a joint scheme between the National Oceanography Centre's Marine Robotics Innovation Centre, in Southampton, and the University of Portsmouth's Innovation Space. The money will be used to provide an innovation hub in Southampton with world-leading expertise in developing next generation Marine Autonomous Systems and an incubation centre in Portsmouth.

+ In a scheme led by the University of Exeter, the South West Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications Partnership has received 50,000 pounds to run the SpaceTech Incubation Initiative, which will support start-ups and innovative SME's to exploit space technology. SpaceTech will be delivered by SETsquared EXETER with high-potential businesses being provided with 'grow-on' space at Goonhilly Earth Station, Helston.

+ A further 50,000 pounds has gone to the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications, based at the University of Strathclyde, to work with Tontine in Glasgow, a high-tech acceleration and growth space for new businesses. The money will be used to support new start-up and scale up businesses.

The space sector is a UK success story, with growth averaging over 8% a year over the last decade, a turnover in excess of 11 billion pounds a year and ambitious plans to achieve 10% of the global space market by 2030. Much of this growth is anticipated to come from companies using space-derived data or services in a broad range of different sectors.

Helen Roberts, Regional Growth Manager at the UK Space Agency, said: "We are delighted to extend the network of incubators supporting space sector start-ups to cover even more of the UK.

"These new business incubators add to the existing network of SETsquared, Leicester Dock, UNIP in Nottingham, Loughborough University, Business Durham, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) at its Daresbury Laboratory site, Glyndwr Innovations in St Asaph, North Wales and the European Space Agency's business incubator at Harwell. We look forward to working with them and seeing them help exciting new businesses to develop and flourish."

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