One-liner: the European Space Agency's Business Incubation Centre for the Comunitat Valenciana, run out of Castellón Airport by Aerocas — cash funding plus labs/office space plus ESA and Spanish Space Agency mentoring for early-stage space-connected startups. The only dedicated space-sector cash-and-facilities instrument in the region; a genuinely new non-financial (and financial) angle for the aerospace-drone niche that Espai Aero CV does not itself provide.
What you get
- 60,000€+ in funding and technical support per incubated company (exact split between cash grant and in-kind services not itemized in public sources — status/verify).
- Technical labs and office space at the ESA BIC site (Castellón Airport / Benlloch).
- Mentoring and business/technology support from ESA, the Spanish Space Agency (AEE), and the program's ~40-entity partner network (universities, tech institutes, aerospace firms, business associations).
- Networking and investor exposure — training, networking events, and investor forums are explicitly part of the program's support services.
Who it's for
- Startups under 5 years old, registered in Spain, based (or willing to base operations) in Castellón, Alicante, or Valencia provinces.
- Must have a demonstrable connection to space technologies and a viable business plan — this is a space-sector filter, narrower than general aerospace/drone/UAV (which Espai Aero UAV Testing and Espai Aero CV serve).
- Best fit: seed/early-stage space startups (satellites, launch vehicles, space services, Earth observation, in-space manufacturing) needing lab/office infrastructure plus non-dilutive-style funding rather than pure cash grants.
How to engage
- Monitor esabic.aeroportcastello.com for the next call window (3rd call expected to open September 2026).
- Apply via the program's online application portal during the open window.
- Contact esabic-apply@aeroportcastello.com or +34 964 57 86 00 for pre-application questions.
- Pair with Espai Aero CV cluster membership for broader sector networking and with Valenciaport Sandbox / Espai Aero UAV Testing if the startup also needs UAV/U-space flight validation rather than pure space-sector incubation.
Key facts
- 8 companies incubated across 2 calls so far (2025 cohorts): Arkadia Space, Nax Solutions, ODOS Technologies, Nerva Technologies (1st ed.); Collimate Space, Synaptyx, Valyra Aerospace, Umibots (2nd ed.).
- 2026 cohort projections: 8.5M€ combined revenue (+32% YoY), 11.7M€ investment captured (vs 2.7M€ in 2025), 150 employees (vs 100 in 2025) — a credible signal the funding+space model is producing real traction, useful context for a founder evaluating the program's worth.
- 2nd call deadline was 17 Dec 2025, 12:00 — now closed. 3rd call targets 4 more startups (program total: 12), planned September 2026; Aerocas is separately renewing its ESA agreement to fund at least 12 more projects after that.
status/verify— exact 3rd-call open/close dates, and whether the 60,000€ is cash, in-kind, or a mix, should be reconfirmed directly on esabic.aeroportcastello.com closer to September 2026.
Relations
- Run by: Aerocas
- Partners with: Espai Aero CV
- See also: Espai Aero UAV Testing
- See also: Aerospace-Drone (niche)