Welcome to the European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI), Switzerland
Phi-Lab Switzerland is the first platform for research at ESDI, driving innovation in space deep-tech.
NEW: Materials x Space call for proposals is now open!
European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre ESDI
The European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI) is a Centre of Excellence initiated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland. It is implemented under leadership of ESA in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute. Its aim is to accelerate the commercial adoption and availability of deep-tech for the benefit of ESA, its Member States, and the broader European space sector.
Starting with the ESA Phi-Lab Switzerland, ESDI designs, establishes and runs platforms for deep-tech research in quantum, data, and materials, bringing to use technologies of tomorrow for the world of today.
Technologies of Tomorrow for the World of Today
Agility and Flexibility
Our call designs emphasize agility, allowing projects and program managers to react swiftly and support research teams effectively. With a milestone-based structure, we ensure iterative evaluation and decision-making, enabling projects to adapt to evolving needs and achieve ambitious goals within a short timeframe.
Stakeholder Engagement and Support
Extensive stakeholder engagement activities, such as workshops, roadshow presentations, and 1:1 discussions, are core to our call design. We provide comprehensive support to selected research teams, including funding, technical advisory, business coaching, and access to infrastructure and intellectual property resources.
Use-Inspired Research
We focus on establishing use-inspired research programs that aim to reach critical mass and demonstrate significant progress towards practical applications. By identifying research priorities through two-way input from ESA and the deep-tech research community, we facilitate application readiness and showcasing through ESA and local platforms. Additionally, we actively seek to identify and address neglected areas of research that hold potential for significant advancements.
Complementarity and Novelty
Our call design complements existing research programs by introducing novel approaches and fostering collaborations. We encourage diversity in research teams and leverage deep-tech competences, facilities, and expertise in Switzerland to address space-relevant challenges and realize commercialization potential. We also identify and tackle challenging technological problems, also labeled as "technology conundrums worth solving," that offer potential for commercialization and practical use in the near term.
The Phi-Lab at ESDI
The Phi-Lab at the European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI) aspires to transform breakthrough science into real-world solutions. The approach based on use-inspired research, combined with deep-tech competence in our ecosystem, promises that developments are scientifically excellent, commercially relevant and have potential market impact. We expect that this accelerates progress from laboratory demonstrations to market-ready products that meet the demanding standards of space, but also terrestrial applications.
Quantum
What if every satellite could carry a quantum sensor the size of a shoebox?
Quantum sensors can revolutionize industries with atomic precision but are limited to labs; the Phi-Lab at ESDI seeks innovative solutions to make them commercially viable for space applications by improving compactness, performance, and reliability.
The call for proposals closed on May 1st
Materials
The call for proposals is now open!
What if spacecraft structures could adapt, shield, and self-heal in orbit, enabled through advanced manufacturing?
+ Join us on October 22nd for a live Q&A webinar to get all your questions answered before you submit your application!
Data
Information regarding the upcoming call scheduled for 2026.
Technology at the frontier of science and engineering
At ESDI, we understand deep-tech as a knowledge-rich technology at the frontier of science and engineering, pushing the boundaries of what is possible and driving innovation for the European space sector.
Our focus on technology conundrums worth solving addresses critical challenges, leveraging deep-tech to create commercial opportunities and impactful solutions.
ESDI Team
Programme Manager Quantum and Data
Materials, Phi-Lab
Programme Support
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For questions related to open calls, please visit the call page on the Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP).
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