Areas of interest
The Foundation pursues its institutional objectives through three macro areas of intervention:
Technology transfer, ecosystem Promotion and outreach activities, and Finance for innovation. These activities are carried out through initiatives and projects based on KET (Key Enabling Technologies), which are considered fundamental for growth and employment, since they develop solutions or technological improvements through research experiences capable of revitalising the production system.
Outreach and promotion
The Foundation pursues an objective of raising awareness and educating its community of public and private stakeholders, helping to promote in-depth knowledge of the opportunities of the New Space Economy and its vast benefits for businesses, public administrations and citizens.
As part of this activity
- promotes, co-ordinates and organises annual events on the most relevant topics of the aerospace sector;
- draws up reports and statistical analyses at national and European level to monitor technological and investment trends in the aerospace sector;
- develops projects and training activities both technological and entrepreneurial for the understanding and use of space infrastructures.
As part of these activities, FEA wants to increase the capabilities of the Italian space entrepreneurial fabric through
- encouraging regional, national and European stakeholders to participate in national technology transfer processes, capable of attracting ideas and solutions from the space sector to non-space related industrial sectors
- organisation of initiatives and moments of confrontation on topical and interesting issues, even if in market failure, to support the strategic and decision-making capabilities of space agencies towards innovative solutions for the engagement of the space community;
- initiating collaboration and training activities between national industries (space and non-space) and Higher Technological Institutes (ITS);
- designing, coordinating and carrying out research projects in the European, national and regional spheres, particularly on the topics of sustainability, conscious use of resources and continuous and higher education enabled by space assets.
Finance for innovation
The E. Amaldi Foundation has structured an integrated, comprehensive and consolidating supervision of the different phases of financing innovation in the ‘New Space Economy’. In fact, in an ideal financing cycle of ‘space-related’ projects, ranging from non-repayable grants to venture capital investment for business development, the Foundation is present with specific initiatives, which have been or are being implemented.
Within the scope of these activities, the Foundation wants to increase the capabilities of the Italian space entrepreneurial fabric through
- Presiding over venture capital funding for start-ups operating in the New Space Economy.
- Creation of a path aimed at promoting support activities for the private equity sector through a special ‘New Space Economy’ desk to facilitate financing that can bring Italian SMEs to international markets.
- Building and maintaining institutional relations with ESA, ASI, the European Commission and EUSPA to facilitate access to investment and marketing opportunities for Italian companies at national and international level
Technology transfer
Within three separate working groups (life sciences, materials and energy, earth observation and telecommunications), the Foundation deals with:
- tissue engineering, radiation shielding, nanomaterials, in particular graphene, development of metal and polymer composites for space applications
- development of vacuum systems for the deposition of thin films and complex materials using PED (Pulsed Electron Deposition) and sputtering technologies
- study and optimisation for innovative materials of additive manufacturing technology Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), both Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Selective Electron Beam Melting (SEBM).