A trip to space takes time and in the same way it is with the city of Lund's space travel. A possible starting point is 2015 when Business Manager Per Persson invited Cecilia Hertz from Umbilical Design to a business gala. Then it was presented how design, technology and materials from the space industry could gain commercial use by transferring the ideas to companies. The collaboration with Umbilical design resulted in continued work also with Space Board, ESA (European Space Agency), Lund University and other space-related organizations.

“It was LTH's unique collaboration with NASA, JSC, Houston, that allowed me to do my x job there and that led me to start my company,” says Cecilia Hertz, Umbilical Design. It felt great to come back fifteen years later and share my knowledge and my network in the space sector to Lund.

Space aroused great interest in Lund and over the years the collaboration around Future by Lund has arranged a series of events with different themes to spread knowledge and engagement and create new relationships.

“Space, among other things, sets extreme design conditions, conditions that are not negotiable. This provides the prerequisites for thinking “out of the box” and provides a narrative for driving companies forward,” says Peter Kisch, project manager at Future by Lund.

In space, many materials with special properties are used, and this, of course, can benefit from, for example, industry. In Lund will be the major research facilities ACES and MAX IV but also for example NanoLund to mean a lot to materials research, and an interaction in the field of materials with space could be a great advantage.

In space, for example during a space trip, it is important to create circular systems that, among other things, create minimal waste. When space scientists think about space travel and how to create accommodations on the moon or on Mars, they may have found solutions that fit in a sustainable society on Earth.

“Space is not only a technology but also a software for circular innovation thinking,” says Katarina Scott from Future by Lund. In space, all resources are finite, everything has to be reused, and if it goes wrong, no one can come and help you.

In orbits around the Earth there are satellites that collect data about the Earth. This is already used for navigation and weather forecasting, but all the data created can of course be used in many more ways. For example, satellite data can be used to measure climate change or to help farmers optimise their cultivation, and there are companies that have already taken note of this.

In 2021, it became clear that ESA BIC Norway start cooperation with Ideon Innovation to open a fourth space incubator in Sweden.

“We need to think about how space technology can create new business — but we can also, by having a mindset drawn from space, help us find solutions that reduce the use of fossil fuels and create climate neutrality,” says Anders Bengtsson, project manager for Space Hub Lund.

ESA BIC in Lund is the first concrete result of conscious work with space. The hope is that through the establishment of a space node — a competence and innovation centre — Lund can ensure the continuous generation of ideas and implementation of development projects at the interface between the space industry, municipality, academia, the unique research facilities ESS and MAX IV in Lund, innovation systems and industry, both nationally and internationally. The objective is to ensure within this global ecosystem, supported by space research and space science, the continuous development of smart and ethical, as well as ecologically, socially and economically sustainable solutions for society; technologies, products, services, processes and models.

The hope is that in the future Lund can build on more concrete parts in a Space Node Syd, such as with an ESA lab in the field of materials.

Timeline of the work of Space Node Syd

2015: The work to combine Lund with space began already with the Lund Grand Prix 2015 where Cecilia Hertz from Umbilical Design presented how space technology can be used on Earth. Cecilia Hertz brought a delegation from Lund Municipality to NASA AMES, among other things, to visit a building with integrated space technology.

2016: In spring 2016, Future by Lund and Umbilical Design organized two workshops focusing on technology transfer from space to commercial use.

2017: In spring 2017, a three-day international space conference was organized by ESA, Umbilical design, ESA BIC Sweden and Lund Municipality in Lund. 70 people from the ESA Space solutions network from a total of sixteen countries gathered in Lund to see how space technology can be used for innovative solutions. During the three days of the conference, the Space impact workshop was also organized, on how space technology can be used on Earth, where ten companies and other actors had the chance to get the participants' solution to the challenges they face. The conference showed what potential there is in Lund, including through the large research facilities MAX IV and ESS.

After the conference, Lund was in contact with the Swedish Space Agency and Director General Anna Rathsman. Even then, it was discussed how to create a space node South in Lund municipality — just as there are already space nodes in the north through Luleå and Kiruna, in the west with Gothenburg and Trollhättan and in the east with Linköping, Uppsala and Stockholm. During the year there was also a study trip to Strasbourg where Lund and Cecilia Hertz participated in the Moon Village Workshop as Swedish representatives.

2018: ESA was on a two-day visit to Lund in spring 2018 at the same time that Lund started concrete discussions with ESA BIC/Arctic BIC regarding the establishment of ESA BIC at Ideon innovation. Discussions were also initiated with the Swedish Space Agency/SNSA regarding possible cooperation. Lund and Umbilical Design presented the idea of a space node in southern Sweden.

In the summer of 2018, a “Space Dream Team” consisting of a group of young people from Lund went to Giffoni in Italy to participate in a collaboration on young entrepreneurship. The goal was to find solutions based on the UN's sustainability goals and the group from Lund brought a challenge from the Swedish Space Agency on how to engage children and young people in the question of how to clean the oceans from plastic. In mid-September 2018, another step was taken. At the time, representatives from municipalities, companies and universities gathered to discuss a joint project application for work on finding sustainable solutions in space technology. Over time, it also became an application, but no project was granted. In contrast, the discussions meant that several organizations shared the vision of creating a Space Node South.

ESA unveiled the Moon Village initiative. Moon Village could be linked to sustainability projects with a focus on space on Earth, and in Lund the idea of a test bed for circular solutions was raised.

2019: Work on a local space conference began in spring 2019 in cooperation with the Swedish Space Agency, ESA, ESA Bic Sweden, Ideon Science Park, AI Innovation Sweden, local industry and academia.

In November 2019, Space Hub Lund was launched with an event with eighty participants, including experts from both ESA and the Swedish Space Agency. The Swedish Space Agency participates in an AI conference in Lund in spring 2019, and Björn Lovén lectures on space data, among other things. The kick-off helped to increase interest and valuable contacts were made, including with representatives from ESA.

2020: In 2020, Space Hub Lund had several arrangements. The first event of the year was in February when a large number of participants gathered at Ideon Science Park to discuss insights in the space technology field. Interesting initiatives were listed under four themes: Materials, Technology, Circular Models and Space Data.

In April, space cooperation continued with a digital meeting broadcast from Stencrussen. It showed that Lund has great resources and knowledge in the field, but it also showed what opportunities there are for companies to associate themselves with the space industry and what paths can be taken to get support for various initiatives.

At the beginning of June, a Space Hub Lund webinar was broadcast from Vattenhallen Science Center. Anna Rathsman, Director General of the Swedish Space Agency, was connected via link and spoke about the importance of linking space research with the research being done on Earth to increase understanding of what is happening on Earth and to see what needs to be done.

2021: Additive manufacturing and space industry may sound like something high-tech that doesn't affect most of us ordinary people. The truth is that it is just the opposite, because space technology and additive manufacturing, often also called 3D printing, could be some of the keys to making life on Earth both easier and more sustainable. Technology can, among other things, reduce both material consumption and delivery times, and can also contribute to better healthcare. This was highlighted during the Space Technology and Additive Manufacturing webinar hosted by Space Node South in May 2021.

In August, it finally became clear that ESA BIC Sweden will open a fourth space incubator in Sweden — at Ideon Science Park in Lund.

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