The accelerator is part of the wider Cassini initiative launched in 2023.
NovaUCD-based Celtonn has joined European space-tech business accelerator, Cassini, to accelerate its growth.
Founded in 2023, Celtonn is a space-tech that develops high-frequency solutions to support future communications and sensing technologies for the space and radar industries.
“Being the only Irish company selected for the Cassini Business Accelerator is a significant milestone,” said Aoife Kelly, the co-founder and chief operations officer at Celtonn.
“Through the programme, participants receive [a] €75,000 cash prize, but more importantly we’ve had the opportunity to connect with leading European professionals, investors and partners who are helping us accelerate our growth.”
The EU’s Cassini Business Accelerator is a six-month, Europe-wide programme designed to speed up the international expansion of high-potential space scale-ups.
Supported by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and the European Commission, the programme brings together 20 promising space start-ups in Europe.
The EU runs two Cassini accelerator programmes a year, from November to April and May to October.
The accelerators are a part of the wider Cassini initiative, launched in 2023. The programme also includes a €1bn seed and growth fund, hackathons and mentoring, prizes, partnering and matchmaking.
Applied Aerial Technology, an Irish space-tech specialising in high-resolution UAV surveys made it to the accelerator last year. To date, these two are the only space-tech start-ups from Ireland to join the programme.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, Celtonn, which was then headquartered in Limerick, secured a European Space Agency contract to develop advanced semiconductor hardware for next-generation satellite missions.
The ESA project is funded under the ESA’s ARTES 4.0 Core Competitiveness Advanced Technology programme, which supports innovation in satellite communications across Europe and Canada.
The Irish space industry is gaining footing, with the latest data showing that 109 Irish companies were actively engaged with the ESA as of 2023. These companies were collectively awarded €9.9m from the ESA, which was supported with industry co-funding valued at €2.2m.
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