UZH Space Hub opens new headquarters in Dübendorf

The UZH Space Hub officially opened its new site in Hall 4 of the Innovation Park Zurich in Dübendorf on September 24. As such, the UZH innovation cluster for aerospace applications, which was originally founded in 2018, is further developed from a network structure that builds bridges between disciplines in the direction of a physical location for innovation, applications and testing, as Oliver Ullrich, Director of the UZH Space Hub, explains in an interview. According to UZH, the Space Hub now comprises 35 high-class research groups and a proprietary flight program.

“We are developing an incubator that links research, technology and businesses, paving the way for the innovations of tomorrow”, Ullrich states. At the hub, start-ups can rent workspaces and lab access to test and develop their ideas.

The most important research areas include remote sensing, astrophysics, space life sciences and autonomous navigation of drones. For example, remote sensing is used to develop protection or adaptation strategies for the environment and climate. Direct access to Dübendorf airfield will allow sensors to be improved directly on site before they are used in research projects or satellites.

Alongside the companies Dufour Aerospace and Caeli Nova, Prometheus Life Technologies is also present in Hall 4. The UZH spin-off is focused on the cultivation of 3D human tissue under conditions of weightlessness. The process, which was developed in conjunction with Airbus, has already been successfully tested twice on the International Space Station (ISS) and was awarded first prize in the Orbital Reef Starter Innovation Challenge. “We are part of a value-added chain”, as Ullrich explains in a press release issued by UZH, “by generating knowledge, passing this on and ultimately creating societal benefits through innovations”. ce/mm