UZH Space Hub opens new headquarters in Dübendorf

The UZH Space Hub officially opened its new location in Hall 4 of the Innovation Park Zurich in Dübendorf on September 24. The UZH Aerospace Innovation Cluster, which was founded in 2018, is thus transforming from a network structure that builds bridges between disciplines into a physical location for innovation, applications and testing, explains its head Oliver Ullrich in an interview. According to UZH, the Space Hub now comprises 35 top-class research groups and its own flight program.

"We are building an incubator that links research, technology and business and paves the way for future innovations," says Ullrich. Start-ups can rent space or laboratory access there and implement their ideas.

The most important areas of research include remote sensing, astrophysics, space life science and autonomous drone navigation. Remote sensing, for example, is used to develop protection and adaptation strategies for the environment and climate. Thanks to direct access to the Dübendorf airfield, sensors can be improved directly on site before they are used in research projects or satellites.

In addition to the companies Dufour Aerospace and Caeli Nova, Prometheus Life Technologies will also be present in Hall 4. The UZH spin-off is working on the cultivation of three-dimensional human tissue under zero-gravity conditions. The process developed together 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 chain," says Ullrich in a UZH press release, "in that we generate knowledge, pass it on and ultimately make it usable for society through innovation." ce/mm