Several companies linked to the Business Factory Aero(BFAero) ecosystem, including Binarial Automatización y Robótica, Ventilation Lab, Kreios Space, and Lupeon, have been selected as recipients of the NEXOS grant program, a funding initiative by the Regional Government of Galicia aimed at promoting collaborative R&D&I between SMEs and knowledge centers in strategic sectors. With a budget exceeding 20 million euros, NEXOS seeks to boost competitiveness, sustainability, and digital transformation by mobilizing significant investments in areas such as the circular economy, agri-food, and advanced manufacturing.
In total, four companies affiliated with BFAero are participating in projects selected under this call for proposals, out of a total of 138 supported companies—representing nearly 3% of the total—which underscores the ecosystem’s presence in the program and its contribution to collaborative innovation in Galicia.
The NEXOS call for proposals will support 37 R&D&I projects in collaboration with knowledge centers, with the aim of promoting initiatives in industrial research, experimental development, and organizational and process innovation. The total budget is €22.6 million, and it is expected to mobilize approximately €39.8 million between 2026 and 2028.
Participating BFAero companies
Among the beneficiary companies are several firms involved in projects spearheaded by BFAero:
Kreios Space, S.L. and Lupeon, S.L., participants in the MANA project (Advanced Manufacturing for the New Space Age), which focuses on advanced manufacturing applied to the space sector.
Ventilatio Lab, S.L., a participant in the XIADA project, which focuses on developing solutions for smart air management and environmental disinfection in the field of health and well-being.
Binarial Automatización y Robótica, S.L., a member of the SENSOMARE project, which focuses on researching new solutions in advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence for the fishing industry.
Binarial Automatización y Robótica, S.L., a member of the SENSOMARE project, which focuses on researching new solutions in advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence for the fishing industry.
Promoting collaborative innovation
The funded projects will be carried out by consortia consisting of a minimum of three and a maximum of six SMEs, with the aim of promoting collaborative work and the effective transfer of results.
In this context, the participation of companies affiliated with BFAero reinforces the ecosystem’s role as an active driver of innovation, fostering connections between companies and knowledge centers and contributing to the development of technological solutions that have an impact on strategic sectors.
Strategic Projects for Galicia
The selected initiatives fall within the strategic areas defined in the Galician R&D&I Plan 2025–2027, notably the circular economy and energy, advanced manufacturing, agri-food, and health and well-being.
The NEXOS call for proposals is part of the Activa I+G+i program, which supports collaboration between companies and the effective transfer of research results; the Galician government has allocated more than 40 million euros to this program through four major calls for proposals.
The participation of companies affiliated with BFAero in this call for proposals highlights, once again, the ecosystem’s ability to drive innovation and engage in high-impact collaborative projects, thereby helping to strengthen Galicia’s technological and industrial base.
The School of Industrial Organisation (EOI), in collaboration with the Galician Regional Government, is offering its Executive Programme in Defence Industry (Galicia), a training course aimed at professionals, managers and companies wishing to strengthen their capabilities in one of the strategic sectors with the greatest growth potential. This initiative forms part of the Regional Government’s commitment to consolidating Galicia as a region with strengthened industrial and business capabilities to access the security and defence market.
The registration deadline is today, 23 March, and the course will begin on 17 April in a blended learning format, with a total duration of 128 hours.
What will you learn on the programme?
The programme is structured around four key thematic blocks, designed to offer a comprehensive overview of the defence industry ecosystem and its opportunities:
Ecosystem and structure of the sector. Understanding how the defence sector is organised, its public and private stakeholders, and governance mechanisms.
Funding instruments and business opportunities. Learn about the main funding mechanisms and models for accessing strategic contracts and programmes.
Programme and contract management. Operational tools for managing contracts and projects within a highly regulated environment.
Innovation and business collaboration. Case studies and strategies to foster innovation, cooperation and business growth within the sector.
High-calibre teaching panel
The Executive Programme features professional experts from the institutional and business sectors, with extensive experience in advocacy, funding and programme management. The involvement of these lecturers provides a practical and up-to-date perspective that facilitates an understanding of the real challenges and opportunities within the sector.
How to register
Interested companies and professionals should submit their application via the programme’s landing page.
The total cost of the programme is €4,400, and thanks to the support of the Xunta de Galicia, the subsidised amount payable by the participant is €660.
Companies linked to the BFAero ecosystem will be eligible for special enrolment terms, enhancing access to this strategic training.
Key training for business growth
This programme represents a unique opportunity for companies and professionals in the aerospace and technology sectors who wish to enhance their skills, expand their network of contacts and access new business opportunities in the defence industry. Make the most of the final day to register and be part of this strategic initiative
Business Factory Aero participated in Invertir en Ciencia SÍ es Rentable, a strategic meeting of scientists, investors and technology-based companies held in Santiago de Compostela, to showcase examples of accelerated companies that reinforce the slogan of this fourth national meeting, organised by UNIRISCO and Xesgalicia.
The companies Vig-Sec DroneandKreios Space participated in a round table discussion to share their experiences on the value of the Business Factory model as a lever for promoting entrepreneurship and science in the service of strategic sectors, moderated by IGAPE.
Along these lines, Noelia Gil, director of operations and co-founder of Vig Sec-Drone, explained the added value of ‘connecting with the Galician ecosystem because it opened many doors for us.’ She also acknowledged that ‘the experts we had access to helped us position ourselves in the market.’
For his part, Jan Mataró, CTO and founder of Kreios Space, explained how they decided to move the company from Catalonia to Galicia: ‘We needed a vacuum chamber to carry out some tests and, thanks to BFAero, we had the support of the Xunta de Galicia through IGAPE and we ended up getting the project off the ground.’ Having a favourable environment of public support, investors and a strong ecosystem encouraged the company to make the move. ‘Initially, eight of us moved, and now there are more than 25 of us.’
Alongside the start-ups, more than 50 speakers analysed investment in deep tech technologies as a driver of economic transformation and social impact, and the need for private capital to boost competitiveness, technological sovereignty and sustainable growth.
Patient investment
During this event, the role of public and private investors was also analysed, as well as the need for investment in science and technology-based companies to be approached as a patient investment.
Vig Sec-Drone and Kreios Space are examples of entrepreneurs with disruptive technology that has generated interest among public and private investors. At the end of 2025, Vig Sec-Drone closed a €1 million investment round to accelerate its growth and consolidate its technology. The round was led by Encomenda Capital Partners SGEIC and included the participation of Lugo Transforma, XesGalicia and Vigo Activo Sociedad de Capital Riesgo.
For its part, Kreios Space closed an €8 million seed investment round led by NATO Innovation Fund and Join Capital, making it the largest European funding round for VLEO technologies. The operation was also backed by other investors, including Xesgalicia, Grow Venture Partners, and Tasivia Global.
Slimop Space, a start-up promoted by Business Factory Aero (BFAero), received the National Industry Award “Bien hecho en España” in the Industrial Entrepreneurship category from His Majesty King Felipe VI during the 8th National Industry Congress, which is being held until 5 February in Bilbao.
The award recognises start-ups with a strong capacity for innovation in developing industrial projects with high added value that strengthen competitiveness, sustainability, digital transformation and the development of their own productive and technological capabilities.
The Regional Minister for Economy and Industry, María Jesús Lorenzana, congratulated the company on receiving the award and highlighted the importance of this recognition for Slimop Space, which is given to newly created companies for their innovative capacity. ‘One of the pillars,’ she said, ‘on which the advanced industrial policy is based, goes hand in hand with the company, the technology and the talent we have and want to attract to Galicia, consolidating us as a leading region in the acceleration of high-impact technological projects.’
This recognition represents significant endorsement of the company’s track record and reinforces BFAero’s role as a platform supporting technological and industrial entrepreneurship geared towards technological sovereignty. BFAero is now a strategic lever for business creation and acceleration within the framework of the Strategic Initiative for Security, Defence and Aerospace 2025-2030, promoted by the Regional Ministry of Economy and Industry, through Igape (Galician Institute for Economic Promotion) and Xesgalicia.
Slimop Space has been part of the Business Factory Aero ecosystem since its sixth edition, in which it participated in the Acceleration track. It has now been selected for the seventh edition of the programme in the Consolidation track.
The first edition of the National Industry Awards, organised by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, recognise business initiatives that stand out for their contribution to strengthening Spanish industry, technological innovation, and the development of solutions with high economic and social impact, making excellence a hallmark of the industry.
BFAero, Spain’s best accelerator according to the Funcas ranking
Recognised for the second consecutive year as the best accelerator in Spain in the Funcas national ranking, the programme has had a strong economic and innovative impact in Galicia.
Since its launch in 2018, it has supported 58 projects, created 15 new technology companies, and promoted the relocation of 13 companies to Galicia and the creation of more than 270 skilled jobs. The projects in the 5th and 6th editions have attracted more than €14 million in investment.
SLIMOP Space will take its optical technology into space in 2027, consolidating its technological roadmap, its positioning in the sector and the growth of the start-up. SLIMOP joined the Business Factory Aero (BFAero) in 2025 during the sixth edition of the programme and has been selected for the seventh edition, within the Consolidation phase.
The company is dedicated to developing pioneering Orbital Telescopes for small satellites and nanosatellites, based on its own architecture of high-precision, low-weight optical mirrors. This innovative technology speeds up manufacturing processes, significantly reduces the weight and cost of optical systems, and facilitates their integration into scalable space platforms, with particular applications in Earth observation and space optical communications.
During 2025, SLIMOP Space has registered three technology patents, with a fourth in preparation, and has validated ultralight mirror subsystems in the laboratory at TRL5 level, a milestone that reinforces the maturity of its solution and its capacity for future demonstrations in orbit.
SLIMOP Space’s growth has been made possible thanks to the first round of pre-seed funding completed in 2025, in which the company brought in private investors specialising in the aerospace sector, who also contribute strategic management expertise. This private funding has been complemented by the support of various European, national and regional public bodies and programmes, including the European Space Agency (ESA), through the ESA BIC Barcelona programme, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism through ENISA, the Generalitat de Catalunya through ACCIÓ and the Startup Capital programme, as well as the Xunta de Galicia, with the support of GAIN, IGAPE and XesGalicia, in addition to the Business Factory Aero (BFAero) programme itself as an initiative to promote consolidated projects in the aerospace sector.
In total, more than €700,000 in capital resources have driven this first phase of R&D since the company was founded three years ago. SLIMOP Space is currently immersed in the preparation and closing of a new seed round that will enable it to consolidate its strategic plan for the period 2026-2028 and consolidate the technical specifications necessary for its leap into space.
BFAero: driving aerospace innovation
SLIMOP Space is embarking on this new phase with the aim of positioning itself as a benchmark in advanced optical solutions for space platforms, contributing to the development of efficient and competitive constellations in global markets. Its participation in BFAero and the solid institutional support it has received highlight not only the quality of the project, but also the role of the accelerator as key platform for promoting technology start-ups in strategic sectors with high technological demands.
The company integrated into Business Factory Aero (BFAero), Vig-Sec Drone, has successfully closed a one-million-euro investment round, a key milestone that will enable it to boost its business plans, accelerate the automation of its technology and strengthen its international expansion.
This progress reflects not only the strength of the Vig-Sec Drone project, but also the value of BFAero as a platform that facilitates startups’ access to public and private investment entities, connecting talent, technology and capital to accelerate their market entry.
A mature technology, validated in real operations
Vig-Sec Drone specialises in advanced airspace management and the secure integration of drones in critical environments, both civilian and military. Its Suite ACRE (Restricted Emergency Control Area) solution is a dual-use Emergency UTM system capable of monitoring and reconfiguring airspace in real time, integrating manned aircraft, drones and land or maritime sensors within a single operational environment.
The company’s technology has already been validated in real, highly demanding scenarios, achieving unprecedented milestones in Spain, such as coordinating drones with helicopters from the Ministry of Defence in critical missions. In addition, it has taken part in multinational exercises in Slovakia together with BRILAT, demonstrating the interoperability of its platform in allied environments, and has been selected for the ATLAS 25 exercise as one of the companies responsible for the simultaneous management of manned and unmanned aircraft.
Artificial intelligence and international expansion
Thanks to this investment round, Vig-Sec Drone will drive a new development phase focused on incorporating onboard artificial intelligence aimed at anticipating airspace conflicts, optimising routes and resolving risk situations in real time. All of this will be carried out under a ‘man in the loop’ model, which guarantees human supervision, traceability and operational rigour in critical missions.
The company will continue to align its platform with NATOand EASAstandards, a key step to facilitate its adoption in European and allied ecosystems, and will take part in the Force 2035 programme, which evaluates the technologies that will define the future operational landscape of Defence.
BFAero: connecting innovation and funding
With headquarters in Lugo and Nigrán, and growth that has taken it from two founders in 2022 to more than 17 professionals, Vig-Sec Drone faces this new stage with the aim of becoming a global standard for secure airspace management.
This achievement highlights the role of Business Factory Aero as a driving innovation ecosystem, supporting projects not only in their technological development, but also in access to strategic funding, which is key to scaling up, consolidating business models and competing in highly demanding international markets.
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