EIC launches podcast series 'The game changers' — Episode 1 focuses on space debris and E.T.PACK
- ›The European Innovation Council launched a podcast series called The game changers: from radical idea to innovative business on 5 October 2022.
- ›Episode 1 covers space debris remediation and features EIC Programme Manager Stella Tkatchova and researchers from the EIC Pathfinder project E.T.PACK.
- ›E.T.PACK aims to test an electrodynamic tether deorbit kit that needs no propellant and was funded under the EIC Pathfinder programme with roughly €3 million.
- ›The podcast is an outreach tool to explain how EIC supports deep tech but listeners should be cautious about early claims pending in-orbit validation and commercial scale up.
- ›Episode 1 is available on major podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
EIC launches podcast series to explain deep tech scale up
On 5 October 2022 the European Innovation Council announced a new podcast series titled The game changers: from radical idea to innovative business. The series is framed as a guide for university researchers and deep-tech start-ups seeking to understand how disruptive technologies are taken from the lab and pushed toward the market with European funding and ecosystem support.
Episode 1 — Space debris and the promise of electrodynamic tethers
The first episode focuses on technologies to eliminate space debris. It features Stella Tkatchova, the EIC Programme Manager for space systems and technologies, and two researchers from the EIC Pathfinder project E.T.PACK, Lorenzo Tarabini Castellani and Gonzalo Sanchez Arriaga. The episode discusses the technical approach behind E.T.PACK and the role of EIC funding in helping to mature risky, early stage concepts.
The E.T.PACK project brings together academic and industrial partners across Spain, Germany and Italy. Participants include Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SENER Aeroespacial, Technische Universität Dresden, Fraunhofer IKTS and the University of Padova among others. The project page also notes that SENER Aeroespacial and Rocket Factory Augsburg agreed a launch service contract to fly a technology demonstrator. The demonstration flight is described as a decisive step to validate the technology in orbit.
| Item | Detail | Source note |
| Project | E.T.PACK (electrodynamic tether deorbit kit) | EIC Pathfinder project profile |
| EU contribution | €3 000 000 | EIC project page |
| Overall budget | €3 039 980 | EIC project page |
| Project locations | Spain, Germany, Italy | EIC project page |
| Key partners | Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SENER Aeroespacial, TU Dresden, Fraunhofer IKTS, University of Padova, Advanced Thermal Devices | EIC project page |
| Planned demonstration | Launch service contracted with Rocket Factory Augsburg to fly a demonstrator | Project page statement |
How the episode frames the EIC’s role
The EIC Programme Manager in the episode explains the agency role as more than just a grant maker. EIC Programme Managers curate portfolios, link projects with investors and coaches, and try to create pathways from laboratory prototypes to market ready products. The podcast emphasises the EIC’s interest in high risk and high impact technologies that could create new markets.
The podcast is presented as practical orientation for researchers and deep-tech founders who are considering EIC funding. Episode 1 uses a topical and policy visible issue space debris to illustrate how a funded project moves from lab concept to in-orbit demonstration and to explain the support mechanisms around it.
A critical view on claims and promises
Outreach and storytelling around publicly funded technology projects serve several useful functions. They can demystify funding processes and help the research community understand what selectors look for. At the same time listeners should treat early stage claims with caution. The E.T.PACK work is at the demonstration stage and a successful in-orbit test is necessary but not sufficient to deliver operational, large scale removal of debris.
Where to listen and where to learn more
Episode 1 of The game changers is available on common podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The EIC also links to further resources for applicants such as pages on EIC Programme Managers, EIC Pathfinder and the specific E.T.PACK project profile.
Practical next steps for researchers and start-ups
Podcasts are a useful entry point but they do not replace reading official call texts and guidance documents. Apply the healthy skepticism that funders and promoters ask for. Measure claims by demonstrable milestones such as in-orbit tests, peer reviewed results and independent validations before treating an early stage technology as proven.
Listen to the episode if you want a practitioner perspective on how an EIC-funded deep-tech project evolves and what kinds of organisational and technical questions appear on the route to demonstration. Keep an eye on follow up reporting for verification of in-orbit test outcomes and the commercialisation pathway.