A startup aerospace company that 3D prints small rocket engines with far fewer parts is considering the Boulder area for a new headquarters, manufacturing plant and testing facility.
LEAP Space, currently based in Lafayette, received $8 million in state tax credits on Thursday as it ramps up the manufacturing of its cutting-edge rocket engines in Colorado.
The Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits, approved by the Colorado Economic Development Commission, are conditioned on the company creating up to 460 new jobs over the next eight years.
The jobs will pay an average annual wage of $149,960, which is 153% of the average annual wage in Boulder County. Engineering, executive, manufacturing, operations, strategy, and finance positions are on the launch pad.
Companies must consider other states to apply for state tax incentives, and Project Onshore is also weighing relocating to Texas or New Mexico.
OEDIT assigns code names to protect the anonymity of companies seeking incentives, and LEAP Space was given the name Project Onshore.
But LEAP Space co-founder and President didn’t try to hide his identity during the meeting.
“We are growing very rapidly and excited about the opportunity to grow in Colorado. We appreciate your confidence in our vision,” Rollon told commissioners via a Zoom call.
Rollon received his training at Purdue before moving to Colorado, where he launched Upshot Ventures in an engineering and design office in the Berkeley neighborhood in northwest Denver.
Upshot developed the OPTIMUS turbomachinery system for small satellite rocket engines.
Using 3D printing technology and proprietary metallurgy and alloy formulations, OPTIMUS shrunk down the number of parts needed for small satellite rocket engines.
In the case of the , LEAP Space claims to have achieved a 90% reduction in the number of parts required.
Fewer parts mean a smaller chance for catastrophic failures on any given part, fewer joints and seams that can burst under pressure and less weight.
LEAP Space also has tighter control of its supply chain and can rapidly improve its designs after testing, a big plus when it comes to perfecting rockets for commercial use.
One of the company’s mottos: “Complexity is the enemy of speed.”
Beyond the direct jobs it will create, LEAP Space estimates it will contribute to more than 500 indirect jobs, spend $70 million on local contracts, and generate $300 million in economic benefits.
The Colorado Venture Capital Authority is backing LEAP Space, which has also participated in the Colorado APEX Accelerator, which helps startups navigate the world of government and defense contracting.
The commission also approved a $2.5 million award for Project Cobra, a precision electronics company that is looking to create 154 jobs in Pueblo County.
Those jobs, focused on pyrotechnics and “energetic” products, will pay an average annual wage of $57,169, which is just above the county average. The company behind Project Cobra has 867 employees, none of whom are in Colorado.
A third aerospace supplier, Project Bold, received approval for $1.73 million in incentives tied to the creation of 133 jobs in El Paso County.
The Colorado company is considering investing $45 million across three phases in a new 110,000-square-foot facility to produce custom parts, sheet metal and assemblies for aerospace and industrial customers.
The jobs will pay an average annual wage of $73,033. Project Bold, which currently has 70 employees in the state, is also looking at expanding in Ohio.
