Entrepreneurs in space

A unified effort by three European institutions will enhance Europe’s position in the space sector at a time when countries beyond Europe are significantly boosting their investments in this field.

In January 2024, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the European Space Agency signed an alliance that combines expertise, resources and networks to help Europe's space sector. The new deal will foster innovation, economic growth and strategic autonomy in Europe.

Europe’s dedication to space companies is evident in the many European Union policies and initiatives, such as the EU Space Regulation, the space strategy for security and defence, and the European Investment Bank’s Strategic European Security Initiative. Numerous funding programmes and initiatives have already been established to help companies, but it is still hard for some growth-stage innovators in Europe to find financing in the space sector. There have been recommendations to establish a strategic roadmap for Europe that will help more space companies improve their technologies and make Europe more independent in the space field. Current types of support mainly target early development stage companies. But offering a better understanding of the market structure and the failures could help eliminate information gaps in Europe's fragmented space market and improve the flow of financing.

EIB Advisory has been working closely with the European Space Agency and the European Commission’s Directorate for Defence and Space to support companies that struggle to find loans or other financing in this sector. More information about this collaboration can be found here.

Financed by the InvestEU Advisory Hub, this support has included space finance labs that combine the acumen of investors with the knowledge of sector experts. The labs address the financing and growth challenges of companies and offer a forum to discuss ways to disrupt the typical financing framework.

A space finance lab held in June 2024 brought together key players in the space sector and provided a unique opportunity for the EIB Group to present its financial advisory offerings.

“The space finance labs and the alliance with the European Space Agency and the European Commission are the culmination of more than five years of advisory efforts in the space sector,” says Yuexiu Hu, corporate finance advisor at the European Investment Bank. “We are now a recognised player in the sector and space companies are an integral part of our lending.”

>@Monty Rakusen/Getty, Monty Rakusen — ©Monty Rakusen/Getty, Monty Rakusen

The space finance labs outlined the financing opportunities in the European space industry, in the upstream activities (transportation of objects into space, operation of ground stations, and space exploration), and in the downstream activities (handling data generated by the upstream activities).

EIB Advisory has reviewed the available funding programmes in Europe and identified that there is a clear need for more investment in the space sector.

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