As hard to grasp as it may sound, space touches us all here on Earth. Space technologies aren’t just about travelling to Mars — these innovations also make our daily lives better. They make travel by train or plane safer, guide us to our destinations, and connect us worldwide in seconds. “Space is a key asset for Europe to face global challenges, boost our economic growth and build our future,” says Gianluigi Baldesi, head of the ventures and financing office at the European Space Agency (ESA). “The global space economy, valued at €460 billion in 2022, will continue to grow, ultimately benefiting society.”

Europe has been at the forefront of recent space projects, investing in big space satellite programmes like Copernicus (Earth observation) and Galileo (positioning, navigation and timing). Now, there is a third flagship space project backed by the European Union: IRIS², a satellite constellation project to offer secure modes of communication to governments and the private sector. And yet, without more substantial and targeted investments in the space sector, Europe still risks falling behind in the next wave of space innovation despite its high standard of academic and scientific research.

While European companies remain competitive in space innovations such as micro- and nanoelectronics, digital technology, and optical and ubiquitous communications, they struggle to find loans and other financing to expand their businesses. This is due to various factors, including a lack of growth capital, the long development timelines for these technologies, and the large investments demanded by their products.

Space companies in the European Union often lack knowledge about financing opportunities. According to European space executives, it is difficult to find private funding for projects in Europe, and to navigate the complex system of public funding available at the national and European levels. To solve these problems, EIB Advisory joined forces with the ESA and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS) to give extra attention to the financing needs of space companies.

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Public institutions have a key role to play in improving the competitiveness of the European space industry. The EIB will add firepower to the Commission’s CASSINI plan to support more space innovation.

Guillaume de La Brosse

Head of unit for space innovation and space defence at the European Commission.

Space companies that are part of the ESA network and in the CASSINI ecosystem can get assistance from EIB Advisory staff to improve their financing plans, capital structure, business plans and investment propositions. “This collaboration aims to help EU space sector businesses find the funding they need to scale up their projects,” says Catherine Bender, head of digital, space and life science advisory at the European Investment Bank. The Bank, the Commission and the ESA will collaborate to make financial tools more accessible, improve the commercialisation of products and stimulate demand from public and private customers, Bender adds.

The advisory support makes it easier to find financing and enables companies to make the most of existing funding programmes, such as Horizon Europe, the European Innovation Council Pathfinder/Transition and Accelerator, InvestEU and the CASSINI Space Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Entering 2024, EIB Advisory will set up the EU Space Finance Lab, a forum that will bring together the ESA, the Commission, space investors and companies to develop new approaches to space financing. “Working together to foster a competitive European space industry will send a strong signal to space companies in Europe and help us retain our innovation advantage,” says Baldesi of the ESA. “This is our chance to shape the future of the sector.”