ESA at the New Space Economy European Expoforum [Nov/2019]

On 10–12 December in Rome, ESA will be present at the New Space Economy European Expoforum (NSE) organised in collaboration with the Space Foundation. This event creates the opportunity to meet and exchange views with existing and new industrial players, small and medium-sized innovative companies, investors, new ventures, start-ups, research centres, space agencies and institutions with interests in space.

During these days, ESA will hold a number of events to address: smart cities innovation; collaborations with universities and research centres; access to investment; and worldwide competitiveness for European industry. View the agenda (.PDF).

On 11 December, there is the opportunity to attend in the second Global Space Economic Forum.

10 December - Day 1:

On 10 December, ESA will present downstream projects in the field of Smart Cities in the ESA Booth.

‘Downstream’ means all those activities based on space technology, or using a space-derived system in a space or non-space environment, that may result in an application, product or service to the benefit of the European economy or society.

Representatives from European industry will give presentations with ESA on developed industrial projects in the fields of new mobility, 5G, urban environment and cybersecurity.

Across the world, cities are struggling to provide critical infrastructure and urban services to support their fast growing, often unrelenting, growth.

The city of the future can be smart, green and connected. Behind many of the solutions necessary for developing Smart Cities and sustainable urbanisation, there are space technologies which are fundamental technological enablers such as using sensors and satellite connectivity, navigation systems, and Earth observation data.

Participants from industry, municipalities, academia and institutions will have the chance to meet and discover the opportunities offered by ESA in the area of Smart Cities.

11 December - Day 2:

ESA’s Global Space Economic Forum (GSEF) is the foremost creative platform to interactively discuss space-led innovation opportunities and the challenges arising from the on-going transformations driven by the space economy and the current and future trends in the global market.

More than 150 speakers and leaders from industry, institutions and academia will join this annual meeting to exchange ideas on global challenges and present innovative projects developed with ESA in areas such as cybersecurity, autonomous driving, urban innovation and artificial intelligence.

The theme chosen for the GSEF 2019 is 'Space creates value'. Space programmes are attracting public investments and increasingly more private investments.

These investments generate industrial activities that now play a daily part of citizen’s lives, in the domains of telecommunications, positioning, navigation and timing and Earth observation.

Markets for applications and services have been created and currently generate significant commercial value.

The GSEF will provide an opportunity to discuss how space activities foster industrial competitiveness, economic growth and innovation. Space and other industrial sectors can meet and create powerful benefits through cross-fertilisation.

The event will present the industrial projects launched during the Global Space Economic Workshop events organised in Italy and France in May 2019.

Access to finance for space in Europe

Private capital flows in the space sector have been steadily increasing in recent years. But while risk capital that targets tomorrow’s unicorns is at its most intense, the capital investment needs of established space SMEs have garnered less attention from investors and institutions alike. And yet space SMEs are critical players as building blocks of the value-adding and industrial supply chains in the space ecosystem.

On the one hand, early-stage companies are visible and active in their search for risk capital; even though they are riskier, the promise of return on investment for investors is proportionately more appealing. On the other hand, large heritage industry has no difficulty borrowing on commercial markets.

However, in between the two, established space SMEs are often less visible within complex value-adding chains. Their business (including with ESA), and the level of risk they entail, are less well understood by investors. When accessing capital, they must compete with peers in more established sectors such as pharmaceuticals and agriculture. When banks agree to lend, the conditions (maturity, interests, collaterals) are not favourable enough. In these conditions, they may be less able to compete for finance.

This event will take a closer look at the needs and specificities of supply and value-adding chain space companies as a potentially underserved segment of the space ecosystem. Stakeholders will discuss policy measures which could ease their access to finance, from soft mechanisms to build trust in the sector to innovative financing instruments which could address the specificities of space.

12 December - Day 3:

On 12 December there will be a discussion on competitiveness of the European space industry. 

A first panel will introduce the ESA industrial policy tools in support of the growth of a sustainable European space industrial ecosystem. 

In a second panel, representatives from the space industry will discuss the challenges presented by the globalisation of space markets.

Finally, two sessions will present the business opportunities for European space industry in the UAE and in Australia.