World Region – Europe
Ams Osram has received EU Commission approval for funding to develop a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Austria. The investment grant – under the European Chips Act – is up to the value of €227 million. The proposed fab, on its Premstätten existing site, will produce next-generation optoelectronic sensors, said the company. In total, the company plans to invest €567 ...
Infineon has got EC approval for European Chips Act funding for its Dresden fsb. The award still needs sign-off from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The fab is already receiving support under the EC’s IPCEI ME/CT (“Important Project of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies”) innovation program. Total government funding for the €5 ...
The Dutch military is turning to Maxar Intelligence, the Earth Observation specialist, for the provision of geospatial intelligence, via imagery and data. The U.S. company has won a contract worth €13.6m ($14.4m). Specifically, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence has taken a four-year subscription to the Maxar Geospatial Platform (MGP) Pro. Geospatial intelligence The deal will see Maxar data support the ...
Virgin Galactic Holdings is partnering with the Italian civil aviation authority to study the feasibility of hosting suborbital spaceflight operations from the very south of Italy. Specifically, the US-based company will be working with Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile (“ENAC”). They will be investigating the feasibility of using the Grottaglie Spaceport in Puglia. Suborbital “Development of world-class spaceports in premier ...
ION-X, the electrospray propulsion specialist, has raised €13 million in a funding round. It will enable the company to industrialise the production of its ion thrusters. The company now aims to produce 200 ion thrusters per year – which manoeuvre small satellites – by 2028. This will be done at its future production facility in the Île-de-France region. ION-X The ...
The Exploration Company (TEC) has raised $160 million in a Series B funding round. The startup is developing Nyx, a reusable and in-orbit refillable spacecraft for transporting space cargo. Designed to be launched from any heavy launcher in the world, the craft would fly to space stations. Investors included Plural, Balderton Capital, NGP Capital and Bessemer. And TEC described the ...
A consortium of companies has completed an initial European Space Agency (ESA) RocketRoll project on nuclear electric propulsion for space exploration. The companies come from the aerospace and nuclear sectors, and were led by Tractebel. They have defined a technology roadmap for achieving advanced propulsion systems capable of long-duration missions. For example, for in-space transportation in expeditions to Mars and ...
Constellation.global, a French start-up developing a constellation of ultra-low orbit satellites to support 5G space connectivity for telecom operators, has secured €9.3 million in funding The investment comes from Expansion – a venture capital company that is backed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union, and a number of public and private financial institutions – and Bpifrance – ...
With the UK Space Conference 2023 taking place in Belfast, the UK government has announced it’s bidding to join the Atlantic Constellation involving small satellites for Earth Observation. Along with Spain and Portugal, the UK will contribute a “pathfinder” satellite designed to aid early detection of climate change indicators. This will be built by the UK space startup Open Cosmos ...
The Andøya Spaceport in Norway has officially opened, readying itself to be the future launch site – for small and medium sized satellites – of Isar Aerospace and its Spectrum rocket. Located at Nordmela on the Norwegian island of Andøya, the site’s opening ceremony was presided over by H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, pictured below. The spaceport describes itself ...
