ACTIVITY REPORT SPACE
The space economy: key challenges to be met in the face of transition.
In a global context of unprecedented dynamism, the issues of competitiveness and sovereignty (notably the European launcher crisis) marked the year with a growing awareness that Europe and France are lagging behind in the face of international competition (disruption of the space industry by SpaceX/Starlink). R&D activities enjoyed invaluable funding support from France 2030 and Horizon Europe programs. The national military space sector continued to develop and grow. At the regional level, our territories are more attractive than ever, bolstering strong ambitions.
THE ACHIEVEMENTS
The Aerospace Valley Strategic Space Committee gave new momentum to the sector in 2023 and 2024. A committee of 18 representatives developed the Cluster’s space roadmap which addresses the following challenges: “Producing competitive space vehicles in France”, “Scaling up downstream”, “Supporting sovereignty”, “Sustainability of space activities”. The committee also works on topics such as end-to-end optimization through pooling test facilities and standardizing solutions. It should also be noted that in 2023 the Cluster joined the Government-Industry Committee on Space (COSPACE) to represent its members.
DREAM IT, MAKE IT, BOOST IT: ideation, creation and development of startups
Aerospace Valley ran the Space Command’s hackathon, DefinSpace, an event to promote the emergence of ideas to serve the defence sector in the space field. The hackathon and the finals on the constellation theme took place in November 2023 and February 2024. The event was more international and attracted more participants compared to the previous year’s event (348 participants from five countries representing 82 teams with the participation of over 100 coaches).
In June 2023 the ESA Business Incubation Center (BIC) South France celebrated ten years of existence on the occasion of SIAE-Paris Le Bourget. The contract between the European Space Agency and Aerospace Valley was renewed for a five-year period in October 2023 with the aim of incubating some twenty startups per year. The following companies joined the scheme: Aiko, Leosense, Neurobus, Tacita Dynamics and Leoblue.
DISTRICT by Aerospace Valley continued to expand with the arrival of new actors such as Oledcomm, Blue Water Intelligence and Dawn Aerospace. New partnerships were set up with for example the Space Business Catalyst from Thales Alenia Space to provide additional expertise.
BUILD IT, FUND IT, SELL IT: fostering meetings and project creation, access to funding, economic development and export support
Twenty events were held including a sequence dedicated to Space at the Forum by Aerospace Valley 2023 on orbital propulsion and secure space communications. The Cluster was present at the regional pavilions at SIAE-Paris Le Bourget in June 2023 and at the first Future Intelligence event jointly organized with ABE on the topic: “Artificial intelligence serving space”. Technical workshops such as « Waves and Space » in December 2023 provided an opportunity to focus on topics such as satellite 5G and satellite optronic systems. PHAROS day in December 2023 brought together members of the Space Surveillance ecosystem. The first “Supplier Day by Aerospace Valley” in March 2024 mobilized the ecosystem to expand the list of Airbus Defence and Space suppliers.
Our work to support project development continued at a steady pace. The Cluster accredited many Space projects notably as part of France 2030 and in particular on in-orbit operations, space surveillance, debris management, and data optimization. Work with the Regions continued notably to help them implement their respective Space roadmaps. European projects in which Aerospace Valley is involved enabled our members to gain access to funding for projects related to Data (EDIH Occitan IA) or climate change (PROTECT, VALORADA, Space4Cities). The Cluster informed members on a regular basis of funding opportunities at the regional, national and European level through a newsletter. Webinars such as GSTP ESA (General Support Technology Program) and InfoDay Horizon Europe were organized.
Aerospace Valley, through its collective actions, NSF (NewSpace Factory) and SCALE (Space Climate League) continued to work for SMEs to help them gain access to new national markets and export markets. NSF was present at international shows such as Space Symposium in Colorado Springs in the US in April 2023 and Space Tech in Breme in Germany in November, 2023. SCALE, a new Cluster initiative funded by the ADEME now has active members: I-Sea, Walt-R, LTU Tech and The Climate Company.
SELECTED WEBINARS AND EVENTS
On May 24, 2023, as part of Forum by Aerospace Valley, a Space sequence was organized with the Aerospace Valley PEE and SEC Ecosystems of Excellence. A round table including representatives from startups and major companies provided an opportunity to discuss the latest sector news, technological challenges and orbital propulsion opportunities. The future of SATCOMs and the quantic revolution in the field was tackled by experts. They highlighted strong competition and the need for cooperation within the French and European ecosystem.
On November 7, 2023 a new edition of Future Intelligence showcased the contribution of AI to space. This event featured Keynotes, round tables and presentations of use cases. The Occitan space ecosystem was highlighted notably with regard to the topics of space observation and industrialization of the space industry.
On March 7, 2024 the first Supplier Day by Aerospace Valley dedicated to Airbus Defence and Space took place. Twelve Airbus DS purchasing managers met with some 80 suppliers from the Cluster’s space ecosystem at a plenary session and B2B meetings.
EUROPE FOCUS
The European VALORADA project funded by the Horizon Europe program is included in the EU climate change adaptation Mission which started in June 2023 for a period of three years. This project is run by the Climate Services Center (GERICS), a German research center, HEREON. It includes 14 European partners and has a budget of 3M€. Through hybridizing data related to the impact of climate change (earth observation data and socio-economic data), the project aims to develop data processing and visualization tools for local authorities. Aerospace Valley is responsible for mobilizing the local authorities at the European scale, promoting space data in this sector and connecting all the ecosystem’s actors: space solution providers, public authorities, research and technology organizations. Working closely with its partners, Aerospace Valley helps anticipate and develop a climate services market, in compliance with EU objectives.
« Being an Aerospace Valley member enables us to benefit from support from the sector and provides access to a very relevant network. The cluster is especially efficient when it comes to upstream analysis of the different opportunities open to us: European programs and funding possibilities. It gives us access to a European network of potential partners. AGENIUM is very lucky to benefit from this support »
Christine Fernandez-Martin - Chief Operating Officer, Agenium
PROJECTS AND ACTIONS UNDERWAY SINCE MARCH 2024 AND TO COME:
DREAM IT, MAKE IT, BOOST IT: ideation, creation and development of startups
The ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) Sud France should meet the sourcing challenges of some twenty startups over the year and re-energize the network of incubated companies and alumni while increasing involvement in the ESA BIC European network. Aerospace Valley remains involved in the creation of ESA Philab France alongside the IRT Saint Exupery and the CNES with the aim of setting up a pilot project in 2025.
BUILT IT, FUND IT, SELL IT: fostering meetings and project creation, access to funding, economic development and export support
A dozen events were organized with notably a Space sequence at the Forum by Aerospace Valley in May 2024 on space’s contribution to sustainable territories. “Supplier Day by Aerospace Valley” events are programmed with Thales Alenia Space (June 2024) and Ariane Group, along with meetings with inter-ministerial coordinators IRIS² (in April 2024) and Copernicus. An event will be organized in collaboration with the CNES to present theme-based strategic roadmaps of the CNES to the ecosystem and related market studies. Immersions in the space ecosystem of the Grand Sud-Ouest were planned with the DGE (April 2024) and DGA/AID (T4 2024).
Work with both regions will continue to help them implement their respective Space roadmaps. Of note: in Occitanie, creation of a space pillar in the Regional Innovation Strategy and in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, setting up a Connect By CNES regional antenna in Aerospace Valley by the end of 2024. Actions of the Aerospace Valley Space sector strategic committee related to standardization of solutions and growing industrial maturity of space equipment suppliers, will begin to be implemented in the second half of 2024. European projects in which Aerospace Valley is involved will enable to fund projects involving area and public infrastructure management (Space4Cities) and water management (PCP WISE).
At the international level, Aerospace Valley will offer its members a stand at IAC in Milan in October, 2024, a major space sector event. In general, connections will be facilitated with space ecosystems in Africa, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Denmark, and Norway.
Aerospace Valley has continued to develop its two collective banners, NSF (NewSpace Factory) and SCALE (Space Climate League) by opening to new members and proposing market actions and a presence at shows: Space Symposium in April 2024 and Space Tech Expo Europe in November 2024 for SCALE.