13/01/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 13 January, the European Commission and the European Investment Fund (EIF) announced a new investment of €300 million, including €100 million from the EU budget, to support innovation in the space industry. The investment involves two space technology funds, Orbital Ventures and Primo Space, as part of the first ever EU-backed equity investment pilot project in the space sector, the InnovFin Space Equity Pilot. According to the Commission, full deployment of the pilot project is expected in the next few weeks to support around 50 European space technology companies. The Commission also announced an additional investment, which should be signed by the end of the first quarter of 2021 and which will mark the full deployment of the €100 million InnovFin SpaceEquity Pilot. (CG)