On the occasion of the ministerial meeting of the European Space Agency (ESA) (see other news), the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced, on Wednesday 26 November, the launch of its first financing programme dedicated to the European space sector, entitled Space TechEU, developed as part of its TechEU initiative.
“There has been an explosion in investment in space on a global scale, and Europe must contribute if it wants to remain competitive and preserve its autonomy. It is also essential to take into account our resilience in the face of the geopolitical context”, EIB Vice-President Robert de Groot explained to a small group of journalists in Bremen, including Agence Europe.
This new lending programme is expected to include €500 million in EIB funding to support companies along the entire space value chain, from upstream to downstream, and mobilise around €1.4 billion in new investment in cooperation with commercial banks, according to the EIB.
Space TechEU will particularly target SMEs, start-ups, scale-ups and mid-sized companies in the sector, which often have difficulty obtaining bank financing.
The EIB will provide credit lines and guarantees to its European banking partners. Three European banks have already expressed an interest: Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and Natixis.
As part of a strategic partnership, the European Space Agency will bring its knowledge of the sector and its technical expertise to the commercial banks taking part in the programme. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)