by Jason Rainbow — October 18, 2021 The space industry is set to play a major role in helping the European Union meet ambitious climate, digital and sustainability goals. Image credit: SES
TAMPA, Fla. — A lack of accessible financing options is holding European space startups back as supply shortages and price rises risk derailing the industry’s post-pandemic recovery, warns a white paper from the Access Space Alliance (ASA) small satellite industry group.
The European Union has been making more funding available for the sector, recently approving its space program’s largest-ever budget of €14.88 billion ($17.3 billion) for 2021-2027.
However, ASA founder and board member Betty Bonnardel said European space startups face many challenges in securing public and private investments, which are still larger in the U.S. and other markets outside Europe.
“The funding itself is one thing — increasing funding is important, but beyond that you need to facilitate the access to that funding for the small companies,” Bonnardel said in an interview.