Updates on Horizon Europe’s Space R&I Partnership


SEPTEMBER 2024

From left to right: Jean-Charles Treuet, SPACE aisbl President and Eurospace Head of Technology Strategy; Helge Pfeiffer, EASN Secretary General; Catalin Nae, ESRE Vice-Chair; Andy Court, EASTRO, President of the Board ; Timo Pesonen, Director General of DG DEFIS; Kris Vanderhauwaert, SME4Space EU Liaison Officer; Marc Lemaître, Director General of DG RTD

Important milestone for the SPACE aisbl and its founding members SME4SPACE, ASD-Eurospace, Association of European Space Research Establishments (ESRE), EASTRO, and EASN – European Aeronautics Science Network.

On September 10, 2024, the European Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SPACE aisbl to increase the involvement of the private sector in the programming of Horizon Europe as of 2025.

Under the co-programmed European Partnership for Globally Competitive Space Systems (“Space Partnership”), €100 million of EU funding will be allocated to the topics proposed by the private sector in the domains of satellite communication, Earth observation, and new space transportation systems. The private partners are expected to contribute an additional €120 million through in-kind support.

SME4SPACE is thrilled to contribute to the success of the space partnership by supporting the space SME community to identify key research priorities and to increase their competitiveness.

With this signature, the SPACE aisbl, established in 2024, will work with the European Commission and the Member States to connect and strengthen the European space industry, research institutes, and policymakers.

European Commission Article https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/signature-memorandum-understanding-space-partnership-space-association-2024-09-10_en

Read the relevant Press Release below:


MARCH 2024

The SPACE AISBL (composed of SME4SPACE, Eurospace, ESRE, EASTRO and EASN) is thrilled to announce that after months working with supply chain stakeholders on the identification of key challenges for the European space competitiveness, a preliminary plan for the Globally Competitive Space Systems Co-Programmed European Partnership is being released.

The proposal prepared by the five associations for implementation in Horizon Europe is composed of:

  • A framing document, that presents the rationale, objectives and development goals to be achieved within the 2025-2027 timeframe
  • A recommendation to apply the specific objectives to the work programme of 2025

We invite our Members to take stock of these proposals.

The process is now in the hands of the European Commission and the Horizon Europe Programme Committee. We are confident that the proposals will be considered for the elaboration of the 2025 Horizon Europe Work Programme.

We thank our Members for their fruitful collaboration


JANUARY 2024

15 February 2024: Inputs from the members to WP 2025 will be sent to the European Commission (DG Defis)

15 March 2024: The comitology procedure will start between the European Commission and the Members States to finalise the WP 2025 elaboration

As of March 2024: SME4SPACE will invite its members to contribute to workshops and Roadmapping activities in the context of the elaboration of WP 2026. This process is supposed to run in the March-September 2024 timeframe


OCTOBER 2023

The signing of the S.P.A.C.E. aisbl statutes witnessed by a notary. The event took place on the 23rd of October 2023, in Brussels.

From left to right Signatories: Andy Court (EASTRO), Olivier Lemaitre (Eurospace) and Hans Bracquené (SME4SPACE).


JANUARY 2023

We’d like to provide an important update regarding the proposed co-programmed partnership for space research and innovation under Horizon Europe.

As detailed in our presentation from 7th December 2022, the proposed partnership remains active. However, the official launch has been temporarily postponed to facilitate the establishment of an ad-hoc association by our private partners, known as S.P.A.C.E.

To learn more about this initiative, we invite you to review our presentation slides (especially slides 16 and onwards) linked below.

Stay tuned as we will be sharing more updates on the progress of this partnership and seeking your invaluable input, especially around the drafting of the additional activities plan.

We welcome any queries you may have regarding the space partnership.

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