Abstract

Europe boasts a strong space sector. This is largely the legacy of successful space programmes, particularly those on satellite navigation and Earth observation, mostly built on public support. However, the space sector is undergoing unprecedented transformation and development on a global scale. Major technology advancements, a new entrepreneurial spirit and a renewed policy focus have put the space sector under the spotlight on the global innovation stage. Such rapid and constant transformation calls for new approaches to funding and supporting space ventures.
In this lecture, we will discuss the recent trends in the European space sector and the obstacles that European space companies face when they seek financing. We will also look at potential solutions that may help improve access of European space companies to funding sources. We will talk about synergies between public and private funding, and discuss in detail how EU funds could be deployed to attract private investment and otherwise catalyse the development of the sector.
We will conclude the lecture with an overview of how the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund are supporting the European space sector: we will present the available funding programmes of the EIB and EIF and what companies can benefit from them. We will also explain advisory and other non-financial means of support of the European space ecosystem. Finally, we will provide a glimpse of the upcoming funding programmes that EIB and EIF are currently discussing with our partners at the European Commission.

Short Bio

Shiva Dustdar has over 28 years of experience in the financial industry working for large private and public institutions in New York, London and Luxembourg. Since joining EIB in 2003, she has worked in risk management, lending and investing in innovative companies and currently heads the Innovation Finance Advisory (IFA) Division in the EIB. IFA provides financial advice to public and private entities, performing market studies and developing new financial products to meet the financing needs in green, digital, gendersmart and health-related areas.
She started her career in 1993 at J.P. Morgan Investment Banking in New York working in M&A, Project Finance and Emerging Markets before joining Fitch Rating Agency in 1999 to set up its European High Yield rating business.
Shiva holds a BA in Economics from Columbia University and an Executive MBA from London Business School (LBS). She is a regular speaker on innovation and impact financing, gender smart investing, digital and green financing and actively engaged in networks that promote sustainable and mission oriented financing..

Abstract:

As from its very foundation in 1975, and as documented by its Convention, the mandate given by its Member States to the European Space Agency has been to “provide for and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, co-operation among European States in Space Research and Technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operational space applications systems”. That double duality: “R&D but also Applications and Science but also Operations” went with an equally high level objective of Industrial Policy, that the Convention states to be designed in particular to “(…) improve the world-wide competitiveness of European Industry by maintaining and developing space technology and by encouraging the rationalisation and development of an industrial structure appropriate to market requirements (…)”. Born as a Procurement Agency implementing the Programmes of its Member States, ESA has gradually evolved to put its technical, management and, indeed, procurement skills also at the service of other realities and Organisations. On the global European Space governance level, this has taken the form of an evolving, reinforcing cooperation with and support to the European Union, acting through the European Commission in implementation of dedicated Delegation Agreements. With Copernicus, Egnos and Galileo as flagships models of such cooperation, but not limited to those, the part of the ESA budget that is contributed by the EU in 2020 was 22%.The lecture will review the role that ESA has assumed in support of the European Union, the forms that such ESA contribution has taken, and the trends that appear to mark its future evolution on the way to the fostering of a European Space Ecosystem.

Although sharing many mutual goals and policies, the United States and Europe approach decision-making very differently. This reflects their respective differences in organization, government, economic, and legal frameworks. The effective management of outer space is a global responsibility that transcends nations and regions. At the same time it is a relatively small segment of national activities, but it is now intricately entwined in almost all international issues. Finding a path for nations and economies to cooperate and to compete in space is an ongoing challenge, even for nations with long histories of mutual engagement and agreements. This talk will highlight major issues with regard to space in the United States and Europe looking toward the growth and sustainability of both governments and private entities in future space endeavors.

The lecture will start with the historical framework of the development of Copernicus, its institutional governance, services (with a focus on the Copernicus emergency management Service), big data and access modalities and its future evolution. Second, the legal and policy framework, in particular the Copernicus Regulation and Data Policy, will be addressed. Third, Mr Brunet will explain the external dimension of the programme, its services and data global dimension, the role of global cooperation arrangements on data exchange and the use of Copernicus in support to the achievement of SDGs. Finally, the lecture will focus on the Copernicus users’ ecosystem, including Copernicus networks, Copernicus for businesses and Copernicus for education.