The Luxembourg Space Finance Event 2022 took place in New York City on 10 November. It was the occasion to pitch the grand duchy’s latest achievements within the space ecosystem and attract valuable investments and startups to Luxembourg.
Luxembourg has been active in space for about 40 years with the launch of the satellite company SES in 1985. In 2018, the government launched the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA). The Luxembourg Space Finance Event 2022 was jointly held by the LSA, The Ministry of Economy of Luxembourg (ECO), and the US Luxembourg Trade and Investment Offices (LTIO) in a conference room at Saks, one of New York most iconic department stores on Fifth Avenue.
The event started with an address by Crown Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg on the merits of the grand duchy’s efforts in the space ecosystem. Prince Guillaume ended his speech by challenging the attendees to develop a means of transport in the space ecosystem that would cut time off his eight-hour return flight to Europe.
The Crown Prince’s address was followed by a speech from Luxembourg economy minister Franz Fayot, who outlined the newest developments in the country’s space strategy, emphasising sustainability. In terms of economic sustainability, the sector will not only rely on public funding but also on private sources of financing, which the minister hopes to attract by tapping into the New York City venture capital market. In terms of sustainability on earth, the latest efforts will contribute towards reducing climate change and improving agriculture globally. Regarding sustainability in space, the next steps need to be targeted at improving space traffic and space debris management.
”Luxembourg can only succeed by cooperating with others”, declared the minister, while expressing a wish for stronger links between Luxembourg and the United States in the space ecosystem.
Mario Grotz, President of the Board of Directors at the Luxembourg Space Agency, presented the grand duchy’s national economic strategy and how it related to the space ecosystem. There are currently more than 80 actors (public, private, academic) in Luxembourg in the space sector.
The government launched several initiatives through the University of Luxembourg to support developments in the sector, such as the new Interdisciplinary Space Master and a partnership with the University of Tel Aviv and the University of North Carolina. Other programmes are tailored to attract startups, for example through the payment of grants based on the real cost associated with RDI activity
Having detailed all of Luxembourg’s efforts in the space ecosystem, Grotz noted the following: “Luxembourg takes more space… in space than on earth.” The event concluded with a round table discussion on Luxembourg’s commercial space industry and how to unlock investments.
by Nathan Moyse, Silicon Luxembourg’s special correspondent in New York.
