The New Space Economy Congress brings together more than 500 attendees in its third edition
- The congress, which was held on 1 and 2 October, was attended by more than 70 speakers from 18 different nationalities
- This year’s edition has allowed to reflect on space as a tool to promote sustainability and mitigate climate change
- The event, which has had the collaboration of the IEEC, has reaffirmed Barcelona’s commitment as the capital of the new space economy in Europe
Caption: The Llotja de Mar hosted the New Space Economy Congress on 1 and 2 October.
Credits: Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona.
Barcelona’s Llotja de Mar was once again the venue for the New Space Economy Congress, already consolidated as an international benchmark event, which in its third edition was attended by more than 500 people. The event has served to disseminate the opportunities of space, both economic and in the conception of services and applications that advance society, and reaffirms Barcelona’s commitment as the capital of the new space economy in Europe. This year, the focus was on the space technology provided by satellites as a driver of environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation.
The 2024 edition of the New Space Economy Congress was organised by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Government of Catalonia, with the collaboration of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya), the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), the i2CAT Foundation and the KIMbcn Foundation.
During the two days of the congress, 71 speakers from 18 different nationalities took part, sharing their views on the trends, challenges and applications of the industry. Among the keynote speeches, Luca del Monte, Head of the Commercialisation Department of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Catherine Kavvada, Director of Secure and Connected Space at DG DEFIS – European Commission.
In the framework of this edition of the congress, it was officially announced that the Government of Catalonia will allocate more than 8 million euros to co-finance, through the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia, the Phi-LabNET Spain@Barcelona, the ESA project awarded to the consortium led by the IEEC that will focus on research and transfer to the market of space solutions in the field of climate change and sustainability. The project, which has a budget of more than €13m of which ESA is contributing €5.2m through ESA, will provide funding, support and access to laboratories and infrastructure to space actors and companies to carry out research and innovation activities that have applications with commercial potential in these areas.
In addition, the congress has become an excellent venue for networking and alliance building, with the various networking sessions scheduled over the two days. A prime example was the NewSpace Catalonia Accelerator, an initiative promoted by the Government of Catalonia in collaboration with the IEEC, which provided a platform for innovative startups in the field of NewSpace, presenting new technological proposals to potential investors and fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In fact, the more than 200 B2B contacts registered through the official congress app are clear evidence of the event’s success, facilitating connections between companies and exploring new business opportunities.
This year, the event was attended by key institutions such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the Spanish Space Agency (AEE). As a result of this participation, the sessions addressed global cooperation in the space sector and internationalisation opportunities for companies and institutions.
Caption: Josep Colomé, director of the Area for the Promotion of the Space Sector of Catalonia at the IEEC, during the presentation of the Phi-LabNET Spain@Barcelona.
Credits: IEEC.
As in the previous edition, the first day offered an overview of NewSpace, with the latest innovations, strategies for commercialising technologies and investment opportunities; while the second day focused on the numerous applications and benefits that space data can provide to other sectors, in this case, on the benefits that space technology can bring to the fight against climate change and, more specifically, on how it can contribute to better water management.
Press release prepared in collaboration with the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Government of Catalonia.
Contacts
IEEC Communication Office
Castelldefels, Barcelona
E-mail: comunicacio@ieec.cat
About the IEEC
The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) promotes and coordinates space research and technology development in Catalonia for the benefit of society. IEEC fosters collaborations both locally and worldwide and is an efficient agent of knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. As a result of more than 25 years of high-quality research, done in collaboration with major international organisations, IEEC ranks among the best international research centres, focusing on areas such as: astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, and Earth Observation. IEEC’s engineering division develops instrumentation for ground- and space-based projects, and has extensive experience in working with private or public organisations from the aerospace and other innovation sectors.
The IEEC is a non-profit public sector foundation that was established in February 1996. It has a Board of Trustees composed of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC), and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). The IEEC is also a CERCA centre.