A European consortium with participation of the IEEC, Pangea and Aeroports de Catalunya obtains 4.9 million for the Eu-BEST project
- The project will develop a European rocket engine test bench—open to the industry, flexible and modular—with capability for cryogenic and sustainable propellants, to be placed at the Lleida-Alguaire airport in Catalonia
- This new facility will be built upon the existing rocket engine test centre at Lleida-Alguaire, extending its testing capabilities up to 500kN of thrust, and will make its debut with the Pangea Aerospace’s ARCOS engine
- Eu-BEST has been conceived and developed by a consortium of leading European companies and institutions—which also includes French, German, and Irish ones—under the leadership of the Eiffage Energie Systèmes – Clemessy company
Caption: the new modular test bench will be built upon the existing rocket engine test centre at Lleida-Alguaire.
Credits: Aeroports de Catalunya
Lleida-Alguaire Airport is the chosen site for setting the “European Bench for Engine and Stage Testing” (Eu-BEST). The project, which will be funded with 4.9 million euros by the European Union, will be developed by a consortium of leading European companies and institutions. The French company EES-Clemessy, as the consortium leader, is working together with the Catalan entities: Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), Pangea Aerospace and Aeroports de Catalunya. Alongside these entities, SpaceDreams, OHB Digital Connect GmbH, and SUAS Aerospace Limited stand out.
The project has been chosen by the European Commission through its Horizon Europe funding programme, dedicated to research and innovation. Eu-BEST has been the only successful project in securing funding for the development of infrastructures for the needs of the aerospace sector under the call 23: “Modern, flexible and efficient European test production and launch facilities”.
The aim of the project is to create a rocket engine test facility with cryogenic capabilities, mobile, interoperable and with a modular design. This facility, which will join the already existing one at the Lleida-Alguaire, will allow the testing of different types of engines at various stages of their life cycle—qualification, production, or reuse—extending the capabilities up to 500kN. In addition, the centre will offer testing services to several companies in the industry and will enable the use of more sustainable liquid propellants, thanks to its cryogenic capabilities.
This kind of facility represents a paradigm shift for the aerospace industry, providing unprecedented versatility and extending propulsion testing capabilities that are not currently covered in Europe, in a more flexible and accessible way. This is a fundamental step towards making access to space easier through innovation and cost-cutting, and will position Spain and Catalonia as a reference location in Europe for private companies and institutions seeking to develop sustainable propulsion systems.
More specifically, Eu-BEST will allow the validation of high-thrust rocket engines using cryogenic fuels, such as Pangea Aerospace’s ARCOS engine. The expected performance is to conduct 200 tests per year, and to replicate the facility in other European locations. First tests will be carried out at the Lleida-Alguaire facilities with the ARCOS engine, and will allow validating the functioning of the new European test bench.
Lleida-Alguaire airport, with a great potential to bring together companies, training centres and research groups in the NewSpace sector, is a key facility of the NewSpace Strategy of Catalonia. The Strategy, promoted by the Government of Catalonia with the collaboration of the IEEC, the i2CAT Foundation and the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC), promotes an emerging industrial sector with high added value, highly specialised jobs and a great potential to attract talent and investment towards the territory.
Caption: Eu-BEST project leaders within some of the participating entities met during last Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen.
Credits: IEEC
* Press release made in collaboration with the Communication offices of Pangea Aerospace and Aeroports de Catalunya
More information
Eu-BEST has been chosen by the European Commission through its Horizon Europe funding programme. Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation, with a budget of €95.5 billion.
Contacts
IEEC Communication Office
Barcelona, Spain
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.