IEEC and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce will collaborate to promote NewSpace in Catalonia
The agreement signed by the president of the Chamber, Mònica Roca i Aparici, and IEEC’s director, Ignasi Ribas Canudas, includes joint actions to support the NewSpace sector in Catalonia and develop a competitive ecosystem to help growth in the sector through knowledge transfer and awareness-raising activities such as conferences, webinars and space dissemination sessions.
The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and IEEC will also work together in the drafting of economic studies, market feasibility of draft infrastructure investment projects and, finally, will collaborate on European projects for the detection of opportunities, creation of consortia and dissemination, as well as in the implementation of the NewSpace Strategy of the Generalitat de Catalunya, approved in the Government Agreement of 27 October 2020.
In addition, both entities will be responsible for promoting and establishing contacts with companies in any of the actions that are addressed jointly in the strategic plan of the NewSpace of Catalonia promoted by the Generalitat.
The promotion of young talent and the gender perspective in the aerospace sector is also one of the actions contemplated by the agreement, which will be based on the promotion of activities to promote knowledge in the STEM field among the Catalan youth, and specifically, to attract female talent.
Thanks to this agreement, the corporation will continue to develop the axes of the Catalunya 2030/40 project for a new economic model based on knowledge, among others. Specifically, this initiative will promote those that refer to added value, the promotion of talent, innovation and entrepreneurship, digitalisation and the structures necessary for the economy. It should also be a tool to help IEEC lead the transformation of the space sector in Catalonia and consolidate the institution as an international benchmark in research and innovation in space sciences and technologies.
What is the 'New Space Economy'?
NewSpace is a new philosophy that breaks with the traditional concept of access to space in the exclusive hands of government agencies and large multinationals, led by SMEs and start-ups in the aerospace sector that work independently of governments and with much smaller budgets than those of large contractors, allowing them to be more flexible and agile.
This radical change in the conception of the use of space means the removal of the entry barriers that have historically existed in the aerospace industry and the possibility of developing cheaper projects with applications that are equally beneficial to society, such as telecommunications and Earth observation to combat climate change, based on nanosatellites.
In Catalonia, this sector has a turnover of 143 million euros, a number that will increase by 276% by 2025 to 539 million euros. During the same period, employment linked to NewSpace is also expected to grow up to 1,755 workers (+369%). This is the result of the first study on the NewSpace Ecosystem in Catalonia, developed by Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with IEEC, and the i2CAT and KIMbcn foundations.
Main image
Signing of the agreement
Caption: The director of IEEC, Ignasi Ribas Canudas, and the president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Mònica Roca i Aparici, during the signing of the agreement.
Credits: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.