EC and EIB unveil €200m financing for EU space sector
The European Commission and European Investment Bank Group have announced €200 million of investments into the EU space sector, including a €100 million loan for the new Ariane 6 launcher programme.
The deal, unveiled at the European Space Policy Conference in Brussels, is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, and InnovFin Risk Sharing for Corporate Research backed by Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
In addition, the Commission and the European Investment Fund are jointly announcing the first ever EU-backed InnovFin Space Equity Pilot - for European SMEs operating in the sector of space technologies - and the first space-focused tech fund supported under the pilot in Europe.
The financing will partially support ArianeGroup’s share of development costs of the new European heavy launcher Ariane 6.