All the scazzi between Italian companies on space funds
Among the Asi and Pnrr loans, Italy counts on over 7 billion euros of space resources. But the assignment does not only concern big companies, protests Aipas, the association of space activities companies. What's going on
A golden age for the space economy is ushering in.
Thanks to the resources of the NRP, Italian investment in the Space sector has doubled: in total about 7 billion for Italian companies in the sector.
“The addition of the 2.140 billion euro arrived with the NRP for space has allowed the launch of various industrial plans. One billion is reserved for the Iris constellation of small and medium-sized satellites for Earth observation, while another 800 million are aimed at technological projects on which, in particular, in addition to quantum telecommunications, the production of goods and services in orbit is being aimed , linked to a new space logistics. To be added there are the 337.5 million reserved for space transport ”, summarizes the expert journalist of the sector Giovanni Caprara in L'Economia , the Monday insert of Corriere della Sera .
And in fact, last week Avio was awarded the first two contracts for the “Next Gen Eu” implementation for the European space launchers. Therefore, the leading Italian company in space propulsion that builds the Vega vector will lead the projects for the new eco-sustainable engines for access to space.
The orders linked to these two 340 million euro contracts are to be spread over 4 years (2023-26). “All the projects supported by the NRP will in fact have to be completed by 2026”, recalls Caprara.
And it is precisely the time factor that worries other companies in the space sector in Italy.
"We hope that the tight deadlines do not favor the assignment of projects only to large companies", warned in L'Economia Marina Scatena, president of Aipas , the association of space activities companies. That is one of the three Italian industrial associations in the sector together with Aiad (Federation of Italian Companies for Aerospace, Defense and Security) and Asas (Association for ICT services, applications and technologies for space).
All the details.
7 BILLION FOR THE ITALIAN SPACE
"From 2019 to today, the institutional resources available for space have greatly increased: among the investments made at the last ESA ministerial, ASI's own resources and the Pnrr investments, plus some specific projects, today Italy counts on more of 7 billion euros of resources ”underlined the president of ASI (Italian Space Agency), Giorgio Saccoccia, speaking at the event“ Let's make space ”, organized by Class Editori on 22 June.
For Saccoccia “Italy is well positioned in the sphere of the so-called space diplomacy, never before has the dialogue in Europe between Italy, France and Germany been strengthened, in the ESA context we truly take decisions together. Furthermore, the NASA administrator has paid a lot of attention to the Italian contribution and to the possibilities of cooperation that will be strengthened in the future through the Artemis program ”. As part of the Artemis program, NASA will conduct a mission bringing the first woman and the next man to the lunar surface, using the Space Launch System (SLS) launcher that will transport astronauts aboard the Orion capsule.
In fact, it should be remembered that the Italian budget used on Space could already count on about 300 million euros for the share of the Italian participation in the Artemis program with NASA, refinanced in the latest budget law.
THE ROUTE
Now, with the new resources, an unmissable opportunity for the Italian space industry arrives.
“The new financial resources will increase the current capacities, consolidated nationally in Earth observation, safety, and exploration – Luigi Pasquali, CEO of Telespazio and head of space activities at Leonardo, told L'Economia. The latter, an Italian aerospace and defense giant led by Alessandro Profumo, is associated with Aiad.
"Certainly they will favor relapses especially in services and in a short time, because we will make use of known technologies alongside the new ones" emphasizes Pasquali. And precisely the time factor plays a fundamental role since all projects related to the NRP must be completed by 2026.
"The measure activates a virtuous circle, facilitator of sustainable economic development" highlighted the insert in Corriere Pasquali. We will not build cathedrals in the desert ”.
AIPAS: NO TO ALLOCATION OF SPACE PROJECTS ONLY TO LARGE COMPANIES
But if on the one hand large companies can't wait to get started, small and medium-sized Italian companies in the space are afraid of being excluded.
"The equity investments awarded by NASA and ESA demonstrate a solid national reality, a value of space in Italy that is no less than fashion in its contributions to GDP", Marina Scatena, CEO of Spacedys and president of Aipas, the association that groups SMEs (58 companies including D-Orbit, Exprivia and Sitael).
“We hope – added Scatena – that the tight deadlines do not favor the assignment of projects only to large companies, limiting the use mainly of known technologies instead of engaging in innovation that comes above all from SMEs. It must be an opportunity to expand the sector. But I have two concerns. The need for qualified personnel to quickly reach objectives has already opened a manhunt among companies, creating imbalances. Then, we have to look at industrial safety: by looking for engineers in India and Pakistan, valuable skills could be exported. And we need to use resources wisely to ensure a follow-up. Or run out of resources, the fairy tale ends ”.
THE LOCATION OF ASAS
A similar position already expressed last year by Silvano Casini, president of Asas – Association for ICT services, applications and technologies for space.
"I am pleased to note that Italian politics believes in the development of the space economy, but I would like to underline some problems", the president of Asas told Spaceeconomy360 .
“Italy has maintained the positions it had fifteen years ago in the space industry, it has not improved them. This makes us uncompetitive in hardware. It is perhaps a little obvious factor, because Italy usually participates in projects on large systems as part of large European programs or bilateral initiatives with the US, which bring little value to our space economy. Furthermore, ”continued Casini,“ our major companies in the sector are controlled by foreign groups and do not have the freedom to act in order to make the necessary investments for the Italian space economy. The world of politics should also take these aspects into account ”.
"Politics find a way to give valid and efficient support to SMEs engaged in the space economy" concluded the president of Asas.
A very timely message even at this moment.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/tutti-gli-scazzi-tra-aziende-italiane-sui-fondi-per-lo-spazio/ on Mon, 04 Jul 2022 14:16:36 +0000.