Catalonia’s space ecosystem goes global at Space Tech Expo Europe 2025
Between 18 and 20 November, Europe’s most significant fair for space technology and services hosted the Catalonia Space 2030 pavilion, promoted by the Government of Catalonia (through the Secretariat for Digital Policies) and coordinated by the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC). The Space Tech Expo Europe 2025, held annually in the German city of Bremen, welcomed over 950 exhibitors and more than 10,000 visitors from around the world.
The pavilion’s aim was to promote the Government’s new Catalonia Space 2030 Strategy internationally, and to showcase the industrial, innovation, and talent-generation capabilities of Catalonia’s space ecosystem — as well as to provide business and international collaboration opportunities for participating companies and organisations.
To meet these aims, the Catalonia Space 2030 pavilion featured 12 companies that used the stand to display their products and services in individual booths, as well as to give presentations and hold business meetings: Asense; Augusta Abogados; the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO); Kreios Space; Slimop Space; Spascat Technologies; Systellar; 2M Engineering & Product Development; the i2CAT Foundation; GPA Space; Pangea Propulsion; and Osmium Solutions.
Additionally, another nine Catalan space-ecosystem companies with their own stands at the congress were listed in the Catalonia Space 2030 catalogue as part of the Catalan delegation: Airbus Geotech; ALG; Compoxi; CT Ingenieros; GTD; Indra; Leaf Space; MWSE; and Open Cosmos.
ESA Zero Debris Charter Signature
One of the highlights of the event was the signing of the Zero Debris Charter, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). Organised jointly by ESA and the IEEC, the ceremony brought together representatives from 17 companies and organisations in the space sector, all of whom joined the Zero Debris Community — a network the IEEC itself joined in June 2024.
The community now comprises over 200 organisations from 33 countries, including 21 states represented by their space agencies, ministries or governments.
The Zero Debris Charter is a world-leading initiative with the goal that future missions will become debris-neutral by 2030, helping to reduce space junk and ensure the long-term sustainability of space.
Presentation of the ESA Phi‑Lab Spain programme
Another highlight of the Catalonia Space 2030 pavilion was the presentation of ESA Phi‑Lab Spain, a ScaleUp Programme initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA), designed to drive the commercialisation of space and foster private investment in the space sector. The programme is supported by the Spanish Space Agency (AEE) and the Government of Catalonia. IEEC leads the coordinating consortium, which brings together 12 entities, including universities, research and innovation centres, and companies.
The presentation was jointly delivered by the coordinating entities of the programme and gave attendees a close look at this innovation‑driven initiative fostering the commercialisation of space technologies that enhance climate resilience. In the same context, WAVESS was introduced — one of the winning projects from the first call of Phi‑Lab Spain. Focused on improving mapping and monitoring of the Mediterranean coasts and other water bodies, the WAVESS project is being developed by SPASCAT Technologies.
Internationalisation of the Catalan space ecosystem
During the three days of the conference, numerous business meetings and networking sessions were held, both within the Catalonia Space 2030 pavilion and across other areas set up by the organisers — reinforcing the international reach of the Catalan space sector and highlighting the strengths of its space ecosystem.
On the first day of this year’s Space Tech Expo Europe, the Catalan pavilion welcomed delegations from the Space Wales cluster, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), who visited together with their respective ecosystems.
On the second day, the Catalonia Space 2030 pavilion hosted, in addition to the signing of the ESA Zero Debris Charter and the presentation of ESA Phi‑Lab Spain, visits from the regions of Flanders (Flanders Space), Bavaria (bavAIRia e.V.), and the Lithuanian space‑technology cluster (Visoriai Information Technology Park). These visits helped establish new connections with Catalan exhibitors.
On the final day of the conference, activity focused on visits to the Catalonia pavilion by the Portuguese Aeronautics, Space and Defence Cluster (AED Cluster Portugal) and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA).
As a result, this edition of Space Tech Expo Europe draws to a close as a major milestone in strengthening Catalonia’s space ecosystem — integrating both large companies and SMEs/start‑ups, fostering private investment, driving innovation, and creating high‑quality jobs in a sector that is central to Catalonia’s future.
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