Scottish Space Delegation in Copenhagen

27/03/2024
Angus Robertson addressing the Space Scotland Nordics Summit

REPRESENTATIVES of companies from across Scotland’s space sector travelled to Denmark for the inaugural Space Scotland Nordics Summit.

Scottish Government External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson attended the event, hosted by the British Embassy in Copenhagen and supported by Scottish Development International (SDI) and space communications firm AstroAgency.

Around fifty stakeholders were brought together from across the two regions to provide a platform for industry, government and academia to share knowledge and explore opportunities for collaboration.

The Space Scotland Nordics Summit is the latest in a series of international engagements showcasing Scotland’s fast-growing space industry. The sector aims to provide 20,000 jobs within the next decade and contribute £4bn to the country’s economy, with international collaboration as part of trade and export opportunities seen as key to enabling those ambitions.

Mr Robertson said:

“Scotland is an ideal partner for Nordic space sector companies, given our shared priorities around competitiveness, social responsibility, and embedding sustainability in all that we do.

“From Glasgow and Edinburgh to Sutherland and Saxa Vord, Scotland’s world-class offerings in manufacturing, space access and satellite data processing, combined with our potential as a ‘full value chain’ for space industries, means we are well-placed to build on the already strong ties established between the Scottish and Nordic space sectors.

“Through these shared perspectives I hope we can find new ways to work together and make northern Europe the most innovative, the most integrated, and the most sustainable place on earth for the space sector to grow and thrive.”

Soren Gram Riisegaard, Senior Trade Specialist for Technology at SDI added: “We’re very excited to have welcomed Scottish space representatives to Denmark, as the first in what I hope will be many ongoing engagements between Nordic countries and Scotland’s space sector going forward.

“There are clear opportunities for trade and investment between participating nations, building upon close connections around culture, business and net zero goals. There are space foundations too, with the countries sharing a desire to provide European access to orbit and companies like AAC Clyde Space, Orbex and ThinkTank Maths with a presence across both regions. We’re looking forward to some tangible outcomes and strengthening foundations for future partnerships.”

Scotland currently hosts multiple developing spaceports, working to offer orbital launch capability for the first time from European soil. With both Sweden and Norway also developing orbital launch capability, there is a clear opportunity to swap learnings and work together.

The Scottish companies in Copenhagen included satellite manufacturers, launch companies Orbex and Skyrora, spaceport representatives from SaxaVord and Sutherland, and downstream space data companyEOLAS.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise were also represented.

Director of Space Scotland and Founder of AstroAgency Daniel Smith said:

“Scotland’s space sector is growing at pace, with bold ambitions and huge potential to bring a positive impact across our economy, environment and wider society.

“There are clear opportunities for collaboration with the Nordic countries around the development of launch solutions that are both environmentally and economically sustainable, as well as a variety of other avenues to explore, underpinned by common European Space Agency memberships.

“This was a chance to cover the shared challenges around skills and raising awareness of the benefits of a thriving space economy. Scottish Earth Observation companies demonstrated their capabilities around solving cross-sectoral business challenges, as well as the value they can add to local governments and the fight against climate change through the delivery of actionable, space-sourced data.”

The event looked at the ability of space to play a meaningful role in environmental and climate monitoring and leveraging satellite-derived sensory information to contribute to monitoring and measuring changes in the Arctic region. It also covered the sector’s contribution to maritime security, sustainable management of forests, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and verifying Environmental Social Government (ESG) data for finance industries.

Full list of Scottish companies in the delegation –

  • AstroAgency
  • Craft Prospect
  • Eolas Insight
  • ESA Space Solutions
  • Fraunhofer CAP
  • FCDO
  • Highlands and Islands Enterprise
  • Orbex
  • Omanos Analytics
  • SaxaVord 
  • Skyrora
  • South of Scotland Enterprise
  • Stellar Space
  • Thistle Rocketry
  • Weather Stream

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