Expanding Horisons with funding and a new strategy: Denmark's Vision for Space Innovation towards 2035
The 9 pointers are:
- Establishing a national space program to strengthen domestic research and innovation institutions.
- Increasing funding for space research within Denmark.
- Participating in more space missions, with Denmark applying to lead its first ESA mission, Máni.
- Increasing funding for ESA programs to broaden Denmark's integration with ESA and enhance its independent role in the space industry.
- Expanding international cooperation with leading space institutions in selected partner countries, led by:
- Invest in Denmark to attract companies and investments to Denmark,
- Innovation Centre Denmark to promote collaboration between research institutions.
- Enhancing initiatives to protect Danish research and technology while maintaining an international research environment.
- Expanding the ESA Business Incubator Denmark to include all Danish universities.
- Establishing a cross-ministry space committee to better utilise satellite data across industries.
- Initiating strategic efforts to ensure the growth of space research benefits Danish businesses and society.
We live in a time where space exploration is evolving rapidly, and global competition presents both challenges and opportunities for innovation. Denmark and the EU must remain strong and closely cooperate in the space sector. Joint innovation will ensure that Denmark continues to strengthen its position by attracting foreign talent and businesses to collaborate with our research organisations and growing space tech companies.
This is crucial as we face the global climate crisis. To achieve the green transition, satellite data and weather monitoring must be leveraged to transform agriculture, construction, and transportation sectors sustainably. Danish space companies will play a key role in solving challenges across industries, which will create significant growth opportunities through new downstream applications.
With additional funding, Denmark’s space sector is poised for rapid growth. According to projections from ESA BIC Denmark, the number of Danish companies in the space industry is expected to more than double over the next decade, including around 100 new start-ups.