“Our society cannot function without space technology”

Koen Geurts on strategic gaps, strong ecosystems and the role of patient capital in Europe

Hardly anything works today without space technology: navigation, logistics, telecommunications and climate monitoring all depend on satellites. We spoke with Dr. Koen Geurts, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF and a former space professional with 15 years of experience – including on the Rosetta comet landing in 2014 – about what this means for our society and Europe, and the role startups play in it. In this interview, Koen explains where Europe is strong, which gaps we need to close, and why patient capital is crucial for New Space startups to become true European champions.

Space technology is increasingly understood as strategic infrastructure. What concrete role does it play today?

Koen: Without space technology, our society as we know it cannot function. Navigation, logistics, telecommunications and large parts of our critical infrastructure are enabled by it. We can currently see this in Ukraine, where satellite-based internet determines the operational capability of troops, or in Iran, where we can often only track internal developments through satellite data, not subject to any borders. Satellite-based reconnaissance is also crucial for civilian crisis prevention and response, whether for wildfires, floods or monitoring illegal deforestation.

Space technology is equally important in the civilian sector: weather forecasts, soil and vegetation analysis, as well as urban planning and infrastructure development depend directly on satellite data. The systematic collection of climate data – from ice masses to sea levels to greenhouse gas concentrations – would also be hardly possible without them. Europe is very well positioned here with the Copernicus program – the data is freely available in Europe and has enabled numerous new business models.

In which areas is Europe a frontrunner in space technology, and where do you see gaps?

Koen: In the Earth observation sector, Europe is clearly in the lead, both in infrastructure and in many applications. Copernicus is a reference program worldwide. Europe is also on par with the US in navigation thanks to Galileo, especially in value-added services enabled by Galileo and its security standards. We’re also seeing the first European New Space scale-ups becoming global leaders, such as Iceye from Finland. This is an absolute success story for Europe.

At the same time, we have strategic gaps. In the LEO broadband sector – internet from space – there is currently no fully-fledged European alternative to existing systems. And we also lack our own capabilities in high-resolution optical reconnaissance with high repetition rates. If we’re serious about technological sovereignty, we need to invest smartly and precisely in exactly these areas.

How is this reflected in the startup ecosystem?

Koen: The momentum is impressive. Ten years ago, hardly anyone could have imagined that privately funded companies would develop complex space systems. Today, we’re seeing exactly that: Atmos is working on novel re-entry capsules, The Exploration Company on spacecraft capsules and rockets, LiveEO uses Earth observation data to identify risks along railway lines and power grids, for example. ISPTech is developing new propulsion technologies that are becoming even more relevant due to the changed security situation also in space. And Reflex Aerospace is building high-performance, configurable satellite platforms. Such teams would have been barely fundable in Europe just a few years ago. Today, there are founders who think big, and investors willing to take on this level of technology risk.

Why do some companies develop faster than others?

Koen: It depends heavily on where you sit in the value chain. Those who sell complete end-to-end services or systems to end customers can often more easily explain market size and business case – this helps with fundraising and winning large contracts. Teams at the component or subsystem level often develop crucial technologies but have more work convincing investors of market potential and tend to need longer to develop significant revenue. However, they are often very profitable.

This is exactly where we need patient capital. Deep tech startups need time to build markets and gain trust. HTGF deliberately takes on early risks in such cases, and DTCF can support such companies in later scaling phases. That this pays off is demonstrated by examples like Dcubed, which today sells unique components globally and is internationally recognized.

Large budgets are currently flowing into the space sector. What does this mean for startups?

Koen: These budgets are enormously important, especially in security and defense-related areas. Of course, established companies play a central role in large infrastructure projects. At the same time, we should integrate startups and scale-ups much more consistently.

On paper, this is often desired, but in practice, large tenders still too rarely go to young tech companies. Experience shows successful scale-ups may not deliver 100 percent of the requirements, but they fulfill 80 percent in 20 percent of the time or cost. We need this mindset in Europe if we’re serious about innovation.

Looking ahead to the next few years: what is needed?

Koen: We need three things: teams that think big technologically; investors who understand deep tech as a long-distance race; and public procurers who structurally integrate startups into large projects. It’s also important to think more in European categories rather than building separate champions in each country.

If these come together, Europe can not only catch up in the space sector but take a leading role in many areas.

Thank you for these fascinating insights, Koen.