Cluster to be part of Northern Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3 NORTE 2027)
The Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) and the Portuguese Space Agency are developing a plan to promote the space economy in the region and have already held a meeting to this end.
“The CCDR-Norte and the Portuguese Space Agency are working on the creation of an action plan to promote the space economy in the North, with the aim of promoting the development and use of space technologies in the region,” reads a statement sent to the press by the CCDR-N.
According to the text, “the first meeting of the group monitoring this action plan took place at the CCDR-Norte headquarters, at a meeting attended not only by the CCDR-Norte and the Portuguese Space Agency but also by three universities, six organisations from the scientific and technological system, a business association and 11 regional companies”.
According to the entity chaired by António Cunha, for the first time on a regional scale, “a detailed analysis is being carried out of the framework of the space sector within the priority domains of the Northern Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3 NORTE 2027) and the characterisation of the business ecosystem that operates directly and/or indirectly in the space sector”.
“Based on regional, national, and European priorities and the space market trends identified, the plan discussed aims to ensure the definition of strategic objectives, axes of action, and priority areas that can promote the space economy in the North,” explains the CCDR.
According to the organisation, “75 entities were identified in the northern region that operate or have the potential to operate in the space sector“, which in Portugal is “characterised by small companies and research centres or where space represents a small fraction of activities”.
Of the 75 organisations identified, “half are companies, with a total turnover of €30 million and currently employing around 420 professionals,” which the CCDR believes proves that space “is an emerging sector that still has little economic expression at regional and national level.”
The CCDR Norte and the Portuguese Space Agency have identified three priority areas for action with a view to building capacity and growth in the space sector, namely “Research and Development”, “Competitiveness and Internationalisation”, and “Human Resources Training”.
The action plan also aims to respond to strategic objectives such as “boosting other markets not directly related to space through the generation, capture and exploitation of satellite data and signals (e.g. agriculture, fisheries, infrastructure monitoring, urban development, public health)”.
It also aims to “promote inter-regional and international scientific and technological cooperation in the area of space” and “ensure the development of financial, institutional, cultural and educational framework conditions to boost the space sector in the North”.
For the president of the CCDR, António Cunha, “after the successful launch of the Aeros MH-1 (Portuguese satellite) in March this year“, the North intends to continue “its path of affirmation in this sector”, so that its various players become “truly competitive in a sector that requires not only strong financial investment, but above all investment in the development and training of human resources”.
Lusa
