Lift Off for Space Tech Expo Europe 2022 in Bremen

For the fourth time, Space Tech Expo Europe took place at the Bremen Exhibition Centre from 15 – 17 November, 2022. With more than 5,000 experts from around the world, including industry leaders, suppliers and new space startups, #SpaceTechExpoEurope became the largest since its inception in 2015.

With over 500 space companies exhibiting, panel discussions and a variety of networking opportunities, participants got a closer look at the aeronautics and space industry in Europe.

This year, the Space Tech Expo Europe took place at an extremely important time: on the one hand, the morning of 16 November was “lift off” for the Artemis-1 lunar rocket, including the European Service Module (ESM) “Orion”, integrated in Bremen at Airbus Defence and Space. On the other hand, one week after the start of the trade fair in Bremen, the ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level would decide on the space budgets for the upcoming years.

Bremen City of Space booth (©AVIASPACE/ Macy Sto. Domingo-Heib).

Exhibit: Humanoid robot Pepper (©AVIASPACE/Justin von Glahn)

Bremen Party on 15 November 2022 at the exhibition area of Bremen City of Space and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) (©AVIASPACE/Justin von Glahn)

The Bremen booth also served as a meeting point for international delegations such as those from the Netherlands, France, Lithuania, Spain and Finland. International guests, important exhibitors and representatives of Bremen’s space scene were officially welcomed by Kristina Vogt, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Europe, at a private reception on 14 November. The traditional VIP dinner in the run-up to the trade fair event took place in Bremen’s historical Ratskeller. The event was attended by 75 VIPs and executives from the international aeronautics and space community.

VIP Dinner at the Ratskeller on 14 November 2022 (©Schütt/ Ministry of Economic Affairs Labour and Europe – SWAE)

On 15 November, 2022, the Space Tech Expo Europe began with the first networking meeting with a delegation organised by the French Aerospace Industries Association (GIFAS). The event took place in the Business Lounge in Hall 7. On site in Bremen, the visit was coordinated by the Ministery for Economic Affairs, Labour and Europe (Die Senatorin für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Europa – SWAE) and AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V. Space companies and their customers from France and Bremen had the opportunity to present their various activities and to network with one another. The head of the delegation – GIFAS Chairman Phillipe Gautier – was enthusiastic about the exchange and was convinced that further collaborations and activities would develop from it.

A special focus this year was once again on the space cooperation between the regions of Zuid-Holland and Bremen, which has been in place since 2019. The publication of the new edition of the “Action Agenda 2.0” was officially confirmed in the presence of Minister Vogt and Minister Stolk, from Zuid-Holland. In the upcoming years, successful pilot projects are to be built upon and cooperation in areas such as digitization and lightweight materials research is to be advanced. Workshops were also held on both topics. A video of the signing ceremony can be found here.

Launch of the Action Agenda 2023-2026 at the NL Space stand. In picture: Minister Meindert Stolk (Zuid-Holland), Holger W. Oelze (AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V.), Senator Kristina Vogt (Bremen) and Jeroen Rotteveel (SpaceNed). ©AVIASPACE/ Macy Sto. Domingo-Heib).

To further promote the cooperation between the different space regions, AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V. and the Dutch cluster SpaceNed Netherlands, invited companies and representatives from both regions to a VIP-networking event at the Havanna Lounge in the city centre on the evening of 15 November. For the participants, the event was a great opportunity to strengthen business cooperation and research and development between the space regions.

Meet the Fins: Netzwerkveranstaltung mit Business Finland auf dem Bremen City of Space Messestand (©AVIASPACE/ Justin von Glahn)

Networking in the Havana Lounge: Aviaspace – Province of Zuid-Holland – SpaceNed – Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (©AVIASPACE/Macy Sto. Domingo-Heib).

Whiskey & More: Networking reception by Scottish Development International (SDI), Scottish Enterprise, Space Scotland and AstroAgency on the UK Space stand (©AVIASPACE/ Luise Weber-Steinhaus)

At the stand for ESA Business Incubation Centre Northern Germany, the focus was on the opportunities available at the location for 30 young international startups in the Hanseatic city. The ESA BIC Northern Germany startups AcquahMeyer Drone Tech., ASTRAIT, Blue Orbit Space Systems, Physens and iorbit were represented. The fair was a great opportunity for these startups to make a big breakthrough. A special highlight: ESA BIC Pitch Breakfast on 16 November. The joint stand (Q27) was run in good partnership – comparable to 2021 – by ESA SME, the ESA Business Incubation Centre Northern Germany, BestofSpace and SME4Space.

ESA BIC Northern Germany Pitch Breakfast (©AVIASPACE/ Bianka Hansen)

In addition, the City of Space, with the help of the Enterprise Europe Network Bremen, offered a matchmaking event on 16 November, specifically for ESA BIC startups. Prior to the event, participants were able to present their company profile in the hopes of finding new potential partners for exchange of information and the initiation of new partnerships. In total, EEN Matchmaking registered a total of 1396 participants from 56 nations, who met for 3144 meetings in the matchmaking areas in Hall 5 and Hall 6. This was a record result, not only for matchmaking at Space Tech Expo, but also for the entire EEN network!

ESA BIC booth (©AVIASPACE/ Macy Sto. Domingo-Heib)

On the evening of 16 November, more than 80 young professionals, students and startups flocked to the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof – not far from the exhibition grounds – for the second “Connecting the Curious Bremen Edition 2022”. The aim of the event was not only for networking within the ESA BIC community, but also to strengthen cooperation between ESA BIC Noordwijk and the Northern German ESA BICs, as well as LDE-Space and the Bremen universities and research institutes.

Connecting the Curious (©AVIASPACE/ Justin von Glahn)   

An extremely successful trade fair week came to an end on Thursday, 17 November. The City of Space is looking forward to welcoming the space industry again to the Bremen exhibition halls at Space Tech Expo Europe 2023 – from 14 to 16 November!

About Bremen Bremerhaven – CITY OF AEROSPACE

The key aerospace sector of the state of Bremen, in accordance with the innovation strategy Land Bremen 2030, markets itself under the claim Bremen Bremerhaven – CITY OF AEROSPACE.
Four organisations in the state of Bremen are jointly implementing the operational objectives of the innovation strategy.

The Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Europe (renamed in 2023 into into Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ports, and Transformation ) creates the financial and organisational framework for the design and implementation of the aerospace strategy of the State of Bremen.

AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V. manages the network necessary for the realisation of the operational goals of the innovation strategy of the state of Bremen and the participation in innovation projects.

The state’s development bank, Bremer Aufbau-Bank GmbH (BAB), handles the state of Bremen’s aerospace research programme. BAB’s Starthaus supports startups and young companies and integrates them into the startup ecosystem of the state of Bremen.

WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH supports the activities of Bremen Bremerhaven CITY OF AEROSPACE by organising trade fairs and events and with BremenInvest in the internationalisation of the industry. The Enterprise Europe Network supports companies in matters relating to innovation and internationalisation. The trade fair stand was financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).