A total of 94 Enterprise Ireland client companies were engaged with the European Space Agency (ESA) last year, including 14 who secured contracts with the organisation for the first time in 2021.
ESA placed contracts worth a combined €15.8m with 36 Irish-based companies in 2021, with an additional €4.8m in industry co-funding.
However, Ireland puts more into the ESA than it gets back. The state's contribution to the 2022 ESA budget is €23m.
Enterprise Ireland says that Irish companies became increasingly active in developing space-based solutions, including the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021, as well as as well as incorporating satellite systems to address climate change and its impacts on specific sectors such as agriculture, water quality, biodiversity, and offshore and renewable energy.
Réaltra Space Systems Engineering designed and manufactured the video system that was mounted on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle - the first time such a video system has been on a European launcher.
In Association with
Two Irish companies have partnered to assess the potential of satellite-based services for use in the renewable marine energy industry.
Mindseed, a Dublin-based ICT consultancy, has teamed up with Cork-based wave technology specialist Ocean Energy to assess the potential benefits of utilising satellite-based services within the marine energy sector to address key operational challenges.
In line with the National Space Strategy for Enterprise, Irish companies are also exploiting space technologies in non-space markets, including the automotive, energy, agri-food and medical device markets.
They include Dublin-based Davra Networks, which is working on a Lifesaving Location Service initiative, which can be used by any hospital, nursing home or home care service.
The solution will, with ESA support, integrate advanced satellite positioning and communications systems to track and trace ‘free-to-move’ patients in indoor and outdoor spaces and will enable rapid response to possible incidents.
Treemetrics, a Cork based forestry company, has developed a Global Forest Monitoring Platform using satellite data to determine crop health, unexpected loss due to natural and man-made disasters and has recently added a service to measure carbon sequestration around the globe.
Minister Damien English commented: "I am delighted to highlight the significant contribution innovative Irish companies are making in the global space sector. Ireland’s membership of ESA is of huge importance in growing jobs and increasing economic activity in participating firms.
"We have increased our financial contribution to the European Space Agency which is paid back in terms of valuable contracts for Irish technology companies and their impressively talented workforce.
"The future for the space sector in Ireland looks extremely bright – recently the Tánaiste and I signed an Exchange of Letters with ESA to facilitate the launch next year of Ireland’s first satellite, EIRSAT1 which has been designed and built by academic staff and students at UCD.
"I look forward to watching it launch early next year from French Guiana on board an ESA launch vehicle. Enterprise Ireland is committed to supporting Irish businesses to advance in the space sector and to help grow their impressive contribution to European and global space activities.”
Joe Madden, national delegation to ESA at Enterprise Ireland, said: “The scope of Irish involvement in space-related activities has increased substantially, with close to 100 Irish companies and a growing number of research teams actively involved in space-related developments supported by ESA through Enterprise Ireland.”
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