The Industrialisation Competence Centre (IND CC) is the focal point of the European Space Agency dedicated to industrialisation, that aims to:
Stay informed on the latest developments across the European space industry, including investments, manufacturing initiatives, supply chain developments and industrialisation activities shaping the sector.
Germany's High-Tech Agenda strengthens innovation and industrial competitiveness by supporting technologies such as AI, advanced manufacturing, and digitalisation. Through collaboration between industry, academia, and government, it helps turn research into market-ready solutions.
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📅 Posted September 2026
ESA is gathering input from industry, academia and institutional stakeholders to help shape its strategic approach to space-based data centres. Responses to the Request for Information are invited ahead of the Strategy Forum, with submissions open until 25 September 2026.
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📅 Posted August 2026
Europe is entering a new phase of space investment, with over €131 billion committed across major EU initiatives. The challenge is to ensure that the industrial supply chain, particularly SMEs and lower-tier suppliers, can scale fast enough to meet growing demand for satellites, launch services, and infrastructure
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📅 Posted August 2026
Artificial intelligence is enhancing the way rocket components are manufactured, from metal forming and welding to composite production. ESA-backed initiatives are demonstrating how digital technologies can strengthen Europe's space industrial capabilities.
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📅 Posted August 2026
Nebumind has been selected to lead ESA's new INSPIRE project, helping advance smart manufacturing and industrialisation capabilities. By combining manufacturing data, sensor information, and advanced analytics, the project aims to improve quality control and efficiency in space production.
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📅 Posted August 2026IND CC collaborates with a range of ESA programmes and initiatives. Discover open campaigns, calls for participation and opportunities to contribute to future industrialisation activities.
A new opportunity is open for Danish entities interested in GSTP Resilience & Security
activities aimed at strengthening European technological sovereignty and resilience.
Expression of Interest deadline:
6 November 2026.
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🚀 Open for Submissions
ORBIT Portal supports the development of innovative research and technology concepts that can strengthen European industry. The campaign aims to help transform promising ideas into funded R&D activities by connecting them with the most suitable ESA programmes.
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🚀 Open for Submissions
The ESA Marketplace supports European companies with market-ready products and services that are ready to scale. The programme helps businesses acquire customers, increase market visibility, accelerate commercial growth and attract private investment.
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🚀 Open for Submissions
ESA Boost! supports European launch providers and space transportation companies developing commercially viable launch, orbital delivery and return-from-space services. The programme helps accelerate innovation and bring new transportation capabilities to market.
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🚀 Open for Submissions
ESA Growth Projects support European companies that use space technologies and data to deliver commercial services. The programme helps proven businesses expand into new markets, acquire customers and achieve sustainable growth.
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🚀 Open for Submissions
ESA Proof of Concept Studies & Pilot Projects supports the validation of innovative ideas through feasibility studies, demonstrations, and pilot projects, helping bridge the gap between concept and implementation.
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🚀 Open for Submissions
ARTES Competitiveness & Growth supports companies developing innovative satellite communications and connectivity services. The programme aims to accelerate commercial growth, strengthen European capabilities, and enhance the competitiveness of European industry .
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🚀 Open for SubmissionsMeet the IND CC team at key industry conferences, workshops and events across Europe. Explore upcoming opportunities to connect with us, learn about our activities and discuss industrialisation initiatives.
ESA HQ, Paris, France
ESA's annual forum for small and medium-sized enterprises, bringing industry and ESA together to discuss challenges, opportunities and future support for the European space ecosystem.
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ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
WAMS 2026 brings together companies and experts developing advanced manufacturing solutions for space applications. The workshop aims to accelerate innovation, strengthen industrial capabilities, and support the competitiveness of European space manufacturing.
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ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
ESA Industry Space Days connects European companies with ESA programmes, industry partners, and potential business opportunities. The event aims to foster collaboration, support industrial growth, and strengthen the competitiveness of the European space sector.
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Prague, Czech Republic
CASSINI Entrepreneurship Days brings together startups, entrepreneurs, and investors. The event aims to showcase innovation, foster partnerships, and support the growth of a competitive European space economy.
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Frankfurt, Germany
Flagship event of the ASTM International Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE), bringing together industry, research and standards experts to discuss innovation, qualification and industrialisation of advanced manufacturing technologies.
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Ottawa, Canada
The Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) brings together policymakers, researchers, industry leaders, and innovators to discuss key science, technology, and innovation challenges, fostering collaboration and evidence-based decision-making.
Visit event pageThrough engagement with industry and analysis of public market studies, several recurring challenges continue to emerge across the European space ecosystem. These themes influence competitiveness, investment decisions, manufacturing readiness and the ability to scale production.
Production & readiness
Supply chain & testing
Finance & workforce
Regulation & environment
Many companies can successfully develop and demonstrate new technologies, but scaling these innovations into repeatable, traceable and cost-effective production remains a major challenge. Growing demand for satellites, launch systems and space infrastructure is driving a transition from bespoke manufacturing towards serial production and industrial-scale operations.
Long lead times, dependence on specialised suppliers and limited availability of critical components continue to affect production schedules. Access to thermal-vacuum, vibration, EMC, radiation and other qualification facilities is also a recurring obstacle, particularly for organisations seeking to accelerate development or increase manufacturing throughput.
Space companies frequently need to invest in facilities, tooling, inventory and workforce before future demand or programme opportunities become fully visible. At the same time, the sector competes with defence, software, artificial intelligence and other high-technology industries for experienced engineering and manufacturing talent.
Regulatory frameworks, export-control obligations and cybersecurity requirements are becoming increasingly important across the European space sector. In parallel, orbital congestion, debris mitigation, end-of-life disposal and long-term sustainability considerations are becoming integral parts of spacecraft design and mission planning.
SMART-IND! supports the industrialisation and serialisation of space products, helping European industry move from promising technologies and prototype manufacturing towards reliable, repeatable and cost-effective production at scale.
Increase production capacity and enable the transition from bespoke manufacturing to serial production.
Accelerate the adoption of automation, connected production and advanced quality-control techniques.
Improve production efficiency and strengthen the business case for scalable space products.
Strengthen supply-chain visibility, resilience and European non-dependence.
Through engagement with space and non-space technology providers, SMART-IND! identifies industrial bottlenecks, investment needs and practical actions required to close the gap between technological capability and sustainable production.
Moving from a successful prototype to repeatable production is one of the most challenging steps in industrialisation.
Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) assessments provide a structured way to examine manufacturing maturity, production capabilities, scalability and industrial risks.
The assessments help IND CC build an evidence-based understanding of European industrial capabilities and production capacity, while identifying common bottlenecks, dependencies and challenges affecting industrial scale-up.
✓ Understand European industrial capabilities
✓ Build visibility of production capacity
✓ Identify manufacturing bottlenecks
✓ Assess production scalability
✓ Understand supply-chain resilience
✓ Highlight industrialisation gaps and support needs
✓ Inform future ESA activities and investments
The maturity and repeatability of manufacturing processes.
The capability and scalability of production facilities and equipment.
Skills, knowledge and organisational resources supporting production.
Processes used to achieve reliable and consistent production quality.
Supplier dependencies, resilience and continuity of supply.
The ability to increase production while managing cost, rate and industrial risk.
Discuss manufacturing challenges, production objectives and industrialisation needs with the IND CC team.
Gather information on manufacturing maturity, facilities, workforce, supply chain, quality and production scalability.
Capture evidence on readiness, capacity, bottlenecks and industrial challenges to improve ESA's understanding of the European industrial ecosystem.
IND CC is developing a practical Manufacturing Readiness Assessment approach to better understand industrial capabilities, production capacity, manufacturing maturity and scale-up challenges across Europe.
If your organisation is scaling production, industrialising a new product or facing manufacturing challenges, we would welcome the opportunity to learn about your experience and explore participation in an MRL assessment.
Industrial AI and digital engineering are reshaping space manufacturing. IND CC supports AI-enabled production, connected workflows and industrial data ecosystems that improve productivity, quality and decision-making across the manufacturing lifecycle.
Connecting engineering, manufacturing, inspection and operational data to enable intelligent production systems and support the transition from prototype development to industrial-scale manufacturing.
AI-assisted design and AIT optimisation to improve manufacturability, reduce risk and accelerate development.
Intelligent non-destructive inspection and automated quality assessment for faster, more reliable defect detection.
AI-enhanced resource planning and shop-floor decision support for manufacturing and testing activities.
Purpose-built AI solutions for engineering, predictive analytics, process optimisation and industrial operations.
ESA computing resources for AI training, digital twins, simulation and advanced industrial data processing.
Through collaboration with industry, ESA programmes and research organisations, IND CC supports digital technologies that improve quality, increase productivity, reduce lead times and strengthen European manufacturing competitiveness and resilience.
Finding the right industrial partner is not always straightforward.
Information on suppliers, production capabilities and test facilities exists across the European space ecosystem, but it is often distributed across multiple organisations and data sources.
IND CC is currently working on extending the functionality of ESA's Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) to support supplier and industrial capability mapping.
The objective is to improve the discoverability of industrial capabilities and provide a clearer picture of suppliers, facilities and manufacturing capabilities across Europe.
Capability mapping is being developed within IND CC as a future extension to OSIP. The scope, data model and functionality are currently being refined through ongoing work and discussions with industry and ESA stakeholders.
Find organisations with relevant products, competencies and industrial capabilities.
Discover manufacturing, integration, verification and test facilities.
Explore available manufacturing and production capabilities.
Improve awareness of potential suppliers and industrial dependencies.
Information on industrial capabilities already exists across Europe, but it can be difficult to discover and connect.
The proposed extension aims to improve visibility of suppliers, production capabilities and facilities through a more connected view, helping organisations identify relevant industrial partners and better understand the European industrial landscape.
Assesses manufacturing maturity and identifies actions needed for production readiness.
Supports the transition from prototype development to industrialised production.
Enables efficient scaling from low-volume to serial manufacturing.
Introduces automation into manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing activities.
Maps industrial capabilities and competencies across the supply chain ecosystem.
Connects organisations with suitable suppliers and industrial partners.
Identifies vulnerabilities, bottlenecks and dependencies within supply chains.
Finds qualified alternative suppliers for critical products, materials or services.
Uses AI to optimise product designs for efficient manufacturing and production.
Creates virtual factory representations for simulation, optimisation and planning.
Uses data analytics to predict quality issues and optimise manufacturing processes.
Integrates advanced automation, robotics and digital technologies into manufacturing operations.
Supports qualification and certification activities for industrial processes and products.
Guides strategic factory improvements and investment decisions.
Promotes adoption and implementation of ECSS and manufacturing standards.
Captures, shares and disseminates industrial knowledge and proven best practices.
✓ Launch SMART-IND campaign
✓ Pilot Manufacturing Readiness Assessments
✓ Strengthen engagement with European industry
✓ Capture evidence on industrial bottlenecks and scale-up challenges
✓ Expand MRL assessment activities
✓ Increase visibility of industrial needs and capabilities
✓ Develop stronger industrial intelligence and evidence-based insights
✓ Grow collaboration across the European space ecosystem
✓ Support industrial scale-up across Europe
✓ Strengthen supply-chain resilience and autonomy
✓ Accelerate digital industrialisation
✓ Foster a more connected and competitive industrial ecosystem
Explore our ongoing and completed industrialisation activities below. For further information or collaboration opportunities, contact ind@esa.int.
| Status | Starting year | Title | Acitivity | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Running | 2026 | ASIMOV develops advanced AI-enabled, robotic and digital manufacturing capabilities to enable scalable, cost-effective production of flat satellites for future large constellation missions. | ARTES | NA |
| Running | 2026 | ASPIRE develops a scalable industrialisation framework to enable efficient, repeatable and cost-effective production of next-generation telecommunications satellites. | ARTES | NA |
| Running | 2026 | Final Qualification of Gram Process Technology for Industrial Production | Industrialisation | Link |
| Running | 2026 | SMARTCODE | Smart Manufacturing | Link |
| Running | 2026 | Smart Manufacturing Competence Development | Smart Manufacturing | Link |
| Running | 2026 | Preparation of enabling space technologies and building blocks: Nano-coated catalyst for hydrogen fuel cell membranes | Sustainability | Link |
| Running | 2026 | Novel Machine Learning Approach Based on Graph Neural Network (gnn) to Address the Complex Micro-physics of Material Strength Properties for the Design And Verification of New Spacecraft Components | AI & Data | Link |
| Running | 2026 | Digital Twin Supported Design and Manufacturing of Dielectric Filters | Digital Twin | Link |
| Running | 2026 | Modelling the Reliability of Through-hole-technology Assemblies | Reliability | Link |
| Running | 2025 | SMARTsens | Smart Manufacturing | Link |
| Running | 2025 | Ariane 6 Advanced Automation Solutions | Space Transportation | Link |
| Running | 2025 | INSPIRE | Quantum Technologies | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | ESAPCA: Enabling Analysis of Extremely Large Data Sets by Scalable and Hardware-accelerated PCA and DMD | AI & Data | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | Enable Active Control of Surface Roughness During Advanced Manufacturing Using Laser Pulse Shaping Technologies | Advanced Manufacturing | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | Utilizing Machine Learning Techniques to Develop Physics-informed Generative Design Algorithms for Additive Manufacturing | AI & Manufacturing | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | ReUSE! Sustainable Usage of Ground Segment Means | Sustainability | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | IMPROVE! Technologies for Smart Manufacturing, Intelligent Logistics and Sustainability | Smart Manufacturing | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | FIRST! Simulation and Intelligence: Software, Data & AI for Space Transportation | AI & Space Transportation | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | 4th ESA Workshop on Advanced Manufacturing | Workshop | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | AI STAR 2025 | Workshop | Link |
| Completed | 2025 | Utilise ESA SpaceHPC for Industrial Integration Development | SpaceHPC | Link |
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