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Highlights:
- Sateliot is a Spanish startup building a network of over 100 small satellites with global reach that will connect devices in remote, previously unserved areas.
- This is the EIB’s first venture debt operation with a Spanish space company and in the segment of satellite communications.
- The financing is part of the support the EIB is providing to European startups to help them develop cutting-edge space technologies and solutions.
- The operation is backed by the InvestEU programme to mobilise public and private sector funds in support of EU policy goals.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €30 million loan with Spanish company Sateliot to co-finance the rollout of its constellation of over 100 LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites, which will provide Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity worldwide.
The Barcelona-based startup is a pioneer in satellite communications and in the European “New Space” industry, where the private sector drives space exploration and commercialisation. The company is rolling out a network of satellites that act like mobile telecom towers in low Earth orbit, providing 5G narrowband internet of things (5G-NB-IoT) connectivity to over 8 million devices in rural, oceanic, and other remote areas. Traditional mobile operators will be able to use this service to expand the coverage of their ground-based IoT networks to previously unserved areas.
The EIB-financed project will bolster the European Union’s space connectivity and offer low-cost, IoT-based asset monitoring services for use in sectors such as agriculture, livestock management, fisheries and other maritime activities, the management of protected areas, fire control and monitoring, and environmental applications among others.
“This loan shows the EIB’s commitment to innovation and development in the European space sector, thereby supporting the digital transition and contributing to the European Union’s strategic autonomy in areas of space and global connectivity in the context of the EIB Strategic European Security Initiative,” said EIB Vice-President, Robert de Groot.
This operation will help strengthen the European New Space ecosystem, speeding up the digital transition by connecting millions of previously disconnected devices in remote areas where ground-based IoT connections do not reach. It will also provide connectivity for security applications such as reconnaissance and surveillance, border protection and control, and security infrastructure monitoring. The EIB loan is guaranteed by InvestEU, the flagship EU programme to mobilise over €372 billion of additional public and private sector investment to support EU policy goals from 2021 to 2027.
“This EIB backing—together with the support that Sateliot has already received from major investor groups and other banks and institutions—gives a huge boost to our development. This capital will be used to move forward with the next stage of our constellation and comes in addition to the income we will begin to receive in 2025 when the four satellites we already have in orbit enter commercial service,” added Sateliot CEO and Co-founder Jaume Sanpera.
The EIB Group and financing the European space industry
The European Union already has historic flagship space programmes like Copernicus and Galileo that provide Europe with autonomous space capabilities. It is also supporting the European New Space industry via various financing vehicles. The European Investment Fund (EIF) has launched several initiatives such as the InnovFin Space Equity Pilot and CASSINI to back venture capital funds investing in early-stage European space companies. Furthermore, the EIB is currently ramping up its venture debt and scale-up financing support to highly innovative space companies. With support from the European Commission, the EIB also offers venture debt loans to advanced-stage space companies. Since 2020, the Bank has thus become a key global financier of new space technologies in the European Union, including the recent financing totalling €90 million for European New Space leaders like Spire Global, D-Orbit, EnduroSat, Kayrros, Gomspace, and LeafSpace.
The Sateliot financing, benefitting from European Commission thematic support under the InvestEU, is the latest addition to the EIB’s diversified New Space portfolio as the first New Space company financed with venture debt in Spain and the first in the communication segment ever. Beyond financing, the EIB Group also works with the European Commission to provide advisory services (EIB Advisory) to New Space companies. EIB Advisory put together a market assessment on the European space sector and launched the Space Finance Lab forum to connect space companies with investors. In 2022, the EIB contributed to the first report on investments in global navigation satellite systems, jointly published with the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). Lastly, in 2024, the EIB, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Commission signed an agreement to strengthen their cooperation in the sector.
The operation contributes also to the EIB Strategic European Security Initiative (SESI). More info about SESI is available here.
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