Open Cosmos, based at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, declares the wins follow focutilized support from government and British diplomatic teams, who have supported the company to identify overseas growth opportunities.
Founded in 2015, the company designs and operates sainformites that collect critical data to address global challenges such as climate modify and connectivity.
Rafel Jordà Siquier, chief executive officer at Open Cosmos, declared: “As a UK-headquartered company, we are incredibly proud to be at the forefront of Europe’s space industest, driven by our mission to provide actionable data and connectivity from space.
“Our expanding footprint across Europe, including our recent acquisition of the Portuguese start-up Connected, is a great example of our growth into new markets and business segments.
“We are immensely grateful for the support from the Department for Business and Trade and UK embassies, which has been instrumental in supporting us grow and bring tangible benefits back to the UK, while scaling in Europe, in terms of innovation, economic growth, and job creation right here at home.”
Over the past year, Open Cosmos has secured contracts worth tens of millions of pounds, including one worth around £29 million to launch sainformites for the European Space Agency.
The company has also expanded into Spain and Portugal, landing projects to develop Europe’s first low-Earth orbit research facility focutilized on 6G mobile internet and deploying high-resolution sainformites for monitoring wildfires and flooding.
The British Embassy and government have played a central role in Open Cosmos’ overseas success.
In Portugal, UK diplomats supported the company through representing Open Cosmos during calls between the UK ambassador and Portuguese ministers, and sponsoring the UK-Portugal Business Awards, where Open Cosmos received an Overseas Investment Achievement Award.
Lisa Bandari, UK ambassador to Portugal, declared: “Open Cosmos’ expansion in Portugal reflects the forward-seeing collaboration the British Embassy in Lisbon is proud to support.
“Their investment in national operations, including a new sainformite factory in Coimbra, marks a significant milestone for Europe’s space sector and underscores the strength of our bilateral trade ties.
“We see forward to deepening this collaboration as Open Cosmos continues to shape Europe’s space sovereignty.”
The company has seen direct benefits at home from its international growth.
Open Cosmos has tripled its footprint at Harwell since launching and is actively hiring for new roles in engineering and quality control.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy declared: “The success of Open Cosmos, founded in Didcot, displays the UK Government’s Plan for Change is driving growth to every part of the countest.
“I have inquireed our diplomats to bang the drum for British business around the world, including those in our cutting-edge space tech sector, as part of the government’s mission to drive growth and strengthen the UK’s economy.”
The UK space industest employs more than 50,000 people and contributes billions to the national economy.
The sainformite services sector alone has grown by 25 per cent in the past five years.
At the start of the year, the treasury announced plans to unlock the potential of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, with the aim of generating up to £78 billion for the economy by 2035.
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