Achi news desk-
Orbex is in the final stages of development of Prime, its 19-metre two-stage rocket that will carry small satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). Meanwhile, construction work on its launch site on the A’ Mhoine peninsula on the north coast of Scotland has been underway for almost a year.
READ MORE: Scottish rocket company Orbex secures launch funding
SNIB has provided £10.5m of follow-on funding, with the remainder spread across venture capital firms Octopus Ventures, BGF, Heartcore, and the Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), along with corporate and angel investors.
In January Orbex appointed growth specialist Phillip Chambers as its new chief executive, taking over from interim CEO Martin Coates. Mr Chambers invested £200,000 of his own money in Orbex as part of the company’s 2022 fundraising campaign.
His appointment coincided with that of Miguel Belló Mora, former director general of the Spanish Space Agency, as chairman of Orbex.
Mr Chambers noted that Orbex is one of only two space rocket manufacturers in the UK, the other being Skyrora in Cumbernauld. Orbex has the added distinction of being the only manufacturer that will also operate its own spaceport, where its Prime rockets will carry satellites into space on behalf of various technology and communications customers.
Scotland’s most advanced spaceport, Shetland’s SaxaVord on the island of Unst, secured the UK’s first vertical rocket launch license in December. Its facilities will host the launch of rockets made by a variety of manufacturers.
Mr Chambers said Orbex was entering a “critical period of development” as it sought to create a sustainable, cost-effective launch vehicle to compete with the best of Europe’s aerospace manufacturers. The new funding will support the campaign into an active launch phase “when the time comes”.
“At the end of the day, the reality of NewSpace companies like ours is that you don’t get paid until you’ve proven to fly, so they’re very capital intensive to launch regularly, reliably, and at that time they come. quite profitable,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”
READ MORE: Scotland’s space industry prepares to go into orbit
Orbex was founded in 2015 as Moonspike Limited by former chief executive Christopher Larmour and Danish nationalist Kristian Bengston, founder of Copenhagen’s open source space program Suborbitals. The business employs 120 people at its main facility in Forres and a further 50 in Denmark.
Orbex has two active patents in several European countries and the United States covering different parts of its rocket technology. This is powered by renewable biofuel which allows the rocket to significantly reduce carbon emissions compared to other rockets of a similar size.
Meanwhile, the Southerland launch site is expected to be the world’s first carbon neutral spaceport.
“At the bank, we have been particularly drawn to Orbex’s commitment to sustainability through its use of renewable biofuels and launch technology, all working towards the goal of carbon neutrality,” said SNIB innovation director Nicola Douglas.
READ MORE: Orbex secures international patent for rocket technology
“His approach aligns perfectly with our net zero and innovation missions. This follow-on investment comes at an exciting time as Orbex expands its manufacturing and looks to complete its Sutherland Space Gateway this year.”
Erik Balck Sørensen, chief investment officer at EIFO said that Orbex is one of the few companies with a Danish presence that fulfills the investment fund’s strategic focus on defence, green transformation and commercialization of research.
“While the EU is currently dependent on the US or other foreign countries, Orbex can in the near future give the EU space launch capabilities again,” Mr Sørensen added.
