Achi news desk-
The company employs 120 people at its main facility in Forres and another 50 in Copenhagen, and now has two active patents in a number of European countries and the United States covering different parts of its technology a rocket. This is powered by renewable biofuel which allows the rocket to significantly reduce carbon emissions compared to other rockets of a similar size.
READ MORE: Scottish space company secures international rocket patent
The National Investment Bank of Scotland has provided £10.5m of follow-on funding, with the remainder spread across venture capital firms Octopus Ventures, BGF, Heartcore, the Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), along with corporate and angel investors .
The funding comes after rising specialist Phillip Chambers was appointed in January as chief executive and Miguel Belló Mora, the former director general of the Spanish Space Agency, as chairman. Mr Chambers became an investor in the company’s Series C funding round, putting in £200,000 of his own money.
“Orbex is one of only two space rocket manufacturers in the UK, and the only one to operate its own spaceport as well,” said Mr Chambers. “Our technology is central to making the UK a hub for European orbital launch, and we’re coming in. a key stage of development.
“We are building a sustainable, cost-effective launch vehicle to compete with the best aerospace manufacturers in Europe. This additional funding will support our aim to push forward into an operational launch phase and scale our business when it comes the time.”
