The funds will support collaborative innovation through applied research, expanded lab and test facilities and business development for small- and medium enterprises. Led by regional development project RIT2021, the goal is to attract talent, investment and new business ventures to EU’s northernmost space hub.

The triple helix partnership behind RIT2021 has received national and international attention for the project outcomes so far. The new funds will enable the project team to extend the programme for 18 months to further boost innovation and research within the four existing work packages.

– Northern Sweden is one of Europe’s most important space hubs and the sector is predicted to quadruple globally before 2040. The funds mean that we can build on the work already done in the project and further develop Sweden’s competitiveness as a space nation, says Johanna Bergström-Roos, project manager RIT2021.

FACTS

RIT2021 is a regional development project run by Luleå University of Technology, LTU Business, IRF and Arctic Business, with support from OHB Sweden, SSC, GKN Aerospace, Isar Aerospace, Norrbotten Region, Kiruna Municipality, Luleå Municipality, Sparbanken Nord and the EU via the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.

Read more about RIT2021 and the work packages here.