ClearSpace raises €26 million to cleanup space

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19.01.2023
Clearspace mission in orbit

ClearSpace, the Swiss-based leader of in-orbit servicing and active space debris removal, has finalised a EUR 26.7 million series A financing round led by OTB Ventures and Swisscom Ventures. ClearSpace is ramping up operations ahead of the world’s first space debris removal mission, ClearSpace-1, scheduled to launch in 2026.

The global space market is booming, driven by strategic and commercial interest from governments, technology innovations opening up new markets for the private sector, and reduced satellite launch costs.

Meanwhile, decades of unsustainable practices have congested the near-Earth orbital regime with a plethora of dead and defunct satellites and rockets. According to ESA, there are 32,480 debris items orbiting the Earth that are tracked by space surveillance networks and more than 130 million currently untrackable objects ranging in size from 1 mm to greater than 10 cm. This space junk not only pollutes our fragile near-Earth environment, but it also represents a critical risk to active satellites that can (and have been) destroyed in high-speed collisions with such debris.

ClearSpace was founded in 2018 with the sole aim of making space operations more sustainable. The company is developing technologies and services that are needed to extend the life of active satellites, for example when they run out of fuel, and to safely remove them from orbit when they have reached their end of life. Such services are critical for maximising the value from space-based assets, and for preventing the dangerous build-up of space debris objects.

The company recently announced a satellite life-extension collaboration with satcom operator Intelsat, building upon the technology being developed under the EUR 110 million space debris removal mission, ClearSpace-1, secured from the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2020. ClearSpace-1, which is supported by Omega as Elite Partner, will be the first of numerous missions ClearSpace is planning for both low-Earth and geostationary orbits.

Global consortium of investors
The new financing round brings together a global team of venture capital investors, led by OTB Ventures backed by the European Investment Fund under InvestEU programme and Swisscom Ventures, with participation from the Luxembourg Future Fund, Lakestar, In-Q-Tel, Happiness Capital and 600 T Space Investments. As part of the financing, ClearSpace is establishing an operational presence in Luxembourg that will benefit from the strong space and satellite focus there.

ClearSpace Co-founders, CEO Luc Piguet and CTO Muriel Richard-Noca said “We began this company 4 years ago with the goal of making space operations sustainable and are delighted to be joined on our journey by our new partner investors. The market is now developing, much faster than we had expected, and we look forward to accelerating our activities to meet the urgent needs of space sustainability.”

Dominique Megret of Swisscom Ventures said “Swisscom Ventures is delighted to back our Swiss made champion ClearSpace in its mission to make space operations sustainable, ClearSpace is a deep tech landmark, and we look forward to working with the team going forward.”

(Press release / SK)

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