A SCOTTISH sustainable space rocket manufacturer and satellite launch provider is set to expand its operations after raising £40 million.
It includes £17.8m backing from the Scottish National Investment Bank, which led the funding round. The scale-up support will help Moray-based Orbex unlock significant additional funding sources to boost plans for future projects, it said.
Support from the bank was also pivotal in leveraging additional investment from new and returning investors.
It comes after Orbex unveiled a prototype of its small satellite launcher ahead of a debut flight from the Space Hub Sutherland spaceport, expected within months.
It is claimed the Prime rocket will be the first orbital rocket to be powered by a renewable bio-fuel, Calor’s Futuria Liquid Gas. A form of bio-propane, it helps reduce the carbon footprint of a launch by up to 96 per cent compared with similarly-sized launch vehicles powered by fossil fuels.
Nicola Douglas, executive director of the SNIB, said the move comes at “a very exciting time” for the Scottish space sector.
READ MORE: Scottish space company to create 50 new jobs
“With Orbex, we will have a rocket assembled in Scotland, launching from Scotland and likely transporting satellites built in Scotland into orbit,” she said.
“This investment is a great example of the bank working with other investors to support scale-ups in Scotland and aligns with our mission to invest in innovation and the industries of the future. Providing support to help organisations to scale-up is a priority for the bank.
“We’re building a full end-to-end commercial space ecosystem in Scotland and we’re proud to play our part in this funding round, which will help deliver jobs and prosperity for the space sector and the wider economy.”
Prime is a 19-metre long, two-stage rocket, powered by seven engines, that has been designed and manufactured in the UK and Denmark. The six engines on the first stage of the rocket will propel the vehicle through the atmosphere to an altitude of around 80km.
The single engine on the second stage of the rocket will complete the journey to low earth orbit, allowing the release of its payload of small, commercial satellites into orbit. Many of the satellites deployed will be used for earth observation and environmental monitoring.
Chris Larmour, Orbex chief executive, said the company has made significant progress to get to this point, including “the expansion of our manufacturing footprint in the UK and Denmark ... and the growth in customers from the UK, Europe and America signing up to launch dedicated payloads with Orbex”.
He said the results have been made possible by the dedication of the Orbex team, and also “by the ongoing trust and support of our partners and investors”.
He added: “This new funding round, which was led by the bank, will allow us to continue to build Orbex towards our long-term goal of building a reliable, economically successful and environmentally sustainable European space launch business.”
The latest funding round saw an ongoing commitment from returning investors Octopus Ventures, BGF, Heartcore Capital, and High-Tech Gründerfonds.
Other new investors include Jacobs, the global technology-forward solutions company, the Danish Green Future Fund, Verve Ventures and British entrepreneurs Phillip and James Chambers, founders of Peakon and Hazport respectively.
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