The space economy is gaining traction in Liguria: a surge in applications for the regional tender.

The space economy is gaining traction in Liguria. This is demonstrated by the fact that a call for proposals launched by the Region for businesses in the sector has attracted a number of requests seven times greater than the amount allocated by the institution: €14 million versus €2 million. And now the Region is considering refinancing the measure.

Alessio Piana, Councillor for Economic Development, therefore, reflects on the success of the first regional call entirely dedicated to the space economy, which is part of Liguria's support for high-tech sectors. The experimental tool, Piana says, is included in Action 1.1.1 of the Liguria Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2021-2027 and attracted widespread participation: 35 companies submitted applications, for a total of approximately €14 million in funding requests, against an initial allocation of €2 million.

The call was aimed at companies operating in the areas identified by the Regional Smart Specialization Strategy and aimed to support industrial research and experimental development projects for innovative space downstream applications (the use of data and services obtained from space for applications on Earth), in key sectors such as critical infrastructure, the environment, urban management, and health.

"The strong interest shown by businesses," Piana emphasizes, "confirms the validity of the strategic choice to focus on a cross-sector capable of generating high-value innovation and producing significant economic and employment benefits. As a Region, we are determined to refinance the measure to ensure support for all eligible projects and to open, in the future, a new measure also dedicated to the upstream sector, thus completing the intervention on the space industrial cycle."

This action, Piana states, "is part of a broader strategy, shared within the Northwest Economic Forum, where Liguria, Lombardy, and Piedmont are working in a coordinated manner on strategic sectors such as aerospace, planning joint initiatives within the ERDF programming to generate growth and competitiveness on a macro-regional scale."