The Province of Lugo will Host Initiatives from the Security, Defense and Aerospace Strategy, Including a Testbed for the European Digital Sky and a Space Accelerator
The Regional Minister for Economy and Industry, María Jesús Lorenzana, accompanied by the territorial delegate of the Xunta, Javier Arias, announced that the province of Lugo will play a leading role in the Strategic Initiative for Security, Defense and Aerospace (IESDA), which will have a budget allocation of €14.8 million in the Xunta’s accounts for next year to launch its first actions.
She made this announcement during a meeting with representatives of the CEL Foundation, which collaborates with the Xunta in the BFAero accelerator, and with the promoters of some of the projects that participated in the latest edition. Lorenzana emphasized that the aim of the new strategy is to foster technological and business development in a sector with great potential for creating wealth, attracting talent, and generating high-quality employment.
As part of this commitment to Lugo, the Rozas Industrial Park will host Spain’s first testbed for the “European Digital Sky”, Lorenzana announced, recalling that a memorandum of cooperation has already been signed with Sesar JU, the joint undertaking behind this program designed to unify European airspace. Through this agreement, Galicia will become the first test site in Spain.
The Regional Minister explained that Rozas will be key to the IESDA and that the goal is to “evolve what we already have here today in Rozas and turn the new industrial park into a European benchmark in the aerospace sector,” as it is a flagship example of Galicia’s capabilities in the aeronautical field and will be essential to the region’s industrial development.
Driving Companies
Among the main measures to be implemented under the new budget, María Jesús Lorenzana mentioned the awarding of the first major technological development contracts with driving companies that will become the Xunta’s strategic partners. She also noted that, at the beginning of the year, the funding line for investments in dual-use technologies (civil-defense) will be launched, giving higher scores in the evaluation criteria to projects located around the Rozas industrial park.
In addition, she announced the creation of a dedicated accelerator for space projects based in Rozas, adding that there is growing demand among Galician space sector companies for Galicia to position itself to host a European accelerator in this field. “We are going to create a specific accelerator focused solely on space, complementary to the existing one, and we will work so that this accelerator can become part of a major European project to strengthen the technological and industrial capabilities of this park,” Lorenzana stated, referring to her department’s intention to submit Galicia’s candidacy to host the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre (ESABIC).
Furthermore, Lorenzana expressed the Xunta’s intention that all the work carried out so far at the Rozas Industrial Park will serve as the foundation for this Strategic Initiative for Security, Defense and Aerospace, which, by 2030, will involve €183 million in public investment and is expected to mobilize €900 million in total. “Lugo,” the Regional Minister stressed, “will play a leading role in this strategy as far as the aerospace sector is concerned, and we will strengthen it through this new budget.”