EIB Grants €30M Loan to PLD Space for MIURA 5 Rocket
▼ Summary
– The European Investment Bank signed a €30 million venture debt loan with PLD Space, marking its first direct investment in a small satellite launcher and bringing the company’s 2026 fundraising total to €210 million.
– This financing supports the final development of the MIURA 5 rocket, a two-stage vehicle designed for dedicated small satellite launches to low Earth orbit.
– The MIURA 5’s first stage is reusable, and its inaugural test flight is scheduled for 2026 from the Guiana Space Centre, with a commercial target of over 30 missions annually by 2030.
– EU officials stated the investment aligns with the strategic priority of ensuring European autonomous access to space and building a competitive launch industry.
– PLD Space, founded in 2011, has now raised over €380 million and holds launch service contracts, including a strategic customer agreement with Mitsubishi Electric for the Asian market.
The European Investment Bank has finalized a €30 million venture debt loan for Spanish launch provider PLD Space, a strategic move to accelerate the final development of its MIURA 5 rocket. This financing, guaranteed by the InvestEU program and signed earlier this month, represents the EIB’s first direct investment in a European small satellite launch vehicle. It brings the company’s total capital raised this year to an impressive €210 million, building on a major €180 million Series C round closed in March.
Designed for dedicated small satellite launches, the two-stage MIURA 5 rocket aims to deploy payloads of up to 1,040 kilograms into low Earth orbit. This focused approach allows satellite constellation operators to avoid the scheduling complexities and mission risks associated with flying as secondary cargo on larger rockets. A key feature of the design is a reusable first stage, which will be recovered from the ocean after separation. The program remains on schedule for its inaugural test flight later this year from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. PLD Space has an ambitious goal of achieving a commercial launch cadence exceeding 30 missions annually by 2030, operating from multiple global spaceports.
The new funds will directly support completing the rocket’s final development phase and scaling up the company’s industrial and launch infrastructure as it prepares for routine commercial operations. EIB Vice President Robert de Groot stated the bank’s support is aimed at helping PLD Space reach globally competitive pricing in a sector where European autonomous access to space is a clear strategic priority. Echoing this sentiment, EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius called independent launch capability essential for the bloc’s security, economy, and future, framing the investment as part of a broader EU commitment to a competitive launch industry.
Founded in 2011, PLD Space made history as Spain’s first private rocket company. Its foundational success came with the October 2023 launch of the MIURA 1 suborbital technology demonstrator. The company has since grown significantly, now employing over 450 people across facilities in Spain, French Guiana, and Oman. With this latest EIB agreement, PLD Space’s total fundraising to date exceeds €380 million. This figure does not include an additional €169 million in launch service contracts committed by the Spanish government through the European Space Agency’s European Launcher Challenge, for which the company was selected last year.
The landmark Series C round in March was led by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, which invested €50 million and simultaneously became a strategic launch customer for services in Japan and the broader Asian market. Other investors included several Spanish public and private entities. PLD Space Executive President Ezequiel Sánchez called the EIB financing a decisive milestone, strengthening the company’s capacity to build the infrastructure needed to provide reliable space access for its growing pipeline of global customers.
(Source: The Next Web)
