MILANO (ITALPRESS) – Intesa Sanpaolo, the European Investment Bank (BEI) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed a two-year agreement to support small and medium-sized enterprises of the Italian aerospace industry, among the most strategic and innovative of the Italian and European economy.
Thanks to the availability of European resources and dedicated guarantee tools, 300 million euros will be activated of new financing for the investments of the Pmi of an industry that in 2025 has generated an estimated added value of approximately 7 billion euros and an export of 8 billion, 1.2% of the manufacturing.
“With this first operation in Europe in support of the Pmi of the space supply chain, realized together with Intesa Sanpaolo and ESA, the EIB confirms its commitment to strengthening the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of the European industry in a key sector for innovation, security and digital transition – says Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice President of the European Investment Bank –. The Space Lending Facility allows you to mobilize up to 300 million new funding and expand credit access for highly innovative companies.”.
“For the Italian space sector, the collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo and the technical contribution of ESA represent a concrete channel to support investments in growth, research and industrialization – continues Vigliotti. In this way, European finance contributes to transform excellence and expertise in investment, qualified employment and greater competitiveness on international markets.”.
Intesa Sanpaolo is the only Italian bank and the first at European level to start a collaboration with EIB and ESA, through the new agreement signed by the Banca dei Territori Division led by Stefano Barrese, with the aim to boost the growth of the Pmi of the aerospace sector and their international development processes.
“The Italian aerospace industry is characterized by the presence of companies in some cases very small and strongly specialized, connected to the large companies with complementary needs that are well represented in the industrial chain”, the words of Stefano Barrese, Head of Banca dei Territori Division of Intesa Sanpaolo.
“For Intesa Sanpaolo the supply chain remains an important indicator of the potential for growth and innovation, in particular for this increasingly strategic sector for the country. Thanks to the agreement with EIB and ESA, we offer a new unique opportunity in Europe today to foster collaboration between companies, sharing skills and strengthening industrial relations across the domestic and international value chain, providing financial instruments, specialist advice and networking opportunities to seize the challenges of global markets,” adds Barrese.
Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director-General: “We are pleased that Intesa Sanpaolo is the first bank to sign an agreement under the EIB and ESA Space Lending Envelope. For many SMEs in the space sector, the main obstacle to growth is not technology, but access to capital. This agreement changes things, offering Italian companies a concrete opportunity to grow, compete globally and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in the space sector. The ESA is proud to support the EIB and financial institutions to bridge this gap, and this first signing with Intesa Sanpaolo is exactly the result we had set to reach, the first step of a path destined to continue.”.
The opportunities awaiting the small and medium-sized enterprises of the Space Economy in a context with strong dynamism have been at the heart of today’s meeting “Finance and Aerospace: the challenges for the creation of Italian global champions” promoted by the Group led by CEO Carlo Messina at the Bank’s skyscraper in Turin, a city that houses one of the excellence poles of the national aerospace industry.
This initiative, dedicated to strengthening the competitiveness and international recognition of Italy in the European and global space ecosystem, opened with the greetings of Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, President of Intesa Sanpaolo, and Giorgio Marsiaj, Vice President of Confindustria with delegation to the aerospace.
It was presented by Gregorio De Felice, Chief Economist of Intesa Sanpaolo, an analysis of the Italian Space Economy followed by two discussions on the needs of the Pmi of the aerospace industry in Italy, with interventions by Gemma Feliciani, Director Financial Institutions Department European Investment Bank, Anna Roscio, Executive Director Sales & Marketing Enterprise Banca dei Territori Intesa Sanpaolo, and Massimo Comparini, Managing Director Space Division Leonardo.
There was a round table with the testimonies of many leading companies in the sector, from Andrea Romiti, Founder and Ceo APR, to Massimo Bercella, Ceo Bercella, from Nicoletta Regazzo, CFO D-Orbit, to Pietro Andronico, Ceo and Founder Nurjana Technologies, and Viviana Bacigalupo, Managing Director Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center.
Important contributions from leading Italian and European institutions such as Giancarlo Granero, Head of the European Commission Space Economy Unit, Antonio Bartoloni, Head of Office for Space and Aerospace Policies at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Gianluigi Baldesi, Head of Ventures and Financing Office ESA, and Matteo Coletta, Head of the Research & New Space Economy Sector of ASI. The conclusions were entrusted to Marco Gay, President of the Industrial Union of Turin.
The role of Intesa Sanpaolo, EIB and ESA for the Space Economy Intesa Sanpaolo is the first European commercial bank to have joined the ESA Investor Network and has already contributed concretely to the development of the aerospace sector: it has supported over 500 SMEs operating in the supply chain, to which it has provided loans for more than 1 billion euros, with a market share of 33%.
Intesa Sanpaolo, through the Banca dei Territori, serves and develops a wide range of services for the companies of the supply chain, from debt solutions to growth through Equity, to collaborations with all technological districts and EDIH (European Digital Innovation Hubs), to the consultancy dedicated to access to European programs. In an organizational profile, Intesa Sanpaolo has dedicated a desk specializing in the support of the supply chains, consisting of engineers able to evaluate the individual technologies, and a desk specialized on accompaniment to European programs. Thanks to the collaboration with Confindustria, it will also facilitate the strategy of sharing and the drive to investments of SMEs in new production models evolved to high potential of the Aerospace sector, as foreseen in the renewed multiannual agreement last year.
The agreement with EIB and ESA is added to the solutions already available for Pmi and Mid-Cap that will allow the first Italian banking group to support new jobs for more than 2 billion euros in 2026, consolidating a multiannual partnership based on innovative tools of financing and mitigation of risk in support of the development of the entrepreneurial fabric.
The European Investment Bank plays a central role in the financial architecture of the agreement, making available 150 million European resources that constitute the engine of the Space Lending Facility. Through a risk-sharing mechanism, the EIB will guarantee 50% of each loan provided by Intesa Sanpaolo, with a duration of up to 11 years and a pre-mortisation of 12 months, significantly extending the ability of the bank to support the companies of the supply chain that would otherwise hardly access ordinary credit. This approach is an innovative tool that will allow to generate a considerable leverage effect: the 150 million euros made available by the EIB will enable up to 300 million euros of new medium-long-term loans.
The European Space Agency contributes to the initiative by providing technical and industrial skills. Through promotion activities, ESA will aim to maximize the impact on Italian and European space companies, ensuring that those supported through ESA contracts and high-tech programs have access to the capital needed to grow on an industrial scale.
The partnership between Intesa Sanpaolo, EIB and ESA has matured within the European ESA Ministerial Council last November and is structured in the following programmatic strands: to encourage the growth of the SMEs of the entire Italian aerospace chain throughout the value chain through the production of satellite systems and geolocation, the development of spatial infrastructure and telecommunications, the investments in research and development; to facilitate access to the credit of the euro area Advisory dedicated to innovation and internationalization processes with the opening to new markets, dimensional growth, equity operations, ad hoc financing solutions such as Nova+Space and Security by Intesa Sanpaolo, innovative value chain management, construction of a connected industrial ecosystem; the initiative is part of the wider European path aimed at strengthening the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of the space industry, an area considered essential for safety, telecommunications and industrial conversions
The Space Economy is now one of the highest-growth production ecosystems in the world.
According to the Space Foundation, industry-related activities generated a value of $613 billion in 2024, up 7.8% compared to 2023. According to the estimates of the same Foundation, Space Economy activities should reach approximately 800 billion dollars by 2027 and 1,000 billion dollars by 2032. The industry integrates high-tech manufacturing industry, advanced services and scientific research, with positive transversal effects on energy, environment, ICT, health and transport.
Italy is among the main European countries in the aerospace sector with an industry, which has over 50,000 employees, active in the manufacture of aerospace vehicles, repairs and satellite telecommunications. Italy also stands out for a specialization in the Space Economy, with an articulated chain ranging from software to electronics, from engineering to telecommunications, from mechanics to the manufacture of spacecraft. The Pmi sector is often specialized in high-tech production niches. These include large players integrated with a highly diversified offer. The strong multidisciplinaryity of the supply chain favours the collaboration between different subjects and the continuous transfer of knowledge, feeding a synergistic and innovative development.
The long development cycles, the prevalence of intangible assets and the limited availability of real guarantees make it difficult for many SMEs to obtain ordinary funding. Strengthening financial support to the private sector is essential to ensure industrial continuity, competitiveness and the ability of Europe to carry out strategic and commercial missions.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
