One giant leap for Scotland's space sector as Sutherland's Orbex secures £16.7m to accelerate rocket development

The business, which also has a base in Copenhagen, has received the £16.7 million boost from a group of six significant investors – including the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB), BGF, and the Danish government – in an update to its series C funding round. It also comes ahead of its Series D funding round, which will aim to secure its long-term prospects as “the leading orbital launch business in Europe”, and takes the total it has raised to date to £102m.

Orbex said that with pre-launch testing under way, the latest funding will help it ramp up the development of Prime, its 19-metre long, two-stage rocket powered by a renewable biofuel and designed to transport small satellites into low earth orbit, to ensure full readiness and scalability for its launch period.

The latest funding deal encompasses £10.5m of follow-on investment from the SNIB, venture capital firms Octopus Ventures, BGF, Heartcore, the Export & Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), and corporate and angel investors. It also follows its securing of £3.3m in funding from the UK Space Agency in December last year, and the following month scale-up expert Phillip Chambers and former director-general of the Spanish Space Agency Miguel Belló Mora joining to form a new leadership team.

Chambers, chief executive of Orbex, said: “Orbex is one of only two space rocket manufacturers in the UK, and the only one to also operate its own spaceport. This additional funding will support our goal to push on into an operational launch phase, and scale our business when the time comes.”

Paddy Graham, head of Scotland at BGF, said: “Orbex has made significant progress since we first invested, becoming one of the leading players in the UK space sector. We are pleased to build on our support for the business, and will continue to work closely with the company’s renewed leadership team as they work towards the initial launch phase.”

Nicola Douglas, executive director of innovation at the SNIB, said: “The Bank recognises the unique potential the space industry offers for Scotland… we have been particularly drawn to Orbex’s commitment to sustainability through its use of renewable biofuel and launch technology, all working towards the goal of carbon neutrality. This follow-on investment comes at an exciting time as Orbex expands its manufacturing and looks to complete its Sutherland Spaceport this year.”

Scotland’s Innovation Minister Richard Lochhead said Orbex netting further investment from the SNIB “is continuing endorsement of its huge potential and exciting future.” He added: “We have big ambitions to be Europe’s leading space nation. The space sector already supports 8,500 jobs in Scotland and could be worth £4 billion and employ 20,000 people over the next decade, making it one of the industries the Scottish Government has targeted as a priority for economic growth. Powered by renewable biofuel, the Orbex Prime and its planned launch from Sutherland Spaceport is one of a number of hugely exciting projects currently progressing in Scotland.