Last week, SpaceNed had the pleasure of co-organizing the Netherlands-United States Defence and Space Industry Days in Washington DC, together with NIDV.

We need strong relationships between our governments and robust partnerships between our defense and space industries. There were more than 140 attendees who witnesses some great speeches, panel discussions and network opportunities. Furthermore, it was a great follow up for the organizations who joined our Innovation Mission in June this year!

On Friday we had the hybrid signing ceremony for the Partners for International Business (PIB) program ‘Netherlands industries for cooperation with US space industry’. This public-private partnership is effective in promoting the commercial interests in the USA of the participation companies and knowledge institutions for the next 3 years!

The public-private partnership in the form of a Partners for International Business (PIB) program called ‘Netherlands industries for cooperation with US space industry’ is a collaboration between the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Ministry of Defence, the Netherlands embassy in Washington, the Netherlands consulate general in San Francisco, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), thirteen representatives of the Dutch space sector and the sector organization SpaceNed.

The main objective of this PIB program is to position the Dutch space sector and the cluster on the US market: develop long-term partnerships, sign MOUs, participate in trade fairs, set up network events, e.g. industry days, and organize trade missions (incoming and outgoing). The American market is dynamic, and many parties are accustomed to continuous dialogue with suppliers and partners. That requires a more intensive approach to relationship management than many parties in the aerospace industry are used to. This PIB supports the participating parties in realizing a greater presence in the US, from which new opportunities can be created.

Part of this will go through the new players in the space market, often large scale-ups that want to grow quickly and are looking for acute solutions. The Dutch space industry, with its strong national network, can meet these requirements.

In addition, there are the large Aerospace & Defense parties in the US, which are active both in the defense and space markets. Here lies opportunities for the NL space industry to acquire a position in the supply chain of large conglomerates.

The following organizations have committed to the PIB USA:

• AAC Hyperion
• Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands B.V.
• Dawn Aerospace Nederland B.V.
• ISISPACE Group
• LioniX International B.V.
• Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO
• Science and Technology Corporation
• SEKO Logistics Netherlands B.V.
• Software Improvement Group B.V.
• Technolution B.V.
• The Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre – Royal NLR
• West End Technologies
• Stichting Nederlandse Industrie voor Defensie en Veiligheid (NIDV)
• Thales Cryogenics B.V.

We will be back soon!