August the 11th, 2024 – Do Croatian companies have what it takes to be involved in the increasingly competitive space industry?
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, can Croatian companies manage to join the increasingly competitive space industry, where very important things are currently taking place? Not yet, but with smart policies and with the support of the state, the domestic sector could become part of the space family. Croatian companies could even reap the fruits of progress in this incredible sector that wants to “conquer” both the Moon and Mars.
During the recent signing of the Treaty on Accession to the European Space Agency (ESA), Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob pointed out: “If we want to be competitive at the global and EU level, space technology is a key area”.
It really is, if you know all the benefits we enjoy today thanks to research and development in the field of space technology – from communication, navigation, observing Earth and noticing changes on it, to healthcare and even food. It’s therefore clear that the story, in which private Croatian companies and startups could play an increasingly important role, should be highlighted.
Croatia’s story with space is still a very short one and has yet to be developed in any particular firm direction. The Space Technology publication, commissioned by the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth for the purpose of mapping the sector, says that around 40 Croatian companies and 300 scientists are currently active in this demanding sector.
The majority in the area of the so-called “downstream” technologies, that is, downward technologies. That means that they use data from satellites and apply them in various fields – from forestry, agriculture, meteorology, environmental protection and so on. There are currently no Croatian companies operating in the field of “upstream”, or upward economics. That includes the creation and launch satellites and rockets, propulsion systems and power systems. Slobodan Danko Bosanac, president of the Adriatic Aerospace Association, says that the figures published by the Ministry of Science are unrealistic.
croatian companies “in space” – amphinicy technologies
“Perhaps there are two or three Croatian companies that directly deal with space technology,” Bosanac points out. Among them is Amphinicy Technologies, a Zagreb-based company that deals with receiving and processing data from satellites for clients from the space industry. That enterprise has even developed complex software solutions for exactly this.
oikon
There is also Oikon, a consulting company operating in the field of nature and environmental protection, which uses space technology (satellite data) for environmental purposes. Although this company is very well known in “space” circles, the fact remains that its primary focus is on consulting, not actual space work. The same can be said about almost all other Croatian companies mentioned in the publication of the Ministry of Science.
Success for a Belišće company
According to Bosanac, one of the best connoisseurs of the situation in the development of the space industry and technology in Croatia is precisely the creation of a Croatian satellite. The association headed by him has been working on the creation of the Perun satellite for about 4-5 years, and it should be finished in no more than 2 years from now. The process took longer because there’s actually no state support in the development of a domestic satellite, which is no cheap feat, “and all the invested money came from private donations”, claims Bosanac.
A Croatian satellite (Bosanac believes that CroCube is not one, because it was initiated by the Slovakian company Spacemanic, op.a.), could be used for special and regional purposes. That could include controlling the pollution of the Adriatic Sea, controlling fires and protecting forests.
“There are Sentinel satellites which have data that can be used, but they’re global satellites. Two things are important. That Croatia has a satellite that will deal only with the Adriatic and that it provides reliable information. Whoever launches the satellite for Croatia also controls that information”, explained Bosanac, noting that the production of satellites would by no means be an introduction to the industry of their production because it is exceptionally competitive.
