1. MSCA Mobility rule
To be eligible for this PhD position, applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their first recruiting beneficiary (France or Germany) for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding the recruitment date — unless this period was part of a compulsory national service or a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention.
2. Description of the Work Project
The European space industry is undergoing a major transformation as it adapts to the New Space paradigm, marked by private-sector innovation, rapid technological progress, and new business models emerging under intense global competition. Despite growing policy and industrial attention to sustainability in space, ranging from the European Space Agency’s Clean Space Initiative and the Space Sustainability Rating to emerging life-cycle assessment frameworks, research on sustainable innovation in the space sector remains fragmented. Most studies address technological or regulatory challenges (e.g., debris mitigation or end-of-life design) but rarely link these to economically viable and ecologically responsible business models. Against the background of the global space economy, this reveals an important research gap: how can circular economy principles be effectively applied to space, transforming the ecosystem and creating competitive added value to reach a sustainable space economy?
This PhD project addresses this gap by analysing, evaluating, and developing integrated strategies for sustainable circular business models that align ecological, economic, and strategic dimensions of innovation in the European space industry. The project will include the following core activities:
1. Research review: Review the state of research on effective circular business models outside the space industry and analyze how the findings can be translated to the space industry.
2. Empirical research: Identify use cases and evaluate them with a focus on their economic viability. For the selected use cases, the project can, for example, deepen (some of) the following areas:
- Partnerships and value networks: Investigate the value chain and potential partnerships to enable circularity and shared value creation.
- Funding and investment ecosystems: Assess financial architectures and instruments that incentivize circular and sustainability-oriented innovation.
- Policy and regulatory frameworks: Investigate regulations and sustainability standards supporting the shift toward circular business models.
3. Implications: Derive implications for the space industry on how circular business models can be transformed into a source of competitive advantage and sustainable growth and develop policy recommendations that support the shift toward a circular and sovereign space economy.
3. Core activities
This project will use a mixed-methods design, including stakeholder interviews, comparative case studies, quantitative data analysis, business model and system-dynamics analysis, and policy evaluation. This approach will deliver insights that are both scientifically and economically relevant, linking ecological impact metrics, economic viability, and governance mechanisms in order to inform pathways for a sustainable and competitive space economy.
Research field:
- Innovation management and entrepreneurship
- Strategic and corporate management
- Space economy and regulation
Required skills:
- Strong background in management, entrepreneurship, finance, economics, or related disciplines
- Experience or interest in the European space industry and innovation ecosystems
- Experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods
- Excellent written and spoken English
4. Recruitment and secondment plan:
