DC2 – Economics of New Space and European Competitiveness

Partner Organisations

University of the Bundeswehr Munich (PhD awarding institution)
Thales Alenia Space France

Supervisors

Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Müller
Prof. Dr. Rafaela Kraus
Virginie Dominguez

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.

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.