The aerospace industry and the Valencian Region’s potential for supporting its development will be one of the main topics to be explored at Valencia Digital Summit (VDS2022). The fifth edition of the international tech event of the Valencian innovation ecosystem, featuring conferences and an exhibition area on the 25th and 26th of October at the City of Arts and Sciences, will host a forum, designed in collaboration with AEROCAS (Castellón Airport), to publicise the progress that start-ups, research centres, universities and institutions of the region are already making in the aerospace field.
The incentives offered to the aerospace sector by the Valencian Community and the foundations for the development of the industry, as well as success stories of Valencian companies, will be presented over the course of three sessions on the 26th of October. The first talk, “The Valencian Community, a region of opportunity for the aerospace sector”, will be given by Empar Martínez, regional secretary for the Regional Ministry of Sustainable Economy, Productive Sectors, Trade and Labour, and Blanca Marín, general director of Castellón Airport. During the session, the strengths of the Valencian Community with regard to the support and development of aerospace projects will be discussed.
The second session will focus on explaining how the Valencian aerospace industry is carving out a niche for itself in the Spanish aerospace industry and what the foundations supporting this development are. The region has already carried through outstanding projects in this field. For example, Elche-based startup PLD Space is the first private European micro-launcher company to have successfully completed a flight test, which it did with the MIURA1: a rocket entirely manufactured in Elche. It is also worth mentioning Nax Solutions, which has revolutionised the agri-food sector by reducing its environmental impact through intelligent models based on information received from satellites.
Under the title “Foundations for the development of the aerospace industry in the region”, a platform will be given to key players in the evolution of the sector in the Valencian Community from institutions such as the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos de España (COIAE-AIAE), as well as from entities such as Espai Aero and Val Space Consortium, to express their views and explain their role.
Lastly, the backgrounds of several Valencian companies that are already making headway in the sector will shed light on the present and future of the industry in the region. Among the success stories that will be presented in the section of “Success stories of Valencian aerospace companies”, Arkadia Space’s, one of the 10 finalists of VDS2022 Startup Competition, stands out.
This particular tech company is based in Castellón Airport and focuses on the development and commercialisation of propulsion systems and engines powered by sustainable fuels for satellites and space vehicles. The main innovation of these engines is that, unlike most traditional propulsion systems, they do not use toxic and carcinogenic fuels, but instead use highly-concentrated hydrogen peroxide as their fuel of choice. This is what allows them to offer the same performance as traditional engines at a reduced cost of 60% compared to traditional engines.
This startup is in the process of closing a seed round in early 2023 and plans to put into operation and commercialise its first product that same year.
For Juan Luis Hortelano, president of Startup Valencia, the development of this forum is a reflection of the innovation potential of the Valencian ecosystem and its capacity to generate value and competitiveness in any sector. “The sum of talent and entrepreneurship that we treasure in the Valencian Community allows for disruptive sectors such as the aerospace industry to take off and bolster their position on the international scene”.
Great perspectives
Under the slogan ‘Inspiring the Good Future’, Valencia Digital Summit 2022 will showcase how technology, innovation and digitalisation are building a better future and why they are key to tackling the main social and economic challenges facing society.
In this fifth edition, entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to showcase their projects to the more than 10,000 people expected this year. The event will feature more than 300 presentations by national and international leaders of renowned prestige. In addition, it will bring together more than 150 corporations and more than 1,500 startups.
Entry to Valencia Digital Summit is completely free with prior registration through the website. At the event, attendees will be able to enjoy exhibition areas showcasing the latest trends, tech innovations and disruptive products by means of interactive experiences with the aim of highlighting the existing talent in the Valencian Community, attracting investment to the region, and creating business opportunities between corporations and startups. As a novelty of this fifth edition, the tech event will feature a B2B forum with exclusive content and activities for entrepreneurs and businesspeople: Summit Pro.
An international tech event
Since its first edition in 2018, Valencia Digital Summit has recorded exponential growth that has led it to become an internationally recognised tech event. The latest edition alone, held on the 15th and 16th of December last year, generated an economic impact of more than €4.8 million. The event, which was attended by leaders of world-renowned companies such as Airbus, Google and Amazon, as well as consolidated startups such as Jeff, Jobandtalent and Gorillas, brought together more than 5,500 people in person and more than 5,000 online. In addition, 20% of all attendees came from abroad and from up to 25 different countries.
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