The European Investment Bank and Deutsche Bank have launched a partnership to back €560m of new investment in European space companies, aimed at widening the long-term bank lending available to businesses scaling up across the space supply chain.
Announced on 29 October ahead of the European Space Agency (ESA) Space Investor Forum in Munich, the agreement extends the EIB's Space TechEU programme, launched in November 2025 to mobilise an estimated €1.4bn of investment with commercial banking partners. The Deutsche Bank partnership accounts for roughly 40% of that target.
The EIB did not disclose how the €560m splits between EIB funding and Deutsche Bank lending, or whether the partnership uses a credit line, a guarantee or both. It said the partnership will give Deutsche Bank long-term funding and flexible financing structures to support commercially viable companies investing in their next stage of growth.
The EIB said long development cycles, complex technologies and uncertain commercial returns make conventional bank lending harder for space businesses to secure.
The financing will focus on investment by corporates and space companies, from component manufacturers and launch technology developers to satellite applications and in-orbit services. Eligible technologies include reusable launchers and spacecraft, advanced propulsion, satellite manufacturing and Earth observation, underpinning services from communications and navigation to wildfire detection, pollution monitoring and security. Around half of the investment is expected in Germany, with the remainder elsewhere in the EU.
Marc Mueller, Global Head Trade Finance & Lending at Deutsche Bank, said: "Working with the EIB, we can offer space businesses the long-term financing they need to invest, expand production and compete internationally."
Robert de Groot, EIB Vice-President, said the partnership "will help companies across Europe's space sector invest in the technologies, production capacity and supply chains needed to scale up and compete globally."
ESA provides market intelligence and sector expertise to the programme and helps connect the financing with eligible companies. The EIB said Space TechEU complements wider EIB Group support through direct loans, venture debt, equity and advisory services.
Space TechEU was launched at ESA's Council of Ministers in Bremen as the EIB's first dedicated space financing programme. At the time, the EIB said it expected to commit €500m of its own financing, provide both credit lines and guarantees to EU banking partners, and focus particularly on SMEs and mid-caps. Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and Natixis CIB were represented at the launch. The programme sits within TechEU, under which the EIB Group plans to commit €70bn over 2025-2027.