Edinburgh, 18 November 2025 — Space Scotland is pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aviaspace Bremen e.V., marking a significant step forward in strengthening international collaboration between two of Europe’s leading space regions.
The agreement formalises a joint commitment to deepen cooperation across industry, research, innovation and skills development, enabling Scottish and German organisations to work more closely in areas critical to the future of the global space economy.
Both Scotland and Bremen boast world-class industrial and academic capabilities, strong ties to the European Space Agency, and rapidly growing commercial space sectors. This MoU provides a structured framework to unlock new opportunities for collaboration, accelerate innovation, and support the growth of both ecosystems.
Key areas of cooperation outlined in the MoU include:
- Industry collaboration: Supporting partnerships between OEMs, SMEs and supply-chain companies in both regions.
- Joint R&D and innovation: Facilitating cooperative bids to ESA, Horizon Europe and other programmes.
- Advanced manufacturing: Knowledge-sharing in robotics, M2M-techniques, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, lightweight materials, and smart engineering.
- Earth observation and downstream applications: Enhancing commercialisation and data-driven services.
- Space sustainability: Establishing a joint working group aligned with Space Scotland’s Environmental Task Force.
- Skills and workforce development: Coordinating talent initiatives and training pathways to strengthen the skills pipeline.
- Cybersecurity and emerging technologies: Exploring collaboration in areas including quantum photonics and resilient space systems.
The MoU also commits both parties to developing a joint action agenda for 2026, to be finalised before the end of this year.
This agreement was signed by Holger Oelze (CEO, Aviaspace Bremen) and Peter Young (Chair, Space Scotland), and witnessed by Kristina Vogt, Minister of Economic Affairs, Ports and Transformation of Bremen, and Daniel Smith, Scottish Ministerial Trade & Investment Envoy for Space.
Quote from Peter Young, Chair of Space Scotland
“This agreement represents an important milestone for Scotland’s space sector. Bremen has long been recognised as a powerhouse of European space innovation, and our partnership will unlock new avenues for collaboration, research and commercial growth. By combining our strengths in manufacturing, sustainability, emerging technologies and skills development, we are creating a platform that will benefit industry, academia and government across both regions. Space Scotland is excited to begin this next chapter of international cooperation with Aviaspace Bremen.”
Quote from Holger Oelze, CEO of Aviaspace Bremen
“After several years of successful collaboration with our Scottish partners, we are delighted to further strengthen our cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding. The in-person roundtable in Bremen a few weeks ago clearly demonstrated the strong potential in areas such as digital space solutions, sustainable transformation, cybersecurity and many more.
With our joint Action Agenda, we are creating a solid foundation for even closer collaboration between the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and Scotland. We are particularly looking forward to two key milestones: Space Comm Scotland and Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen. We approach the coming years of our growing partnership with great confidence.”
A shared commitment to a sustainable, innovative and competitive European space ecosystem
The MoU reflects both regions’ ambition to grow their space capabilities, support startup scale-up pathways, and deliver technologies and services that will shape the future of the global space sector.
Space Scotland looks forward to working closely with Aviaspace Bremen and its network of industrial and research partners to drive joint opportunities, strengthen European collaboration, and deliver meaningful impact across upstream and downstream space activity.
Media Contact
Space Scotland
Viktoria Urban, Marketing and Communications Lead
+44 7398 615819
viktoria@spacescotland.org