The Ministry of the Economy yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Thales Alenia Space in the next step towards the creation of a Digital Centre of Excellence in Luxembourg.

By signing an MoU with Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy, Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has further advanced the creation of its Digital Centre of Excellence in Luxembourg. With this entity, Thales Alenia Space intends to become a major industrial contributor to Luxembourg's ambitious space and digital strategy, to leverage the active and growing Luxembourg ecosystem and to develop innovative solutions with potential worldwide business reach.

The Digital Centre of Excellence in Luxembourg is considered to be instrumental in the Thales Alenia Space Digital transformation strategy, accelerating the shift of space business towards digital platform infrastructures and fostering digital innovation in all space domains: telecommunications, observation, navigation and exploration.

With its presence in Luxembourg, Thales Alenia Space aims at actively participating in the national innovation ecosystem by nurturing relations and synergies with public research organisations, particularly by driving activities of Thales Alenia Space industrial chair at the University of Luxembourg, and also with start-ups and local space companies.

The MoU was signed for Thales Alenia Space by Jean-Loïc Galle, CEO, and for Luxembourg by Étienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy. The agreement follows a Letter of Intent signed on 18 June 2019 between the Luxembourg Government and Thales Alenia Space aiming at the creation of the above mentioned Digital Centre of Excellence.