SatRev will manufacture numerous nanosatellites in a new factory that will be built in Legnica, Poland, close to the company’s headquarters — this is the result of an agreement signed with the Legnica Special Economic Zone (LSEZ). The factory is the first of its kind and will increase the capabilities of the European satellite market.
By the close of 2025, SatRev expects to be producing hundreds of smallsats each year.
SatRev intends to be the world’s first satellite manufacturer that uses 100% of the required energy for their production process from renewable sources. Once the requirements have been met, SatRev will receive public aid for their undertaking. The Legnica Special Economic Zone is not only for large, international matters, but also for domestic companies working on development projects.
From the beginning, LSEZ can offer tax exemptions of as much as 45% on investment outlays, decide case by case. Access to relief for those investing in state-of-the-art technologies is easier thanks to a reduction of 95% of the required expenditure. This is 20x less than the requirement for large investors.
At present, the preparation of the functional-utility program for the factory project is nearing completion. The next stage will involve acquiring land, financing, and selecting a contractor. Details will soon be presented by the Legnica Special Economic Zone. The factory plant has more than 1,100 m2, including 280m2 of cleanrooms and clean boxes following ISO7 and ISO5, and is expected to be delivered in 2023
“By 2026 we plan to create a constellation of 1,000 EO satellites. To achieve this goal, we needed a place to increase our production, and we found the needed support in the Legnica Special Economic Zone. The cooperation agreement is the next step in the development of both the company and the Polish space sector,” said Grzegorz Zwolinski, CEO and Co-founder of SatRev.
“We are now opening up to new technologies and even a space venture. We support Polish innovative technological thought leaders. Preferential tax allowances offered by us are ‘tailor-made’ and this attracts businesses — start-ups included,”” said Przemysław Bożek, President of the Board of the Legnica Special Economic Zone.
“The most common barrier to the growth of new technology businesses is simply a lack of space for development. Another obstacle is the lack of funds to build your own production hall, and even earlier to purchase expensive land. Therefore, we are preparing a special project to build production, storage, and logistics halls, which we will also want to make available in a subscription model, like the Spotify service. If everything goes according to plan, the first halls will still be made available in 2023. We want SatRev to be the first tenant,” said Ryszard Wawryniewicz, Vice President of the Legnica Special Economic Zone.
SatRev was founded in Poland in 2016 to focus on the emerging space market. With vertically integrated operations, the company specializes in the design, manufacture, and mission operation of optic satellites and space programs for Earth Observation. It is building a constellation of satellites expected to reach more than 1,000 satellites by 2026. Moreover, in October 2019, the company formed a consortium with Virgin Orbit and nearly a dozen Polish universities to design and conduct the world’s first dedicated commercial satellite mission to Mars. Current investors include Polish VC funds such as JR HOLDING, Infini, Newberg, Tech Invest Group, and Varko (part of NCBiR’s science start-up funding program).
The Legnica Special Economic Zone is located in South-Western Poland, within the Dolnośląskie voivodeship, one of the most dynamically developing areas in Poland. In 2022 it will celebrate its 25th anniversary. To date, the LSEZ has 77 investors from many corners of the world and nearly 1.4 thousand hectares of investment land. Furthermore, LSEZ has PLN 11 billion in investments and – above all – nearly 17 thousand jobs — twice as many as the investors planned. In over a quarter of a century, the area of the Legnica Special Economic Zone has almost quadrupled. Companies from many sectors invest here, e.g. automotive, food, chemical, and heating industries, and among them are well-known corporations such as Volkswagen Motor Polska, Brose Sitech, Winkelmann and BASF. Currently, construction work is also underway on a billion-dollar investment in Sroda Slaska – a plant for the global giant PepsiCo.