Luxembourg now generates nearly 2 percent of its annual gross domestic product from the space industry, Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider told an audience Saturday, in a speech at the New Worlds conference in Austin, Texas.
Luxembourg’s space resources initiative is the country’s plan to make the most out of a quickly growing global industry, the minister said. “It’s a series of measures to position Luxembourg as the European heart of exploration and use of space resources.”
He highlighted U.S. companies Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources, as well as Japanese ispace as three key, rising players in Luxembourg.
“Right now we have dozens of companies that are here but have yet to make money. We have startup incubators and investment funds are being established.”
The key, to Schneider, is Luxembourg’s legal framework of ownership. Luxembourg is the only country beside the United States to have passed laws giving corporations ownership of materials mined in space, but only after they’ve been extracted.
“Allowing companies to have ownership of future materials gives venture capital firms incentive to come here and buy into these opportunities,” Schneider added.