The Czech council presidency was not at all sure that the agreement on the EU gas emergency plan would actually succeed in the Council, says Czech Europe Minister Mikuláš Bek in an interview with Europe.Table. But the plan is only the first step; further action must depend on Russia’s behavior regarding gas deliveries and, if necessary, adapt the emergency plan. Speaking with Hans-Peter Siebenhaar, Bek also talks about the state of the Visegrád Group, the role of nuclear power in Europe’s energy security, and the Czech Republic’s relationship with China.
Strategic sovereignty – that is a central goal of the Secure Connectivity Initiative launched by EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton earlier this year. The plan is to create a dedicated communications infrastructure from space, a communications network of hundreds, even thousands of satellites, covering Europe and parts of Africa. A mega-project in which young and innovative companies also want to participate. But there are doubts about how serious the Commission is about involving startups and SMEs in the initiative. The fear is that newcomers would not stand a chance. Corinna Visser asked around in the industry.
Patrick Plötz not only conducts research on electric cars and trucks – he recently started driving an electric car himself. He would like the EU Commission to take an ambitious approach to climate protection. Read more about the Coordinator of Business Unit Energy Economy at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in today’s Profile by Janna Degener-Storr.
Mikuláš Bek is a member of the liberal center-right movement “Mayors and Independents” (Starostové a nezávislí – STAN). The musicologist served as director of Masaryk University in Brno from 2011 to 2019. Bek speaks fluent German, and studied at Berlin’s Humboldt University as a doctoral student in 1990. Since 2018, the 58-year-old has been a member of the Czech Senate.
Mr. Bek, in the past, Czech EU presidencies were more duty than passion. How does the government in Prague feel about the current presidency?
There are many pro-Europeans in the Czech Republic. But they have not been in power for the past eight years. Our coalition, which has been in power since December, has its roots in the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Pirate Party, which is part of the Green Party in the European Parliament. This change in the Czech Republic has been positively received in Europe. The feared divide between Western and Eastern Europe is not happening. The Czech and Slovak governments are an assurance that this will not be the case. Poland has also shown itself to be more moderate on European policy in recent months. There is hope that there will be no polarization like in Hungary’s case.
What’s next for the Visegrád Group? Slovakia took over the chairmanship for a year at the beginning of July and is taking on a difficult legacy. Especially since the countries represent very different interests in times of war. Is the bloc of four falling apart?
The Visegrád Group is frozen at the moment. It is very clear that it is affected by the tensions between Hungary and the EU. The group was once formed with the goal of integrating into NATO and the EU. There have been ups and downs later on and the disintegration into 2+2 or 3+1, but Visegrád was never a homogeneous group compared to Benelux.
Isn’t the Visegrád Group today rather a 2+1+1 – that is, the Czech Republic with Slovakia and Hungary, and Poland as a lone wolf?
True, but I would like to point out that our relations with Warsaw are much better than our relations with Budapest. In terms of foreign policy, the Czech Republic and Poland maintain very close relations, for example in the energy sector. In addition, we have a shared border with Poland – with Hungary, as is well known, we do not.
A central goal of the Czech council presidency is energy security in the EU. The countries have agreed on a gas emergency plan for this winter. Was the Czech council presidency certain that agreement would actually be reached in the Council?
We were not that certain. But despite many exceptions, there is a shared responsibility in almost all member countries. What pleases me personally is that there is very close cooperation between the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland on energy issues. In addition, there has been a very close exchange between Prague, Berlin and Vienna in recent months. Because we have the same challenges. The EU’s gas emergency plan is only a first step and not the final solution to our gas problem. Russia’s continuing behavior regarding gas supplies will be decisive for the future.
How reliable is Russia now?
Russia is very unreliable. We have to prepare for all eventualities – even the total shutdown of Russian gas supplies. Accordingly, we must also quickly adapt our gas emergency plan.
What role should nuclear power play in Europe’s energy security?
Personally, I’m not a big supporter of nuclear power. But in our current situation, it’s a factor of stability for the power grids – including for Germany and Austria, which buy nuclear power from us. We have no plans to expand our nuclear capacity. The situation is not simple either, because the uranium for our nuclear power plants comes from Russia. So we currently also have a dependency on nuclear power. And finding new suppliers is technically a long process.
What about electricity from coal-fired power plants?
We don’t have to worry about the next winter when it comes to electricity. We have large coal-fired power plant capacities in the Czech Republic. The situation of our industry, which is dependent on gas, is more difficult. Several industries are not in a position to switch to an alternative in the short term. The good news is that our gas storage facilities are now over 80 percent capacity.
Has the Czech Republic neglected solar and wind power too much in the past?
We are currently examining whether we can use funds from the Covid recovery fund to expand renewable energy. Our government wants to achieve a systemic change in the energy sector, and since the outbreak of the war, there has been a more pragmatic discussion of renewables. We need to catch up in the next few years.
Should the Czech energy company CEZ also be nationalized again for this purpose?
CEZ is already majority-owned by the state. We are discussing a way to break up the energy company.
… as is to happen in France with the electricity giant EDF.
Part of the new, divided company could then be nationalized. But the debate on this is still ongoing in our country and will probably continue until autumn. Personally, I have not yet formed a final opinion. I’m still waiting for reliable analyses of the consequences.
Since the annexation of Crimea, Russia has deepened its relations with China. And even after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia and the Middle Kingdom are benefiting from each other both politically and economically. What does this mean for the EU regarding its relations with China?
We must continue to factor in the coalition between Russia and China. However, this alliance does not involve equal partners at all. China is much stronger. It will lead to greater dependence on China in Russia. We in the EU with like-minded people in the West must therefore cooperate even more closely. This also applies to NATO.
How much trust does the government in Prague have in China? The Czech Republic always rolled out the red carpet for China in the past.
We need to correct the image of our country with China. The efforts of Czech President Zeman have created the impression that China is very active in the Czech Republic. But the reality looks different. Economically, the influence of Chinese companies has remained low. For us, Taiwan is economically far more important as a partner than China.
Over a year and a half ago, China and the EU signed an investment protection agreement. But very soon disillusionment set in because China is upholding sanctions against a number of EU MEPs. Are the EU and China still negotiating at eye level?
We must be very careful not to repeat the mistakes we made with Russia when dealing with China. Relations are complicated. It is unrealistic to believe that China can become a reliable partner for Europe.
What should Europe’s response to China’s “New Silk Road” look like with pro-China EU accession candidates like Serbia?
We must resolve our relationship with Serbia against this backdrop in the foreseeable future. We must ask our Serbian friends the simple question of whether they really want a European future. That is my personal opinion. If Serbia decides in favor of Europe, we must also offer something to the accession candidate. That is why I advocate establishing new intermediate stages between candidate status and full membership to encourage accession candidates. This also applies to other countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. We need a new dynamic in the enlargement process to contain Chinese influence in the region.
Will all candidate countries join the EU simultaneously?
There will have to be different paces in the accession process. For Ukraine, EU accession will certainly take longer than it did for some countries in the Western Balkans, which have been preparing for membership for many years.
The Russian attack on Ukraine did not start with bombs and missiles, it started with a cyberattack in space. The target was the KA-SAT satellite network, which US provider Viasat uses to offer high-speed Internet via satellites in Europe and the Mediterranean countries. The attack caused outages and communications disruptions among government agencies, businesses, and other users – and not just in Ukraine. Critical infrastructure in several EU member states was also affected. Utilities in Central Europe, for example, were unable to access thousands of wind turbines. US entrepreneur Elon Musk stepped in with his satellite service Starlink, bringing Ukraine back online.
According to many experts, the situation has once again proven that Europe not only needs a secure communications infrastructure, but above all, its own communications infrastructure in space. One that functions reliably, not only in times of war and crisis but also in the event of disasters like the one in the Ahr Valley. Therefore, strategic sovereignty is a central goal of the Secure Connectivity Initiative, with which the EU aims not only to advance the digitization of the economy and society but also to counter the growing geopolitical threats to cybersecurity. It complements the European space projects Galileo and Copernicus.
The Secure Connectivity Initiative was initiated by EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton in February 2022. The Council adopted its position at the end of June. The next step is the trilogue negotiations between member states and the EU Parliament. These are expected to take place this fall. The rapporteur for the EU Parliament is Christophe Grudler (Renew). The negotiations will not only deal with the question of how exactly the European satellite network should look like, but also who will build and operate it.
Brussels plans what is known in aerospace circles as a mega constellation: A communications network of hundreds, even thousands of satellites that will cover Europe and parts of Africa from low-Earth orbit. After all, the public-private partnership project is worth €6 billion. One-third of this is to be funded by the EU, one-third by member states and one-third by the private sector. After all, commercial use is also planned in parallel.
The plan is to roll out the system in stages, to provide the first services in 2024 and achieve full operational capability by 2027. “Internet from space will become tremendously important strategically and economically,” Matthias Wachter believes. He is Managing Director of the New Space initiative at the Federation of German Industries (BDI). “Space connectivity is the foundation for many future applications from the fields of autonomous driving, Industry 4.0 or the Internet of Things (IoT).”
It is right that Europe is relying on its own constellation for this, says Wachter. “The only question is what features the system will have, who will build it, and what the setup will be: Will it be a government-dominated project or will the EU contract a private consortium and act as an anchor customer?” It is probably no coincidence that it was a Frenchman, Thierry Breton, who helped get the Secure Connectivity Initiative off the ground. In Germany, the project was initially viewed much more cautiously and critically, says Wachter.
France is home not only to Eutelsat, Europe’s largest satellite operator but also to Airbus, Europe’s largest aerospace company. But while France is pushing the big players, some of them state-owned, Germany should work hard to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – especially innovative start-ups – are also involved in the project, demands Wachter of the BDI.
Last year, various new-space companies and the BDI sent a joint letter to Breton. In order to strengthen the European new space industry (the integration of commercial space and the traditional economy) and to ensure an innovative and competitive industrial foundation in Europe, the EU should take the entire ecosystem into account. This ranges from Large System Integrators (LSI) to SMEs, suppliers, service providers and emerging start-ups.
“European start-ups in the new-space environment are developing breakthrough business models and highly innovative technologies such as communications via lasers, deorbiting drag sails for a clean space environment, micro-propulsion systems, or even state-of-the-art microsatellite buses.” They are all clearly focused on commercial customer needs, the letter continues.
German Minister of Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck (Greens), also wrote to Breton, along with Italy’s Minister for Technological Innovation Vittorio Colao. Both criticized a lack of information and expressed concerns about the progress of the project:
Nevertheless, both ministers expressed confidence that a solution was within reach.
In its proposal, the Commission previously emphasized that SMEs and start-ups should also be involved in the initiative. The share is to be 30 percent – but will they only be suppliers or also designers? In order to also collect ideas from SMEs and start-ups, the Commission subsequently commissioned two more feasibility studies. “They have provided the Commission with interesting and innovative architectural and service models,” said a spokeswoman for the EU Commission. The results would now be reviewed.
One of the two consortia was led by Reflex Aerospace, a young satellite builder from Berlin and Munich. The company is still in the development phase. However, the goal is to implement the projects significantly faster than the established manufacturers – instead of three to four years for the development of the first small series satellite, Reflex Aerospace estimates nine months and correspondingly lower costs.
The background is Reflex’s new production approach, which also uses algorithms and artificial intelligence. “We are also shortening iteration cycles,” says founder and CEO Walter Ballheimer. “Because we think space technology needs to move closer to the consumer market.” Build faster, innovate faster – this is how Reflex Aerospace wants to keep up with technical innovation cycles in the development of new cameras, for example.
Picking up the pace, lowering costs – that actually sounds attractive, yet Reflex Aerospace sees only limited chances when it comes to implementing the EU’s Secure Connectivity Initiative. “We see a lack of willingness to take risks in Europe. The US, on the other hand, is using government contracts to support new industry and motivate newcomers to enter the field,” says the Reflex CEO. It is only through such contracts with the industry that a company like SpaceX has even become possible on this scale. This is different from Europe, where, for example, the prerequisite for participating in the bidding process is often years of experience with a system, something that automatically excludes newcomers. ” That is a problem,” Ballheimer says. Commercial customers, on the other hand, are more willing to take risks. “They see the time and cost advantage.”
So Reflex and its consortium partners had a feeling from the very beginning that the two feasibility studies by SMEs and startups were merely tokenistic. “But we tried to make the best of it and also to show publicly that we could come up with a reasonable concept,” Ballheimer says. “A concept that definitely needs to be considered.”
Unlike newcomer Reflex Aerospace, Bremen-based OHB is an established player on the market. “We could realize the entire system in space,” says OHB Management Board member Sabine von der Recke. Above all, OHB can deliver a feature that the Commission also values and for which there are only a few European suppliers: Quantum key distribution. Here, quantum mechanical effects are used as part of the cryptographic process to achieve a particularly high level of security.
“We have invested a lot in the service and are technically very advanced in Germany,” says von der Recke. “If we want to build a future-proof, resilient communications network in Europe, we need quantum key distribution.” Europe is late in developing a sovereign communications network in space, but not too late. The task now, she says, is to secure European assets in space “because the frequencies for data transmission are finite.”
Patrick Plötz owns his own electric car as of this year. “We needed a new car and I said I didn’t want anything with an exhaust in 2022,” says the 41-year-old. The purchasing decision, the first weeks with the new car, the planning for the first vacation trips were exciting experiences for the family man. Because now he personally experienced what he has been researching in his job for years.
“We opted for a small battery because we take breaks with our kids every two to three hours anyway.” In the first few weeks, he still had the impulse to charge the car every day at the power socket at home. “But then I also became emotionally aware that that’s not necessary at all, because of course, I don’t drive 300 kilometers every day.”
That the purchase of an electric car goes hand in hand with a change of habits is something Patrick Plötz has long known – from user surveys that he has implemented himself. Plötz, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, heads the Business Unit Energy Economy at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) in Karlsruhe. Here, he and his team implement empirical studies, not only on EVs, but also on electric trucks and fuel cell vehicles. He takes a look at a wide variety of technologies – as unbiased as possible.
“We don’t sell electric cars, plug-in hybrids, fuel cells or batteries,” the researcher emphasizes. However, he says it is important to him that tax funds are used efficiently. “It’s always easy to call for subsidies. But there are also opportunities in regulatory law to bring things to market quickly.”
Patrick Plötz is also monitoring political measures to reduce carbon emissions – and he is calling for an ambitious approach, especially from the European Commission, which is setting the framework conditions. He recently examined, for example, how much CO2 European transport can still emit to meet the 1.5-degree target. The result: 2035 is actually already too late for a ban on internal combustion vehicles; it should actually come even sooner. Plötz also advocates that alternative drives achieve a high market penetration – and that people ride their bicycles or take the train more.
Patrick Plötz made a very conscious decision to take up a scientific position with social relevance after completing his studies and doctorate in physics. “I have always been very interested in the big questions about the universe and atoms, and I find quantum physics incredibly fascinating. But I kept asking myself during my dissertation: Wouldn’t it be great if many of these smart physicists also contributed something to the pressing problems of our time?”
On the side, Patrick Plötz also studied philosophy and the history of science out of interest. To this day, he likes to pick up a philosophical book in his free time and to visit ancient cities during his vacations. While he rides his bicycle to work and likes to take the night train for business trips, the researcher also sometimes uses airplanes or cars in his private life. “In the past, my wife and I often took the plane to southern Italy. Now we like to stay within electric car range on vacation.” After all, with two small children, no one wants to sit in the car longer than necessary anyway. Janna Degener-Storr
The Czech council presidency was not at all sure that the agreement on the EU gas emergency plan would actually succeed in the Council, says Czech Europe Minister Mikuláš Bek in an interview with Europe.Table. But the plan is only the first step; further action must depend on Russia’s behavior regarding gas deliveries and, if necessary, adapt the emergency plan. Speaking with Hans-Peter Siebenhaar, Bek also talks about the state of the Visegrád Group, the role of nuclear power in Europe’s energy security, and the Czech Republic’s relationship with China.
Strategic sovereignty – that is a central goal of the Secure Connectivity Initiative launched by EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton earlier this year. The plan is to create a dedicated communications infrastructure from space, a communications network of hundreds, even thousands of satellites, covering Europe and parts of Africa. A mega-project in which young and innovative companies also want to participate. But there are doubts about how serious the Commission is about involving startups and SMEs in the initiative. The fear is that newcomers would not stand a chance. Corinna Visser asked around in the industry.
Patrick Plötz not only conducts research on electric cars and trucks – he recently started driving an electric car himself. He would like the EU Commission to take an ambitious approach to climate protection. Read more about the Coordinator of Business Unit Energy Economy at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in today’s Profile by Janna Degener-Storr.
Mikuláš Bek is a member of the liberal center-right movement “Mayors and Independents” (Starostové a nezávislí – STAN). The musicologist served as director of Masaryk University in Brno from 2011 to 2019. Bek speaks fluent German, and studied at Berlin’s Humboldt University as a doctoral student in 1990. Since 2018, the 58-year-old has been a member of the Czech Senate.
Mr. Bek, in the past, Czech EU presidencies were more duty than passion. How does the government in Prague feel about the current presidency?
There are many pro-Europeans in the Czech Republic. But they have not been in power for the past eight years. Our coalition, which has been in power since December, has its roots in the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Pirate Party, which is part of the Green Party in the European Parliament. This change in the Czech Republic has been positively received in Europe. The feared divide between Western and Eastern Europe is not happening. The Czech and Slovak governments are an assurance that this will not be the case. Poland has also shown itself to be more moderate on European policy in recent months. There is hope that there will be no polarization like in Hungary’s case.
What’s next for the Visegrád Group? Slovakia took over the chairmanship for a year at the beginning of July and is taking on a difficult legacy. Especially since the countries represent very different interests in times of war. Is the bloc of four falling apart?
The Visegrád Group is frozen at the moment. It is very clear that it is affected by the tensions between Hungary and the EU. The group was once formed with the goal of integrating into NATO and the EU. There have been ups and downs later on and the disintegration into 2+2 or 3+1, but Visegrád was never a homogeneous group compared to Benelux.
Isn’t the Visegrád Group today rather a 2+1+1 – that is, the Czech Republic with Slovakia and Hungary, and Poland as a lone wolf?
True, but I would like to point out that our relations with Warsaw are much better than our relations with Budapest. In terms of foreign policy, the Czech Republic and Poland maintain very close relations, for example in the energy sector. In addition, we have a shared border with Poland – with Hungary, as is well known, we do not.
A central goal of the Czech council presidency is energy security in the EU. The countries have agreed on a gas emergency plan for this winter. Was the Czech council presidency certain that agreement would actually be reached in the Council?
We were not that certain. But despite many exceptions, there is a shared responsibility in almost all member countries. What pleases me personally is that there is very close cooperation between the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland on energy issues. In addition, there has been a very close exchange between Prague, Berlin and Vienna in recent months. Because we have the same challenges. The EU’s gas emergency plan is only a first step and not the final solution to our gas problem. Russia’s continuing behavior regarding gas supplies will be decisive for the future.
How reliable is Russia now?
Russia is very unreliable. We have to prepare for all eventualities – even the total shutdown of Russian gas supplies. Accordingly, we must also quickly adapt our gas emergency plan.
What role should nuclear power play in Europe’s energy security?
Personally, I’m not a big supporter of nuclear power. But in our current situation, it’s a factor of stability for the power grids – including for Germany and Austria, which buy nuclear power from us. We have no plans to expand our nuclear capacity. The situation is not simple either, because the uranium for our nuclear power plants comes from Russia. So we currently also have a dependency on nuclear power. And finding new suppliers is technically a long process.
What about electricity from coal-fired power plants?
We don’t have to worry about the next winter when it comes to electricity. We have large coal-fired power plant capacities in the Czech Republic. The situation of our industry, which is dependent on gas, is more difficult. Several industries are not in a position to switch to an alternative in the short term. The good news is that our gas storage facilities are now over 80 percent capacity.
Has the Czech Republic neglected solar and wind power too much in the past?
We are currently examining whether we can use funds from the Covid recovery fund to expand renewable energy. Our government wants to achieve a systemic change in the energy sector, and since the outbreak of the war, there has been a more pragmatic discussion of renewables. We need to catch up in the next few years.
Should the Czech energy company CEZ also be nationalized again for this purpose?
CEZ is already majority-owned by the state. We are discussing a way to break up the energy company.
… as is to happen in France with the electricity giant EDF.
Part of the new, divided company could then be nationalized. But the debate on this is still ongoing in our country and will probably continue until autumn. Personally, I have not yet formed a final opinion. I’m still waiting for reliable analyses of the consequences.
Since the annexation of Crimea, Russia has deepened its relations with China. And even after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia and the Middle Kingdom are benefiting from each other both politically and economically. What does this mean for the EU regarding its relations with China?
We must continue to factor in the coalition between Russia and China. However, this alliance does not involve equal partners at all. China is much stronger. It will lead to greater dependence on China in Russia. We in the EU with like-minded people in the West must therefore cooperate even more closely. This also applies to NATO.
How much trust does the government in Prague have in China? The Czech Republic always rolled out the red carpet for China in the past.
We need to correct the image of our country with China. The efforts of Czech President Zeman have created the impression that China is very active in the Czech Republic. But the reality looks different. Economically, the influence of Chinese companies has remained low. For us, Taiwan is economically far more important as a partner than China.
Over a year and a half ago, China and the EU signed an investment protection agreement. But very soon disillusionment set in because China is upholding sanctions against a number of EU MEPs. Are the EU and China still negotiating at eye level?
We must be very careful not to repeat the mistakes we made with Russia when dealing with China. Relations are complicated. It is unrealistic to believe that China can become a reliable partner for Europe.
What should Europe’s response to China’s “New Silk Road” look like with pro-China EU accession candidates like Serbia?
We must resolve our relationship with Serbia against this backdrop in the foreseeable future. We must ask our Serbian friends the simple question of whether they really want a European future. That is my personal opinion. If Serbia decides in favor of Europe, we must also offer something to the accession candidate. That is why I advocate establishing new intermediate stages between candidate status and full membership to encourage accession candidates. This also applies to other countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. We need a new dynamic in the enlargement process to contain Chinese influence in the region.
Will all candidate countries join the EU simultaneously?
There will have to be different paces in the accession process. For Ukraine, EU accession will certainly take longer than it did for some countries in the Western Balkans, which have been preparing for membership for many years.
The Russian attack on Ukraine did not start with bombs and missiles, it started with a cyberattack in space. The target was the KA-SAT satellite network, which US provider Viasat uses to offer high-speed Internet via satellites in Europe and the Mediterranean countries. The attack caused outages and communications disruptions among government agencies, businesses, and other users – and not just in Ukraine. Critical infrastructure in several EU member states was also affected. Utilities in Central Europe, for example, were unable to access thousands of wind turbines. US entrepreneur Elon Musk stepped in with his satellite service Starlink, bringing Ukraine back online.
According to many experts, the situation has once again proven that Europe not only needs a secure communications infrastructure, but above all, its own communications infrastructure in space. One that functions reliably, not only in times of war and crisis but also in the event of disasters like the one in the Ahr Valley. Therefore, strategic sovereignty is a central goal of the Secure Connectivity Initiative, with which the EU aims not only to advance the digitization of the economy and society but also to counter the growing geopolitical threats to cybersecurity. It complements the European space projects Galileo and Copernicus.
The Secure Connectivity Initiative was initiated by EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton in February 2022. The Council adopted its position at the end of June. The next step is the trilogue negotiations between member states and the EU Parliament. These are expected to take place this fall. The rapporteur for the EU Parliament is Christophe Grudler (Renew). The negotiations will not only deal with the question of how exactly the European satellite network should look like, but also who will build and operate it.
Brussels plans what is known in aerospace circles as a mega constellation: A communications network of hundreds, even thousands of satellites that will cover Europe and parts of Africa from low-Earth orbit. After all, the public-private partnership project is worth €6 billion. One-third of this is to be funded by the EU, one-third by member states and one-third by the private sector. After all, commercial use is also planned in parallel.
The plan is to roll out the system in stages, to provide the first services in 2024 and achieve full operational capability by 2027. “Internet from space will become tremendously important strategically and economically,” Matthias Wachter believes. He is Managing Director of the New Space initiative at the Federation of German Industries (BDI). “Space connectivity is the foundation for many future applications from the fields of autonomous driving, Industry 4.0 or the Internet of Things (IoT).”
It is right that Europe is relying on its own constellation for this, says Wachter. “The only question is what features the system will have, who will build it, and what the setup will be: Will it be a government-dominated project or will the EU contract a private consortium and act as an anchor customer?” It is probably no coincidence that it was a Frenchman, Thierry Breton, who helped get the Secure Connectivity Initiative off the ground. In Germany, the project was initially viewed much more cautiously and critically, says Wachter.
France is home not only to Eutelsat, Europe’s largest satellite operator but also to Airbus, Europe’s largest aerospace company. But while France is pushing the big players, some of them state-owned, Germany should work hard to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – especially innovative start-ups – are also involved in the project, demands Wachter of the BDI.
Last year, various new-space companies and the BDI sent a joint letter to Breton. In order to strengthen the European new space industry (the integration of commercial space and the traditional economy) and to ensure an innovative and competitive industrial foundation in Europe, the EU should take the entire ecosystem into account. This ranges from Large System Integrators (LSI) to SMEs, suppliers, service providers and emerging start-ups.
“European start-ups in the new-space environment are developing breakthrough business models and highly innovative technologies such as communications via lasers, deorbiting drag sails for a clean space environment, micro-propulsion systems, or even state-of-the-art microsatellite buses.” They are all clearly focused on commercial customer needs, the letter continues.
German Minister of Economic Affairs, Robert Habeck (Greens), also wrote to Breton, along with Italy’s Minister for Technological Innovation Vittorio Colao. Both criticized a lack of information and expressed concerns about the progress of the project:
Nevertheless, both ministers expressed confidence that a solution was within reach.
In its proposal, the Commission previously emphasized that SMEs and start-ups should also be involved in the initiative. The share is to be 30 percent – but will they only be suppliers or also designers? In order to also collect ideas from SMEs and start-ups, the Commission subsequently commissioned two more feasibility studies. “They have provided the Commission with interesting and innovative architectural and service models,” said a spokeswoman for the EU Commission. The results would now be reviewed.
One of the two consortia was led by Reflex Aerospace, a young satellite builder from Berlin and Munich. The company is still in the development phase. However, the goal is to implement the projects significantly faster than the established manufacturers – instead of three to four years for the development of the first small series satellite, Reflex Aerospace estimates nine months and correspondingly lower costs.
The background is Reflex’s new production approach, which also uses algorithms and artificial intelligence. “We are also shortening iteration cycles,” says founder and CEO Walter Ballheimer. “Because we think space technology needs to move closer to the consumer market.” Build faster, innovate faster – this is how Reflex Aerospace wants to keep up with technical innovation cycles in the development of new cameras, for example.
Picking up the pace, lowering costs – that actually sounds attractive, yet Reflex Aerospace sees only limited chances when it comes to implementing the EU’s Secure Connectivity Initiative. “We see a lack of willingness to take risks in Europe. The US, on the other hand, is using government contracts to support new industry and motivate newcomers to enter the field,” says the Reflex CEO. It is only through such contracts with the industry that a company like SpaceX has even become possible on this scale. This is different from Europe, where, for example, the prerequisite for participating in the bidding process is often years of experience with a system, something that automatically excludes newcomers. ” That is a problem,” Ballheimer says. Commercial customers, on the other hand, are more willing to take risks. “They see the time and cost advantage.”
So Reflex and its consortium partners had a feeling from the very beginning that the two feasibility studies by SMEs and startups were merely tokenistic. “But we tried to make the best of it and also to show publicly that we could come up with a reasonable concept,” Ballheimer says. “A concept that definitely needs to be considered.”
Unlike newcomer Reflex Aerospace, Bremen-based OHB is an established player on the market. “We could realize the entire system in space,” says OHB Management Board member Sabine von der Recke. Above all, OHB can deliver a feature that the Commission also values and for which there are only a few European suppliers: Quantum key distribution. Here, quantum mechanical effects are used as part of the cryptographic process to achieve a particularly high level of security.
“We have invested a lot in the service and are technically very advanced in Germany,” says von der Recke. “If we want to build a future-proof, resilient communications network in Europe, we need quantum key distribution.” Europe is late in developing a sovereign communications network in space, but not too late. The task now, she says, is to secure European assets in space “because the frequencies for data transmission are finite.”
Patrick Plötz owns his own electric car as of this year. “We needed a new car and I said I didn’t want anything with an exhaust in 2022,” says the 41-year-old. The purchasing decision, the first weeks with the new car, the planning for the first vacation trips were exciting experiences for the family man. Because now he personally experienced what he has been researching in his job for years.
“We opted for a small battery because we take breaks with our kids every two to three hours anyway.” In the first few weeks, he still had the impulse to charge the car every day at the power socket at home. “But then I also became emotionally aware that that’s not necessary at all, because of course, I don’t drive 300 kilometers every day.”
That the purchase of an electric car goes hand in hand with a change of habits is something Patrick Plötz has long known – from user surveys that he has implemented himself. Plötz, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, heads the Business Unit Energy Economy at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) in Karlsruhe. Here, he and his team implement empirical studies, not only on EVs, but also on electric trucks and fuel cell vehicles. He takes a look at a wide variety of technologies – as unbiased as possible.
“We don’t sell electric cars, plug-in hybrids, fuel cells or batteries,” the researcher emphasizes. However, he says it is important to him that tax funds are used efficiently. “It’s always easy to call for subsidies. But there are also opportunities in regulatory law to bring things to market quickly.”
Patrick Plötz is also monitoring political measures to reduce carbon emissions – and he is calling for an ambitious approach, especially from the European Commission, which is setting the framework conditions. He recently examined, for example, how much CO2 European transport can still emit to meet the 1.5-degree target. The result: 2035 is actually already too late for a ban on internal combustion vehicles; it should actually come even sooner. Plötz also advocates that alternative drives achieve a high market penetration – and that people ride their bicycles or take the train more.
Patrick Plötz made a very conscious decision to take up a scientific position with social relevance after completing his studies and doctorate in physics. “I have always been very interested in the big questions about the universe and atoms, and I find quantum physics incredibly fascinating. But I kept asking myself during my dissertation: Wouldn’t it be great if many of these smart physicists also contributed something to the pressing problems of our time?”
On the side, Patrick Plötz also studied philosophy and the history of science out of interest. To this day, he likes to pick up a philosophical book in his free time and to visit ancient cities during his vacations. While he rides his bicycle to work and likes to take the night train for business trips, the researcher also sometimes uses airplanes or cars in his private life. “In the past, my wife and I often took the plane to southern Italy. Now we like to stay within electric car range on vacation.” After all, with two small children, no one wants to sit in the car longer than necessary anyway. Janna Degener-Storr
