News item | 10-10-2025 | 13:30
Space technology and satellite data are increasingly indispensable for security, defense, logistics, infrastructure, science, agriculture and sustainability. The sector provides more than 10,000 jobs in the Netherlands, reduces dependencies and is the source of innovations in technologies. That is why the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of Minister Karremans of Economic Affairs, has decided to invest more than €340 million in European space programs over the next 3 years. This way, Dutch companies and knowledge institutions can also continue to innovate and grow.
This is stated in a letter to Parliament about the intended use of Dutch public space investments in programs of the European Space Agency (ESA). It Netherlands Space Office (NSO) has given advice to the cabinet on what to use the 2025-2028 budget. Including national programs, for example for laser satellite communications and Earth observation satellites, the government’s policy for space travel amounts to more than 550 million euros until 2028.
Minister Karremans: “Space technology has a proven contribution to our economy, innovation, safety and infrastructure. Investing in it fits within our National Technology Strategy and the Long-term Space Agenda. At the same time, the possibilities for financing are limited, which means that we cannot make additional incidental investments in European programs this time. Because the sector is important, we have still managed to maintain the basic contribution at the same level. keep.”
Investments through European Space Agency programmes
The Dutch commitment for the upcoming ESA Ministerial Conference (MC25) on November 26 and 27, 2025 in Bremen, Germany amounts to a total of 344.3 million euros (2026-2028). The 23 member states of the ESA agree every 3 years how much they will jointly invest in space travel. In the period 2020-2022, the Netherlands contributed 283.5 million euros to ESA programs. In 2023-2025 this was 319.8 million euros, with an incidental increase of 53.6 million euros.
At the end of 2023, the government has also released an additional 22.2 million euros to strengthen the business climate of the NL Space Campus, where startups, researchers, students and SME suppliers work together around Noordwijk. This contribution will go towards the modernization of ESTEC, the technological headquarters of the ESA. ESTEC spends around 500 million euros annually and is therefore an investment magnet in the Netherlands for foreign space companies.