On November 19, the delegation of the Piedmont aerospace cluster, an association of companies operating in the aeronautical and space sectors, including excellence in the aircraft, propulsion, and space exploration, met in Stockholm Business Sweden, the agency for the internationalization of the Swedish industrial system. The objectives of this meeting promoted by the Embassy and attended by the President of the district Fulvia Quagliotti and representatives of over 80 companies associated, were the strengthening of the Italian aerospace supply chain through networking activities with a fundamental institution for investing in Sweden and expanding into the Nordic market.
“The mission of the Piedmont Aerospace District in Sweden, organized by the Italian Embassy in Stockholm, is very important to establish new contacts between Italian and Swedish companies” – said Fulvia Quagliotti, the President of the District. – “We are present here in Sweden with four associated companies: Altec (whose activity in space mission management is recognized at an international level) and three SMEs (Bisiach&Carrù, Riven and Vanzetti Engineering), which – thanks to Business Sweden -have had the opportunity to get to know the Swedish companies active in the sector. The visit to the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna was also a unique opportunity, offering the chance to see the recent developments of the Swedish spaceport, the future launch pad for satellite launches, in collaboration with launch partners Firefly’s and their minilauncher Alpha, as well as Perigee and their microlauncher BlueWhale-1.
The visit of the delegation accompanied by Ambassador Pala and Scientific Attaché Marcelli, continued in Kiruna to the Esrange space base to identify opportunities for new collaboration and agreements useful for sharing the future scientific and technological challenges of the space economy.
During the visit to Kiruna, a meeting was also organized with the director of the Institute of Radiation Physics (IRF) Olle Norberg. The IRF is a research institute in space physics, space technology and atmospheric physics with more than 60 years of experience. The visit allowed to underline the importance of bilateral cooperation, and above all it intends to support any new bilateral scientific initiative. The IRF together with the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and the University of Milan have recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding of the Solaris project. This scientific collaboration will work on the development of a solar observation system in the Swedish Arctic regions to study cutting-edge aspects of solar physics and for space weather applications.
Ambassador Pala expressed particular satisfaction for the realization of this visit, which will bring real benefits in priority areas for the activities of his Office and that can truly characterize the quality of Italian-Swedish relations.
Italy has been collaborating with Sweden for more than ten years in space researches, a scientific, technological and economic sector that can offer great opportunities to academy and industry. The visit ended on November 21 at Esrange Space Center in the Swedish Arctic, operational since 1966 and owned by Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) since 1972.
