Eutelsat: SpaceRISE Consortium Inks Agreement as Concessionaire for the European Union’s Landmark IRIS2 Constellation
16 Décembre 2024 - 3:25PM
Business Wire
- Landmark public-private partnership unlocking economies of
scale and de-risked through anchor sovereign customer
commitment
- Representing a key step in Eutelsat’s strategy to develop
and expand its low Earth orbit capacities
- Fully consistent with Eutelsat’s financial
framework
Regulatory News:
SpaceRISE, the consortium comprising Eutelsat (ISIN:
FR0010221234 - Euronext Paris / London Stock Exchange: ETL),
Hispasat, and SES, has signed the agreement that will see the
consortium design, build, and operate the IRIS² (Infrastructure for
Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite)
constellation on behalf of the European Union under a
Public-private Partnership (PPP) model in the form of Concession
with an initial duration of 12 years.
The constellation will comprise around 290 spacecraft including
264 low Earth orbit (LEO) and 18 medium Earth orbit (MEO)
satellites and is expected to be in service in 2030. The EU and
Member States will be the anchor customers of the IRIS2
constellation, which will deliver enhanced communication solutions
and high-speed broadband connectivity for consumers, governments
and businesses, reinforcing Europe’s digital sovereignty and
security.
The project is valued at some €10.6 billion, with public funding
from the European Commission, EU Member States, and the European
Space Agency representing c. 60% of the total project cost,
supplemented by private financing from the consortium members.
Eutelsat will invest in the region of €2 billion, back-end loaded
to the later stages of the project.
Eutelsat will act as Consortium System Development Prime, the
technical authority within the consortium. In this role it will
leverage its unique LEO expertise and make available its priority
spectrum rights in the Ku band to lead on the design of the LEO
segment of the constellation, as well as co-leading on the
conception of the common elements. Eutelsat will benefit, along
with the other SpaceRISE members, from the scale advantages of
shared fixed costs and R&D investments in the development of
new technologies, while revenues from the EU will flow in during
the build phase covering the up-front operating costs of the
concessionaire. Finally, it will benefit, alongside its SpaceRISE
partners, from commitments from the Commission and Member States
for IRIS2 capacity to the tune of several hundred million
Euros.
Eutelsat’s involvement in IRIS2 represents a key step in the
company’s strategy to develop and expand its low Earth orbit
capacities, and the extension of its existing OneWeb constellation
will be technologically compatible with the future IRIS2 assets.
Once operational the IRIS² constellation will offer compelling
complementarity with Eutelsat’s existing LEO business, notably
giving Eutelsat access to additional sellable LEO capacity secured
by its investment of at least 1.5 Tbps out of a total of 2 Tbps of
LEO capacity, at an attractive cost per Gbps, as well as to KaMil
capacity not consumed by EU sovereign needs. Eutelsat will also be
able to complete IRIS2 with further satellites to scale up capacity
and carry additional payloads based on demand.
The project is fully consistent with Eutelsat’s financial
framework and compatible with its required returns on investment.
Eutelsat’s financial commitment is clearly capped, while the
agreement signed today comprises protections to support the
economics of the project including notably strict milestones
providing for exit possibilities and compensation for consortium
members in the event of missed of delayed targets compromising
anticipated returns. Over the period of the concession, Eutelsat
expects to generate revenues of at least 6.5 billion euros, derived
from anchor EU customers as well as the global distribution of its
LEO capacities to commercial customers.
Commenting of the agreement, Eva Berneke, Chief Executive
Officer of Eutelsat said: “IRIS² is a landmark initiative that
embodies Europe’s commitment to digital sovereignty, resilience,
and strategic autonomy. Eutelsat is uniquely positioned to bring
unparalleled expertise to this mission, leveraging our unique LEO
expertise and spectrum priority. By combining this advanced
infrastructure with the collective strengths of the SpaceRISE
consortium, we will deliver a transformative communications
backbone that addresses Europe’s most critical connectivity needs,
reinforces its leadership in space innovation, and bridges the
digital divide for millions of citizens and businesses across the
continent.”
++ ENDS ++
About Eutelsat Group Eutelsat Group is a global leader in
satellite communications, delivering connectivity and broadcast
services worldwide. The Group was formed through the combination of
the Company and OneWeb in 2023, becoming the first fully integrated
GEO-LEO satellite operator with a fleet of 35 Geostationary
satellites and a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation of more than
600 satellites. The Group addresses the needs of customers in four
key verticals of Video, where it distributes more than 6,500
television channels, and the high-growth connectivity markets of
Mobile Connectivity, Fixed Connectivity, and Government Services.
Eutelsat Group’s unique suite of in-orbit assets enables it to
deliver integrated solutions to meet the needs of global customers.
The Company is headquartered in Paris and the Eutelsat Group
employs more than 1,500 people across more than 50 countries. The
Group is committed to delivering safe, resilient, and
environmentally sustainable connectivity to help bridge the digital
divide. The Company is listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange
(ticker: ETL) and the London Stock Exchange (ticker: ETL).
Find out more at www.eutelsat.com
DISCLAIMER
The forward-looking statements included herein are for
illustrative purposes only and are based on management’s views and
assumptions as of the date of this document. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks. For illustrative
purposes only, such risks include but are not limited to: risks
related to the health crisis; operational risks related to
satellite failures or impaired satellite performance, or failure to
roll out the deployment plan as planned and within the expected
timeframe; risks related to the trend in the satellite
telecommunications market resulting from increased competition or
technological changes affecting the market; risks related to the
international dimension of the Group's customers and activities;
risks related to the adoption of international rules on frequency
coordination and financial risks related, inter alia, to the
financial guarantee granted to the Intergovernmental Organization's
closed pension fund, and foreign exchange risk. Eutelsat
Communications expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
update or revise any projections, forecasts or estimates contained
in this document to reflect any change in events, conditions,
assumptions, or circumstances on which any such statements are
based, unless so required by applicable law. The information
contained in this document is not based on historical fact and
should not be construed as a guarantee that the facts or data
mentioned will occur. This information is based on data,
assumptions and estimates that the Group considers as
reasonable.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241216507993/en/
Media enquiries Joanna Darlington Tel. +33 674 521 531
jdarlington@eutelsat.com Anita Baltagi Tel. +33 643 930 178
abaltagi@eutelsat.com Katie Dowd Tel. +1 202 271 2209
kdowd@oneweb.net
Investors Joanna Darlington Tel. +33 674 521 531
jdarlington@eutelsat.com Hugo Laurens-Berge Tel. +33 670 80 95 58
hlaurensberge@eutelsat.com
E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Nov 2024 à Déc 2024
E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Déc 2023 à Déc 2024