Valencia, Spain - May 7, 2025 - ICEYE, the global leader in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite operations for Earth Observation, has today announced expanding its global footprint with the launch of a new Research & Development and Manufacturing Center in Valencia, Spain. The new center is the company’s second-largest R&D hub. It will drive innovation in ICEYE’s pipeline researching, developing, and manufacturing SAR-based and future multi-sensor technologies and solutions for persistent Earth Observation. This strategic investment highlights ICEYE’s confidence in the Valencia region’s skilled workforce and its potential to contribute to ICEYE’s global innovation and growth efforts by developing technologies and solutions made in Spain.
“As a leading innovator in SAR satellite technology, we are excited to open our cutting-edge R&D and Manufacturing Center in Valencia. With this significant investment in Spain, we are enhancing the development and manufacturing of our Earth observation technologies as we expand our global presence. Our SAR technology has proven crucial for sectors such as defense and intelligence, security, maritime monitoring, insurance, and natural catastrophe response. We continue to invest in developing and expanding our leading SAR satellite constellation, delivering satellite missions to our customers. We are also advancing our Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform and related systems for our customers in the defense sector,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE.
“ICEYE is a company that has made innovation and excellence its reason for being in a strategic sector for everyone, namely space. The Spanish government’s commitment to this sector makes Spain an attractive country for the development and growth of companies in the ‘NewSpace’ industry, in a municipality such as Paterna, in which talent and vibrant business activity thrive,” said Teresa Riesgo, Secretary General for Innovation at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
In the words of Sari Rautio, Finnish Ambassador to Spain, “both Spain and Finland are committed to the development of space technologies and dual-use solutions to promote our security and competitiveness. This new ICEYE plant in Paterna, Valencia, highlights the importance we attach to innovation and investment geared towards achieving European strategic autonomy in key technologies.”
Carlos Mazón, President of the Valencian Regional Government, said that “this ICEYE microsatellite component production and assembly centre contributes to strengthening the Valencian Community as a key hub for the aerospace industry and supports a high-tech ecosystem that creates quality jobs”.
For Mazón, the contribution of companies such as ICEYE, which has the world’s largest constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, is two-fold: “On the one hand, making it possible to respond to emergency situations, and on the other, facilitating the planning of urban development, stimulating infrastructure design and initiatives for sustainable development and environmental protection.”
With its presence in Valencia, ICEYE will directly contribute to the local community, broader Spanish economy, and national defense and space industry sectors by creating highly skilled jobs and infusing advanced technological expertise. ICEYE also aims to engage with local academic institutions, such as the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). Additionally, by developing and building proven technological sovereign solutions in Spain and thanks to its flexible and quick access to space, ICEYE will work with the Government of Spain to help strengthen its national security and defense intelligence interests.
“Valencia was selected for our R&D and Manufacturing Center due to its highly skilled talent pool, the area’s nascent and highly promising New Space ecosystem and infrastructure for innovation and technology, and the operational efficiency of the area. We anticipate expanding our Valencia team to over 100 employees within the next three years. We are actively seeking to grow our global team of engineers, scientists, and innovators with skilled professionals in Valencia to contribute to cutting-edge space technology and make a tangible impact on global security and resilience,” said Gonzalo Garcia-Munoz, CEO of ICEYE Spain and Global SVP of Operations at ICEYE.
In the photo: from left to right: Secretary General for Innovation at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Teresa Riesgo; Finnish Ambassador to Spain, Sari Rautio; Regional Minister of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, María Ángela Cano; President of the Valencian Regional Government, Carlos Mazón; CEO & co-founder of ICEYE, Rafal Modrzewski; Director of the Spanish Space Agency, Juan Carlos Cano; Regional Secretary of Industry, Trade and Consumer Affairs, Felipe Carrasco; and Gonzalo García-Muñoz, CEO of ICEYE Spain and Global SVP of Operations at ICEYE.