Bridging the tough middle: Key takeaways from the Deep-Tech x Space Summit

ESA chose ESDI at Park Innovaare for its first dedicated Deep-Tech × Space Summit on 13 May 2026. Deep Tech Nation Switzerland CEO Joanne Sieber joined ESA, PSI, Porsche Engineering, SWISSto12, Beyond Gravity, DECTRIS, ANAXAM, Verve Ventures, and Speculative Technologies on stage. One thesis emerged across both panels: space industrialisation now depends on deep tech, and Switzerland is positioned to deliver the industrial layer Europe needs.

The “Tough Middle” Where Deep Tech Meets Space

Christoph Roggendorf, who leads the energy systems and aerospace business unit at Porsche Engineering, argued that space could borrow from automotive thinking on platforms, reuse, and modularisation. Variations, he noted, are the enemy of industrial scale. Alexandra Isele of Beyond Gravity confirmed the timing: space requests for faster turnaround keep rising, while supply chain lead times keep stretching, and volumes are now genuinely high.

Benjamin Reinhardt of Speculative Technologies framed the deeper shift: paradigm changes move the centre of gravity, and the industrialisation of space is one of them. The next layer of advantage is not automation alone, but the design of entirely new industrial processes.

Supply Chain Sovereignty Becomes a European Priority

The second panel made explicit what had been an undercurrent throughout the day: the geopolitical assumption that European space could rely on a fully open global market is finished. Pilz was direct on this point:

“Supply chain bottlenecks are on the radar. We need to fill the gaps and look at the supply chain of the future to secure the technology we need. We cannot assume we are in a worldwide open market. That is what we thought ten years ago.”

Dietmar Pilz, Director of Technology Engineering and Quality, ESA

Peter Guggenbach of SWISSto12 reframed the same picture as an industrial opportunity. When asked where the bottlenecks were, he answered that they were everywhere along the value chain, partly because incumbent suppliers had not delivered what the rapidly evolving New Space market actually needed. That gap, he argued, is the opening for deep tech players who can engineer, manufacture, and qualify space-grade systems on the timelines primes now demand. Simon Wardley added the strategic backdrop: China is treating supply chain mapping as a national priority, while most European actors are not yet doing the same.

Pilz closed with a forward signal: the next five years of space supply chain evolution will be heavily influenced by defence-driven serialisation and industrialisation. The companies and ecosystems already engineering for those constraints will be the ones primes call first.

Switzerland’s Deep Tech Stack Maps to ESA’s Bottlenecks

The lineup on stage was not coincidental. Most of the Swiss deep tech specialists in the room operate in exactly the segments ESA identified as fragile or strategic.

PSI anchors the research base, with ESDI at Park Innovaare now operational as the Swiss bridgehead for deep tech and space. Around that node sit SWISSto12 in additively manufactured satellite communications hardware, Beyond Gravity in space structures and mechanisms, DECTRIS in X-ray and electron detectors, ANAXAM in industrial materials characterisation, Menhir Photonics in ultra-low-noise lasers, and RhySearch in precision coatings and optical manufacturing. Swissmem represents roughly 1,500 industrial manufacturers, several of which have already qualified for space programmes.

The pattern that emerged across both panels was consistent: Switzerland is not lacking talent, research, or industrial capability. What needs strengthening is orchestration, meaning the speed and visibility with which Swiss capability gets matched to international demand. That framing is consistent with Swiss Deep Tech Report data showing that 60% of Swiss VC funding now flows to deep tech, the highest share globally, and that 85% of that capital comes from international investors. The pieces are in place. The bottleneck is the connective tissue.

“Switzerland is a global leader in turning capital into world-class research, with 60% of our VC funding flowing into deep tech. But breakthroughs alone do not win the global space race. The challenge now is scaling that capital to match our industrial capability. To bridge the ‘tough middle’ between laboratory maturity and space-ready manufacturing, we need to orchestrate our ecosystem so that international growth capital can effectively scale Swiss technology. “

Joanne Sieber, CEO, Deep Tech Nation Switzerland

What Space Can Learn from Automotive

Roggendorf’s structural message was clear: space should adopt platform thinking, treat reuse as a default, and stop indulging the cost of bespoke variation. Raoul Keller of Swissmem added the counterweight, noting that for industrial manufacturers space remains a tight-knit and hard-to-enter community. Qualifying for space, he said, takes two to three times the effort of a comparable commercial project. Working for space is itself a quality signal that elevates a company’s profile across other sectors; the obstacle is making the entry path legible to outsiders. The implication for European policy and ecosystem builders is direct: lower the friction of first qualification, and the broader industrial base will follow.

From Capability to Orchestration

The benchmark for Europe came from Heriberto Saldivar, ESA Head of Strategy in the form of a memorable image: the goal is to make “Parmesan cheese at scale,” meaning internationally recognised, high-quality goods with real commercial impact. Applied to deep tech and space, the standard is exacting. Technology must be provably reliable, manufacturable at the volumes New Space now demands, and visible enough internationally that primes call Switzerland first.

Deep Tech Nation Switzerland sees its role precisely in that orchestration layer. The Swiss deep tech base already maps to the segments ESA flagged as strategic. Connecting that capability to ESA, European primes, and international space supply chains is now the work. With defence-driven industrialisation set to shape the next five years of space programs, the case for moving fast on that orchestration is sharpening, not softening. You can learn more about Aerial and Space in Switzerland in our dedicated focus sector page.