Elche-based company PLD Space has secured €180 million in Series C funding from Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Spain’s CDTI via INNVIERTE fund, COFIDES through FOCO fund, and Nazca Capital via Nazca Aeroespacial y Defensa INNVIERTE I FCR fund.
- Established in 2011 by Raúl Torres and José María Mendizábal, PLD Space develops reusable rockets for small satellite launches. Its main vehicles are MIURA 1, a suborbital technology demonstrator, and MIURA 5, an orbital rocket designed to carry payloads to low Earth orbit with a planned up to around 32 launches per year by 2030.
- The company uses vertically integrated development, meaning it builds engines, structures, avionics, and ground systems in-house to reduce dependency on suppliers and control costs. Its launch operations include a site in Elche, Spain, and ongoing infrastructure works at the CSG launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana, preparing for international missions.
- PLD Space has raised over €350 million to date and is part of ESA’s European Launcher Challenge, a €169 million program. Its rockets rely on liquid-propellant engines and are designed for reusability, with MIURA 5 aiming to reduce launch costs and increase flight cadence for small satellites globally.
Details of the deal
- The fresh €180 million funding aims to accelerate PLD Space’s industrial scale-up, expand production and test capacities, and support the commercial launch of its MIURA 5 rocket, particularly in Japan and across Asia, while reinforcing the company’s technological and industrial leadership and enabling regular satellite launch operations globally.
“This financing reinforces our technological and industrial leadership in the launcher market, enabling us to execute the next phase of our strategic roadmap with the speed and scale required to compete globally,” explains Ezequiel Sánchez, PLD Space’s Executive President.
