The Industry meets SFB ATLAS event made it clear once again that interest in VLEO technologies is growing rapidly and creating new opportunities for innovation, technology transfer and cooperation between research, industry and politics.
At the beginning of the two-day event, on the evening of 14 January 2026, Ministerial Director Michael Kleiner (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg), Dr. Stefan Engelhard (IHK / ESA-BIC Baden-Württemberg), Matthias Hedrich (LR BW) and Prof. Stefanos Fasoulas stressed the importance of the VLEO and the resulting opportunities for the region in their welcoming speeches. After a short presentation of the CRC 1667 ATLAS, the evening was marked by a networking event with the aim of an informal exchange between experts, representatives from industry, state politics, authorities, business hubs, initiatives and research institutions.
Anyone interested in learning more about the individual sub-projects of the CRC 1667 ATLAS could chat with the doctoral students and project managers of the sub-projects present or take a look at the "ATLAS Gallery", a permanent exhibition on the ground floor of the Baden-Württemberg Space Center (RZBW).
The next day (15 January) featured a series of panel discussions on the following topics:
- Scientific Potential of VLEO
- Perspectives from Industry – The Big Players
- Perspectives from Industry – SME and New Players
- International Views on VLEO Opportunities for European Regions and Baden-Württemberg
- Perspective of DLR Agency and Funding Opportunities for Technology Transfer
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Perspectives on Networks and Politics
Thanks to the workshop nature of the event, many contributions from large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises and decision-makers on topics such as international cooperation at the subnational level, market development, opportunities for technology transfer and the role of networks and politics could be presented and introduced.
In this productive atmosphere, existing contacts were strengthened and new contacts were made. The resulting momentum may bring the repeatedly expressed desire for the first technology demonstrator missions closer to reality.
The organizing team of the event would like to take this opportunity to thank all panel participants as well as the audience for their respective contributions.
In addition, special thanks go to the cooperation partners of the CRC 1667 ATLAS, namely the ESA-BIC Baden-Württemberg (IHK Reutlingen), the Forum Luft- und Raumfahrt Baden-Württemberg (LR BW) & The Aerospace LÄND, without whom this event could not have taken place in this form!