Challenges and Incentives in Developing Sustainable Commercial Space Projects: The Strategic Role of PPPs

Commercial space projects are crucial in addressing pressing environmental and societal challenges through advanced technologies and business models. For example, new space companies leveraging satellite-based applications massively contribute to sustainable agriculture, renewable energy production, environmental monitoring, and climate resilience. Recognizing the strategic importance of new space companies, space agencies actively promote Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to develop innovative space projects that drive sustainability and long-term socio-economic benefits. Yet, despite the emergence of these initiatives, the novelty of the phenomenon has left key practices, drivers, and barriers that businesses and agencies encounter in developing these projects largely uncharted. To this end, our paper answers: "How could space agencies and private companies collaborate to develop commercial projects to foster sustainable development?" The empirical context of this research is ESA Space Solutions. This initiative fosters public-private partnerships between the European Space Agency and private actors to develop commercial projects to generate economic, social, and environmental benefits. Nowadays, €250 million has been invested in more than 1200 businesses. The research draws on a multi-case study analysis of commercial space projects spanning diverse sectors, including Agriculture, Energy, Forestry, Logistics, and Wildlife. We collected data through 32 semi-structured interviews with leaders in the new space economy and project managers, complementing our findings with secondary data sources. We performed a thematic analysis to identify key challenges and drivers in developing commercial space projects under this PPP framework. We develop a taxonomy of commercial space projects for sustainability. We identify and describe 6 key challenges and 5 key incentives managers face or leverage in developing commercial space projects for sustainability. We build a framework that explains them, considering their financial, institutional, market, operational, stakeholder, sustainability, and technical dimensions. By providing empirical insights into the commercialization of space projects for sustainability, this study contributes to the broader discourse on the role of the space economy in shaping Public-Private Partnerships and initiatives to foster the development of projects creating long-term value for society and the environment. The proposed framework offers valuable guidance for policymakers, investors, and industry stakeholders in designing and implementing commercial space projects that generate tangible socio-economic and environmental benefits.