EIB provides PLD Space with a €30 million loan to complete the construction of its MIURA 5 rocket.

      The venture debt facility, backed by InvestEU and finalized on April 7, has brought PLD Space’s total fundraising for 2026 to €210 million, following the €180 million raised in March during its Series C round. MIURA 5 is preparing for its first test flight later this year from the Guiana Space Centre.

      The European Investment Bank has entered into a €30 million venture debt loan agreement with PLD Space to assist in the final development phase of MIURA 5, a two-stage rocket designed by the Spanish company to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit.

      This operation, signed on April 7 in Elche, Spain, and backed by InvestEU, represents the EIB's initial direct investment in a small satellite launcher. It increases PLD Space’s total fundraising efforts in 2026 to €210 million, following their €180 million Series C completion on March 4, led by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.

      MIURA 5 is a two-stage rocket designed to carry payloads of approximately 1,040 kilograms to low Earth orbit, positioning itself to focus solely on dedicated small satellite launches. This eliminates the scheduling complexities and mission risks involved when payloads are secondary on medium- or heavy-lift vehicles. The first stage of the rocket is designed for reusability, with plans for it to recover in the ocean after separation. PLD Space has stated that the rocket is on schedule for its first test flight in 2026 from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana and aims for a commercial launch rate of over 30 missions annually by 2030, operating from various spaceports.

      The EIB funding will assist in finalizing MIURA 5’s development program and expanding PLD Space’s industrial and launch infrastructure as they move towards commercial operations. EIB Vice President Robert de Groot remarked that the bank supports PLD Space in achieving globally competitive pricing in a sector where European autonomous access to space is increasingly recognized as a strategic priority.

      EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius emphasized the necessity of independent launch capabilities as critical for security, the economy, and the future, positioning the investment within a broader EU goal of fostering a competitive European launch industry.

      Founded in Elche in 2011 by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú, PLD Space is the first private rocket company in Spain. The company successfully launched the MIURA 1 suborbital technology demonstrator on October 7, 2023, and has since grown significantly.

      Currently, PLD Space has more than 450 employees and operates over 188,000 square meters of facilities in Elche, Teruel, Kourou in French Guiana, and Duqm in Oman. With the EIB agreement, PLD Space has raised over €380 million to date, not including the €169 million in launch service contracts from the Spanish government through ESA’s European Launcher Challenge, for which PLD Space was selected in 2025.

      The March Series C was led by Mitsubishi Electric, which contributed €50 million and simultaneously became a strategic launch customer, contracting PLD Space for small satellite launch services targeting Japan and the wider Asian market. Co-investors in this round included the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through CDTI and its INNVIERTE fund, the public funds management company COFIDES, and Nazca Capital via its Nazca Aeroespacial y Defensa INNVIERTE I FCR fund. Ezequiel Sánchez, Executive President of PLD Space, referred to the EIB agreement as a “decisive milestone” that enhances the company’s capacity to develop the necessary infrastructure for reliable access to space for its global commercial and institutional client base.