SITAEL Bets on Electric Propulsion and ‘Biodiversity Intelligence’ to Triple Revenue by 2031
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Industrializing the New Space Cycle
At SmallSat Europe in Amsterdam, SITAEL, the Italian aerospace firm under the Angel Holding umbrella, laid out an aggressive expansion strategy designed to capitalize on Europe’s shifting orbital priorities. The company is targeting a revenue surge to €200 million by 2031, a leap from its current ~€60 million mark. This trajectory is backed by a substantial €150 million backlog and a scheduled pipeline of nine launches between 2026 and 2030.
The move comes as the European Space Agency (ESA) and EU member states pivot toward “technological sovereignty,” emphasizing secure communications and independent Earth observation (EO) capabilities. For SITAEL, this isn’t a reactive pivot but a harvest of a decade of early investment. CEO Chiara Pertosa noted that the market is finally aligning with the infrastructure SITAEL spent years building, particularly in the realm of satellite platforms and propulsion.
Scaling Hardware: From Bari to Pisa
Unlike many “New Space” startups that rely on third-party integration, SITAEL is doubling down on vertical integration. The company currently operates two primary industrial hubs in Italy. In Mola di Bari, the firm maintains a high-capacity clean room capable of simultaneous construction for five satellites. Meanwhile, the Pisa facility recently expanded its capabilities with a new production line for Hall-effect electric propulsion, inaugurated in July 2025.
This focus on proprietary propulsion is a strategic hedge. By controlling the engines—specifically through their NextGen and EMPYREUM platforms—SITAEL is positioning itself for the growing demand in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) missions. The company has already collaborated with ESA on a propellantless RAM-EP thruster concept, which is critical for maintaining orbit in the dense atmosphere of VLEO without the traditional weight penalties of chemical fuel.
The HiBiDiS Mission: Beyond Simple Imaging
The centerpiece of SITAEL’s current operational roadmap is the Scout HiBiDiS mission, slated for a 2030 launch. Acting as the prime contractor, SITAEL is using the mission to validate its EMPYREUM platform for high-performance scientific applications. While many EO satellites focus on wide-area surveillance, HiBiDiS is designed for “biodiversity intelligence.”
The mission seeks to solve a persistent problem in remote sensing: the “canopy ceiling.” Most current satellites only see the top of the forest. Through a partnership with AMOS, VITO, and the University of Zurich, HiBiDiS will utilize hyperspectral instruments to peer into the forest understory, providing a more granular view of ecosystem resilience and sustainability.
“HiBiDiS is more than a new contract,” Pertosa stated, framing the mission as a transition for SITAEL from a component supplier to a full-scale European mission company capable of managing the entire lifecycle from payload integration to data impact.
Expanding the European Footprint
SITAEL’s growth isn’t limited to ESA contracts. The company is aggressively eyeing larger governmental architectures, including the IRIS² constellation and the European Resilience from Space (ERS) programs. To broaden its commercial reach, SITAEL recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Eycore, a Polish provider of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) services.
This partnership with Eycore suggests a strategic move toward multi-modal Earth observation. By combining SITAEL’s platform expertise with Eycore’s SAR capabilities—which can see through clouds and darkness—the two firms intend to offer advanced satellite services that go beyond traditional optical imaging.
With a workforce growing at roughly 10% annually and a target EBITDA increase from 12% toward 25%, SITAEL is attempting to prove that mid-sized European space firms can scale industrial capacity without losing the flexibility of a boutique engineering house.
