AGENCIA ESPACIAL PORTUGUESA - PORTUGAL SPACE

Their core work

Portugal Space is the Portuguese national space agency, responsible for coordinating Portugal's space policy, supporting the national space community, and facilitating access to EU space programmes. Within H2020, they served as a National Contact Point for Space, helping Portuguese researchers and companies navigate funding opportunities and build partnerships. They also contributed to EU-level efforts on governmental satellite communications (GovSatCom) and the intersection of climate science with space technology, particularly during Portugal's Presidency of the EU Council in 2021.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Portugal Space entered H2020 through support and coordination activities — acting as a National Contact Point helping others access Space funding (COSMOS2020plus, 2019). Their focus then shifted toward more substantive policy and technology topics: governmental satellite communications security (ENTRUSTED, 2020) and climate-space connections tied to the Green Deal (CSS4GIE, 2021). The trajectory shows a move from pure facilitation toward strategic space policy engagement at the EU level.

Moving from behind-the-scenes facilitation toward active participation in EU space security and climate policy discussions — expect growing engagement in Green Deal and dual-use space applications.

How they like to work

Portugal Space operates exclusively as a participant or third party — they have not coordinated any H2020 projects. Despite only three projects, they have worked with 42 unique partners across 29 countries, indicating they join broad, pan-European consortia rather than leading small focused teams. This is typical for a national agency that contributes policy expertise and national-level coordination rather than technical research.

Despite limited project participation, Portugal Space has touched 42 partners in 29 countries — a remarkably wide network for three projects, reflecting the large Coordination and Support Action consortia they join. Their reach is truly pan-European with no strong geographic clustering.

What sets them apart

As Portugal's national space agency, they offer something no other Portuguese organization can: direct access to national space policy, the Portuguese space community, and government-level engagement on EU space programmes. For consortium builders, partnering with Portugal Space means a credible national-level entry point into Portugal's space ecosystem and an organization with direct links to EU Council-level discussions. Their involvement in GovSatCom also signals trusted access to governmental user requirements in the space-security domain.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ENTRUSTED
  Largest funded project (EUR 52,875) addressing the strategically important GovSatCom programme — secure satellite communications for government users across Europe.
• CSS4GIE
  Organized during Portugal's EU Council Presidency, linking climate science and space to the Green Deal — a high-visibility policy event with potential long-term agenda-setting impact.