ATMOS secures 13.1 million euros in EIC funding

ATMOS Space Cargo has received €13.1 million in funding from the EIC Accelerator to further develop its PHOENIX 2 capsule. The first test flight of PHOENIX 1 is planned for April 2025 with SpaceX

Lichtenau, February 2025 - German space startup ATMOS Space Cargo receives €13.1 million in funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator. This capital will be used to accelerate the development of the PHOENIX 2 return capsule, which is set to play a key role in European space logistics in the future.

This funding marks an important step for ATMOS and confirms the confidence in our technology. With PHOENIX 2, we are taking reusable space transportation solutions to the next level.

Marta Oliveira, Co-Founder & COO of ATMOS

Funding for Europe's space independence

The €13.1 million funding is made up of three components:

• €2.5 million in non-repayable EIC funding
• €5.3 million equity financing through the EIC Fund
• €5.3 million private equity

The funding underlines the strategic importance of reusable space transportation solutions and Europe's ambition to establish its own return technologies for space cargo.

PHOENIX 2: Return technology for new space applications

The PHOENIX return capsule is an innovative solution for safely returning payloads from space to Earth. The first test flight of PHOENIX 1 is planned for April 2025 with a SpaceX Bandwagon 3 mission. The next generation, PHOENIX 2, is already being developed in parallel and will offer more powerful transportation capacities for various industries - from biotechnology to in-space manufacturing and the space industry.

International expansion and first major orders

ATMOS has already secured a long-term collaboration with Space Cargo Unlimited. The contract covers seven re-entry missions until 2027 and underlines the commercial relevance of the PHOENIX program.

ATMOS is also working on an inflatable heat shield to retrieve entire rocket stages from space in the future. This project is part of the ICARUS consortium, which is funded by the European Commission.

Two PHOENIX 2 missions planned

With the new funding, ATMOS is committed to carrying out at least two PHOENIX 2 missions within a fixed timeframe. These flights will be essential to further develop the technology for commercial operation. ATMOS is thus establishing itself as a European company for reusable space transportation technologies and is helping to strengthen the European space industry.