tenerife space horizon strategy vote

Tenerife pushes to become Atlantic space tech hub

From stargazing to space tech

Tenerife wants to be more than just an exceptional place to observe the universe. The island is aiming to become a territory capable of developing space technology, controlling satellites, processing data, and attracting companies linked to the new space economy. With this goal in mind, a motion tabled by the Coalición Canaria and Partido Popular groups will be approved in the plenary session of the island’s corporation this Friday, 31 July. The motion calls for the involvement of the Spanish government, the regional executive and the European Space Agency (ESA) in the ‘Tenerife Space Horizon’ strategy.

The initiative, signed by spokesmen José Miguel Ruano (CC) and Lope Afonso (PP), aims to have the national and Canary Islands administrations urge the European agency to play an active part in the technological projects being developed on the island. The proposal expressly requests support for the expansion of the Canary Islands Constellation and the Tenerife Teleport, as well as the integration of the island’s scientific and technological centres into European space innovation programmes such as ESA BIC, Horizon Europe, and CEF Digital. It also calls for the creation of public-private co-financing schemes to guarantee the continuity of projects and to transform scientific investments into business activity, technology transfer, and skilled employment.

The CC and PP proposal is based on the fact that Tenerife is not starting from scratch. The island already has research centres, telecommunications infrastructure, computing capacity, and projects linked to earth observation, astrophysics, satellite communications, and data processing. This ecosystem is organised around Tenerife Space Horizon, the strategy that integrates the capabilities of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ITER), the Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Tenerife (PCTT), and the IACTEC environment.

Satellites, teleports and new space projects

Among its key elements are the Canary Islands Constellation – a group of satellites that will be built on the island and provide valuable data for multiple surveillance and control functions – the future island teleport, and projects such as Celeste. Celeste is being developed by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias to advance optical technologies, scientific instrumentation, and applications related to the so-called new space sector.

The aim is for Tenerife to be able to intervene at various stages of the space value chain, from research and component development to satellite operations, signal reception, information processing, and the creation of services for companies and institutions. The Canary Islands’ geographical position, between Europe, Africa, and America, is presented as one of the project’s competitive advantages. This is combined with the island’s international connectivity, the technological infrastructure of ITER, the knowledge accumulated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, and the possibility of creating specialised spaces for new businesses.

€850,000 boost for science park

The motion comes just days after the Cabildo’s Governing Council approved an additional investment of €850,000 to expand and modernise the spaces managed by the Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Tenerife. According to the island corporation, the contribution is a response to the high occupancy rate of its facilities and the growing interest from innovative companies in developing their projects from Tenerife.

The new credit will be used for renovation works, facility improvements, the acquisition of technological equipment, digitalisation, the incorporation of management tools, and the creation of new spaces for scientific and business activities. Among the facilities that will benefit are the Cuevas Blancas building, the new spaces of the technology park, Barranco Grande, Nanotec, Innovaparq ULL, and IACTEC, in addition to the PCTT’s own digitalisation plan. With this increase, the specific capital contribution that began in 2025 rises from €567,000 to €1.4 million. The budget modification also raises the credit available for the project during 2026 from €681,000 to €1,531,000.

Clean rooms and tech infrastructure

This financing is independent of the multi-year investment of €1.3 million earmarked for the construction of the Cuevas Blancas Clean Room, a facility specially prepared for scientific and technological activities that require controlled environments and very low levels of contamination. The new contribution will therefore enable complementary actions to be developed and increase the capacity to host technology-based companies.

The president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, maintains that the almost total occupancy of the park’s spaces shows that more and more companies want to develop their projects from the island. “Our responsibility is to continue growing, generating new opportunities, and offering first-class infrastructure that will attract talent, investment, and highly skilled employment,” she says. Dávila argues that innovation must help to diversify the island’s economy and offer professional opportunities to young people in sectors related to science, technology, and digitalisation.

Building a tech hub in the Atlantic

The expansion of the scientific hubs adds a concrete element to the space strategy advocated in the motion. Tenerife needs state and European backing to tackle larger-scale projects, but also spaces in which companies that develop products and services based on that infrastructure can set up. The challenge is not solely about building antennas, control centres, or scientific facilities. The strategy aims to transfer the knowledge generated at the IAC, ITER, IACTEC, the University of La Laguna, and the PCTT to the local productive fabric.

Participation in ESA programmes could facilitate this process through access to financing, technical advice, business networks, and incubation mechanisms for start-ups. The ESA BIC incubators, mentioned in the motion, are specifically designed to support companies that use space technologies or develop commercial applications from data, communications, and systems originating in the sector. Access to Horizon Europe and CEF Digital would also make it possible to attract resources for research, connectivity, digitalisation, and the development of strategic infrastructure.

The Cabildo’s ambition is to consolidate Tenerife as a technological node in the Atlantic, capable of connecting European projects with Africa and America. To achieve this, the island will have to combine its geographical advantages with a sufficient supply of infrastructure, financing, specialised training, and business spaces. The additional investment in the Parque Científico y Tecnológico responds to one of those needs. The motion to be debated on Friday aims to cover another: bringing together the Spanish and Canary Islands administrations and European institutions in a strategy that needs alliances to gain scale.

The approach is that Tenerife should not simply host prestigious scientific centres, but be able to convert that knowledge into companies, technological services, and highly skilled jobs. The plenary session of the Cabildo will now have to decide on an initiative that seeks to strengthen the island’s position in a growing sector. Tenerife already has researchers, projects, and infrastructure under development. The next step is to secure the partners and financing needed to transform them into a genuine technological and space hub in the Atlantic.

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