Tenerife to Host Major EU-Funded Satellite Hub
The European Commission has awarded a substantial grant of €12,333,000 to Tenerife’s Institute of Technology and Renewable Energy (ITER), in partnership with the company CanarySat from the Arquimea Group. This funding, part of the Connecting Europe Facility, will support the creation of a state-of-the-art satellite tracking control center and a teleport, a project with a total cost exceeding €18 million.
A Boost for the Island’s Aerospace Strategy
Juan José Martínez, the Councillor for Innovation for the Tenerife Council, highlighted that this decision is a strong “endorsement of the strategy to develop the aerospace sector on the Island.” When fully operational, the project is expected to create around one hundred direct jobs. It will enable various communication and optical satellite constellations to use the new resources, generating fresh opportunities for the growth of Tenerife’s aerospace industry.
Strategic Location and Infrastructure
While the final location for the operational center is yet to be confirmed, sources indicate it will be situated in the south of the island, requiring a minimum area of one hectare (10,000 square meters). The Spanish technology company Arquimea is driving the creation of CanarySat, which includes a satellite control center to be installed at ITER and a gateway, or teleport, that will connect with Canalink, a neutral communications operator.
Definitive Backing for a Growing Sector
Island President Rosa Dávila praised the “definitive support for our commitment to the aerospace sector.” She noted that “only two other Spanish institutions received funding in this call,” which was aimed at financing optical fibre cables, 5G installations, and satellite connections across Europe—specifically, the Madrid City Council for a 5G project and Aena. This initiative adds to an ecosystem being built around the aerospace sector, which includes the upcoming tender for a satellite constellation promoted by the Tenerife Council using technologies from the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute.
A Hub for Global Satellite Connectivity
The approved project focuses on developing and operating a teleport, a Satellite Operations Centre (SOC), and a Network Operations Centre (NOC) on the island. This infrastructure is designed to provide global satellite connectivity services to and from the Canary Islands. It will also strengthen Europe’s overall capacity to access a wide range of satellite telecommunications constellations, facilitating traffic exchange with existing submarine cable networks.
Tenerife’s Optimal Position for Satellite Operations
A teleport is a ground station with large parabolic antennas that acts as a connection point between satellites and terrestrial communication networks. It will provide ground segment services to various satellite telecom operators. Tenerife offers a prime location for this purpose, positioned to serve as a key data link for a wide variety of communications and Earth observation satellites operating over Europe and West Africa.
This strategic position significantly reduces latency in telecommunications and shortens access times for Earth observation imagery, thereby enhancing the availability and operational value of satellite data. The teleport will also benefit from connections to existing infrastructure, including submarine cable systems linking Europe and Africa, as well as advanced computing resources like the HPC system installed at ITER.
Beyond Antennas: Advanced Data Services
As a result, the teleport’s service offerings could extend beyond basic antenna and control centre capabilities. It has the potential to include high-speed connectivity with Europe and Africa, alongside sophisticated image processing and data storage solutions. In addition to the hundred direct jobs, the island will gain a vital infrastructure of satellite communication antennas and ancillary services. These will be available not just for the CanarySat constellation but for other satellite communication networks as well.
The Ambitious CanarySat Project
CanarySat is a Canary Islands-based company that will manage and operate its own fleet of 66 telecommunications satellites. It will also provide services to other satellite operators and telecom providers globally, with a total project budget of €300 million. The system is designed to be compatible with other constellations, such as BeetleSat or IRIS²—the multi-orbit satellite telecommunications constellation the European Commission plans to deploy by 2027.
