EPIC Workshop 2022

EPIC – WORKSHOP 2022

LOCATION: GERMANY, COLOGNE

The EPIC consortium is pleased to announce that the EPIC Workshop 2022 on SRC H2020 “Space Electric Propulsion” activities will be held at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne. Following the workshop, a Lecture Series with relevant presentations in the field of space electric propulsion is planned. Furthermore, there will be the opportunity for start-ups to enter into discussion with representatives from industry and institutional bodies.

EPIC Workshop 2022 Flyer.

EPIC Workshop detailed programme.

DATE

The EPIC Workshop 2022 will be held at the DLR site in Cologne-Porz, Germany, at the Casino from 04 to 08 April 2022.

WORKSHOP’S CONCLUSIONS

  1. The current events in Ucrania have let clear that Europe has to be independent in technology. As the primes used to buy Hall Effect thrusters in Fakel for GEO telecommunication spacecraft and Constellations, now is the perfect moment to support the European industry to take this place as the European and American primes will not go to Russia to buy these Electric Propulsion Systems. Hall Effect thrusters, Ion engines and HEMPT are the main candidates.
  2. Take advantage of this opportunity and speed-up the access of European products to the growing accessible commercial market, having in the short term IOD missions would be an efficient way. The timing of development of European incremental EPS in EPIC and other funded projects allows to envisage the provision of EQM/FM models under such a scheme.
  3. Interplanetary Missions will make use of Electric Propulsion as they are currently doing in Bepi Colombo and later on in Mars Sample Return, ERO.
  4. Galileo is also using electric propulsion for orbit raising in the second generation. The PPS 5000 is the main candidate.
  5. European technologies such as HEMPT from Thales Germany are baselined for constellations.
  6. Low power Hall Effect thrusters from Safran and Sitael must be supported to reach the constellation market now that Fakel is not an option for western countries.
  7. The Cubsat market will be of several thousands of satellites in the next 10 years, and electric propulsion will be baselined in hundreds of these satellites. FEEPs from Enpulsion, ion engines from Thrustme, vacuum arc thrusters from COMAT, etc. will be candidates for this market and they need to be supported. New startups will join the club.
  8. Electronics, feeding systems, tanks and thruster alignment mechanisms must be also developed.
  9. Low cost and mass production of low power electric propulsion systems must be mastered in the next years to make competitive electric populsion systems.
  10. New qualification ideas must be assessed in the future to reduce the actual cost of the electric propulsion systems.
  11. Earth Observation and Science missions will also require low power thrusters with very high control.
  12. Research centres and universities will be very important to provide new generation of scientists and engineers and be at the front of the new technologies and modelling tools.

SCOPE OF THE WORKSHOP

The activities of the EPIC consortium will be presented in person and in an online livestream to the EP community and stakeholders. All the latest developments in EP technology in Europe will be collected and evaluated. The preliminary program will be published and will include the following contents:

  • Progress and activities of the EPIC consortium.
  • Incremental Projects: Objectives, proposed approach, team, progress, and deliverables.
  • Disruptive Projects: Goals, proposed approach, team, progress, and final deliverables.
  • Roundtable and Stakeholder Interaction on Satellite Constellation, CubeSats, and Electric Propulsion (invited speakers).
  • Lecture Series featuring new developments in EP technologies, promising thrusters, and cross-cutting technologies (open to speakers).
  • New developments on EP Technologies, promising thrusters and transversal technologies (open to speakers).

Consortium speakers will present Horizon 2020 Electric Propulsion SRC activities to the EP community and stakeholders and are seeking speakers to assess the latest EP technology developments in Europe.

We look forward to welcoming you to a successful workshop.