TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has signed an agreement with the UK’s Space South Central cluster that aims to boost satellite supply chains and talent exchanges, CNA reported Friday.
The partnership was formalized during the Space-Comm Expo in London. Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute signed a memorandum with SSC on behalf of the Taiwan Tech Arena Accelerator program.
Taiwan’s representative to the UK Yao Chin-hsiang (姚金祥) said the two sides share the goal of building a resilient space supply chain. He added that the UK’s Industrial Strategy aligns with Taiwan’s “five trusted industries,” including chips and AI.
More than 20% of the UK’s space sector activity is linked to SSC, said Tobias Marchant, its international cooperation manager. The cluster spans aerospace hubs across southern England and includes more than 210 companies and institutions such as Airbus and the National Physical Laboratory.
UK Space Agency Chief Scientist Adam Amara and Surrey Space Institute Director said Taiwan’s manufacturing strength makes it a natural partner. The UK can design innovative satellites but often lacks mass-production capacity, he added.
Taiwan and the UK have expanded cooperation in recent years. Taiwan’s Formosat-7 constellation launched in 2019 used six satellite platforms from Surrey Satellite Technology, which has worked with the Taiwan Space Agency for more than a decade.
