- November 23, 2023
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Emilio Cozzi
In the shadow of Mount Titano, San Marino Aerospace witnessed the gathering of major players in the space industry and institutions. The republic is positioning itself to become a district with faster and less bureaucratic regulatory frameworks.
BY EMILIO COZZI
The toponymy, Mount Titano, also inspires grand thinking. San Marino, a community of 33,000 inhabitants, comparable to a handful of city blocks in a Milan neighborhood, has managed to attract some giants of the space business. This small state, nestled between the Riviera and the first hills of Romagna, aims to carve out a role in the new stellar adventures. Despite its limited critical mass, the “world’s oldest republic,” as proclaimed at the border bridge, offers autonomy and legislative agility that could be very attractive to entrepreneurs. Additionally, its enviable location, surrounded by a country already known for advanced technology and global excellence, adds to its appeal.
San Marino Aerospace was a two-day event of conferences, happenings, and exhibition spaces, laying the foundation stone for this initiative. It promises to bring the once-perceived tiny Switzerland within Italy, which emerged from a decade-long presence on the fiscal blacklist for countries that shielded foreign bank accounts, closer to the stars.
Along the corridor of the center hosting the National Olympic Committee and the Olympic pool, there are front pages from July 2021 newspapers, celebrating Alessandra Perilli’s first Olympic medal for San Marino in the Trap shooting event. In October, the State Secretaries hosted Italian government representatives (Deputy Secretary of Defense, Matteo Perego di Cremnago, and Deputy Minister of Mimit, Valentino Valentini) and emissaries from well-known entities in the international aerospace industry and institutions (such as ESA, ASI, Lockheed Martin, and Thales Alenia Space, among others). The setting was almost informal, despite the notable names involved, and was formally open to the public. Essentially, it was a B2B event for “matching”.
In this environment, there’s exploration of what could be achieved at the head of Valmarecchia, at the foothills beneath the three towers, potentially dreaming of orbiting or even reaching the Moon and Mars. But how can such a small-scale environment, especially economically, fit into a global and increasingly competitive circuit? One answer, as suggested by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Luca Beccari, is to emulate countries like Luxembourg or Argentina. He mentioned during the inaugural roundtable discussion that these countries are very active in the space sector despite their size or economic challenges.
From Italy’s perspective, this is an opportunity for “a partnership that we want to build,” as emphasized by Deputy Minister Valentini. The basis of this partnership is and will be a matter of scale. The small republic being “the ideal place to create a hub of new technologies” is a belief strongly held by Perego di Cremnago, who even drew comparisons with Silicon Valley, hoping for cooperation stimulated by the capacity for “regulatory simplification”. These are significant words, especially when spoken by a government representative from a country where bureaucracy is a chronic impediment. San Marino’s promised transformation from a fiscal haven to a regulatory paradise promises to bring new incentives and initiatives.
The focus is not solely on space. As Perego di Cremnago pointed out, “traditional weapons have a thirty-year life cycle,” but things have evolved quickly. “It’s not possible to have a product ready ten years after new requirements emerge.” This means that procedures, authorizations, tests, and qualifications must occur rapidly, starting from the regulations that govern them. And in a place where the legislative apparatus consists of 60 councilors (the Grand Council) and the government must manage current affairs and extraordinary affairs for a state with a population roughly equivalent to that of Riccione in February, everything moves more quickly.
Fabio Righi, the Secretary of State for Industry, Craftsmanship, Trade, Technological Research, and indeed, Regulatory Simplification, emphasizes this point: “In San Marino, we can produce legislative instruments, norms, and regulations in four months. This means that from the first reading, through the commission, to the second reading, an emergency decree can take weeks or even days. We want to offer the possibility of conducting development and research in a regulated context, but one that can guarantee flexibility. This includes regulatory sandboxes, tailored to pilot projects that can then become ‘indefinite’ norms. This concept should be applied to the space economy as well as in all sectors where innovation is a key element.”
However, there are no shortcuts: “Our speed depends on our size, not some lightness in steps or a misalignment of certifications compared to the international context,” Righi clarifies. “The important thing is to present ourselves with a renewed economic identity on the international stage, one that can consolidate and renew our reputation. What better opportunity than this, where the world is changing and will never return to what it was?”
The State Secretary’s idea is to support San Marino companies (there are over 5,000 operators on the territory, specifies Righi), such as “precision manufacturing, material processing, software and hardware. The pharmaceutical sector, nutraceuticals, biotechnologies. Sectors that have developed patents over the years that today have a more ‘terrestrial’ application, but could be developed in a space economy context.” To embrace these opportunities, a company like Dallara of Bologna, which had a stand in San Marino and initially shaped race cars, is now working on composite materials, superalloys, and new alloys, with 3D printers in space. Even Fattoria olivicola Petrini from the province of Ancona, which brought its olive oil into space to combat osteoporosis caused by weightlessness in astronauts, was present.
The prospects of seeing their components – whether they be bolts, super-light alloys, or hard wheat pasta – fly are legitimate even for those who, commercially speaking, started with their feet firmly on the ground. Walter Villadei also arrived in San Marino, welcomed as a hero and ready to unite the causes of Defense with …the aspirations of entrepreneurs seeking new markets and solutions to be applied on Earth. It’s not a coincidence that Emilia-Romagna excellences like Dallara, Barilla, and Technogym will soon bring their prototypes with Villadei on the Axiom-3 mission to the International Space Station. Emilia Romagna is poised to create its own “space district.” San Marino is right next door and eagerly waiting.
The Republic aims to attract established entities or startups to certify products in San Marino that will eventually fly in airplanes, space stations, or lunar bases: “The two lines of work we envisage are both inside and outside our borders. We believe there are great growth prospects for our context and a strong attraction for investments,” concludes Righi.
Right next to the event palace, where the Olympic Committee is located and where San Marino Aerospace took place, is the Serravalle stadium. Just a few days earlier, its stands had celebrated Alessandro Golinucci’s equalizing goal against Denmark. It would have been a historic result for a team that scores once or twice a year in international competitions. Yussuf Poulsen quashed the enthusiasm of the Sammarinese.
Yet, despite everything, they like to dream big. Mount Titano helps with that.