Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support the development of electric propulsion systems.

The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is primarily supporting electric propulsion projects via our European Space Agency (ESA) membership, which has provided a total of approximately €90m funding to support development of UK electric propulsion systems to date. This includes €63m which supported UK companies to develop electric thrusters for flagship ESA missions, €6m through Horizon2020 to enable system development and upskill UK networks, and €9m to develop an independent UK end-to-end electric propulsion system. UKSA is also exploring nuclear electric propulsion for rapid interplanetary transit and novel water-based propellants for future off-world refuelling.