German SpaceTech HyImpulse secures over €50 million to accelerate Europe’s sovereign launch capabilities
HyImpulse Technologies, a Neuenstadt am Kocher-based manufacturer and system provider of commercial rockets for suborbital and orbital launch services, today announced a Series A Extension round of more than €50 million in equity.
The round was co-led by JOIN Capital and Ace Capital Partners, with participation from new investors, including North Ventures, BW-Capital, Bayern Kapital and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), alongside continued support from existing shareholders, including Campus Founders Ventures.
In October 2025, the company announced it had raised €15 million in equity capital as part of its Series A funding round and secured an additional €30 million in financing. The extension round brings the company’s total equity and public funding to more than €125 million.
Dr. Christian Schmierer, co-founder and CEO of HyImpulse, said, “This financing reflects our investors’ confidence in our team, technology and commercial vision. Europe needs sovereign, responsive and economically sustainable launch capabilities. Our proprietary hybrid propulsion technology and suborbital and orbital services position us to meet growing demand across commercial, institutional and defence markets.”
HyImpulse was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) by Dr. Schmierer, Dr. Mario Kobald, Konstantin Tomilin, and Ulrich Fischer. Headquartered in southern Germany, HyImpulse is a launch services company that develops and provides suborbital and orbital launch capabilities based on a proprietary propulsion technology.
The company’s mission is to open access to space by delivering affordable, reliable launch and in-space services. Its proprietary hybrid propulsion technology combines non-explosive paraffin fuel with liquid oxygen and claims to offer a safe, cost-efficient and scalable alternative to conventional kerosene-based systems.
The German firm also notes that its lower system complexity and reduced component count enable safer, more responsive launch operations and competitive launch economics.
HyImpulse already operates a commercial suborbital platform, the suborbital launcher SR75. Following its inaugural flight campaign at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia in 2024, the company is preparing its next SR75 launch from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland.
HyImpulse’s SR75 and its broader suborbital roadmap targets offer launch capabilities of up to Mach 15 and ranges of up to 10,000 kilometres. According to the company, this addresses growing demand from government agencies, research organisations and defence customers for hypersonic testing, threat simulation, and suborbital flight services.
The company reports that it is capitalising on growing demand for independent launch capabilities, with an order book exceeding €350 million across its suborbital and orbital programmes.
“Europe doesn’t just need more rockets; it needs launch economics that actually work. HyImpulse has built a fundamentally leaner rocket architecture: roughly half the parts, a path to half the cost per kilogram and far less capital required to get to orbit. They have already proven the technology in flight. That’s why we co-led this round, and why the upcoming SR75 launch matters,” said JOIN Capital Founding Partner Jan Borgstädt.
The company plans to use this funding to accelerate development and commercialisation of HyImpulse’s launch services portfolio, including the second SR75 launch from SaxaVord Spaceport by the end of 2026 and the maiden flight of its launch vehicle SL1.
It also intends to expand production capabilities and scale commercial operations across Europe and beyond. It will also strengthen the company’s position in key growth markets, including dedicated and responsive satellite launch services, in-space mobility, and suborbital research and defence applications. It has over 100 employees at locations in Neuenstadt, Ottobrunn and Glasgow.
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