THESE - Economics of New Space and European Competitiveness -F/H

Lieu : Toulouse, France

Construisons ensemble un avenir de confiance
Thales est un leader mondial des hautes technologies spécialisé dans trois secteurs d'activité : Défense & Sécurité, Aéronautique & Spatial, et Cyber & Digital. Il développe des produits et solutions qui contribuent à un monde plus sûr, plus respectueux de l'environnement et plus inclusif. Le Groupe investit près de 4 milliards d'euros par an en Recherche & Développement, notamment dans des domaines clés de l'innovation tels que l'IA, la cybersécurité, le quantique, les technologies du cloud et la 6G. Thales compte près de collaborateurs dans 68 pays.

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• Une réussite portée par notre excellence technologique, votre expérience et notre ambition partagée
• Un package de rémunération attractif
• Un développement des compétences en continu : parcours de formation, académies et communautés internes
• Un environnement inclusif, bienveillant et respectant l'équilibre des collaborateurs
• Un engagement sociétal et environnemental reconnu

Votre quotidien
Le site de Toulouse Champollion regroupe les activités de l'ingénierie de systèmes satellites, de la conception et réalisation de charges utiles, du développement et la qualification de segments sol, il intègre un centre de recherche et un accélérateur industriel de start-up et ventures ainsi que les activités dédiées à la science des basses températures, plus précisément au développement et à la production de refroidisseurs micromécaniques pour des marchés exigeants.

The European space industry is undergoing a major transformation as it adapts to the New Space paradigm, marked by private-sector innovation, rapid technological progress, and new business models emerging under intense global competition. Despite growing policy and industrial attention to sustainability in space, ranging from the European Space Agency's Clean Space Initiative and the Space Sustainability Rating to emerging life-cycle assessment frameworks, research on sustainable innovation in the space sector remains fragmented.

Most studies address technological or regulatory challenges (e.g., debris mitigation or end-of-life design) but rarely link these to economically viable and ecologically responsible business models. Against the background of the global space economy, this reveals an important research gap: how can circular economy principles be effectively applied to space, transforming the ecosystem and creating competitive added value to reach a sustainable space economy? This PhD project addresses this gap by analysing, evaluating, and developing integrated strategies for sustainable circular business models that align ecological, economic, and strategic dimensions of innovation in the European space industry.

The project will include the following core activities:

• Research review: Review the state of research on effective circular business models outside the space industry and analyze how the findings can be translated to the space industry.
• Empirical research: Identify use cases and evaluate them with a focus on their economic viability. For the selected use cases, the project can, for example, deepen (some of) the following areas:
• Partnerships and value networks: Investigate the value chain and potential partnerships to enable circularity and shared value creation.
• Funding and investment ecosystems: Assess financial architectures and instruments that incentivize circular and sustainability-oriented innovation.
• Policy and regulatory frameworks: Investigate regulations and sustainability standards supporting the shift toward circular business models.
• Implications: Derive implications for the space industry on how circular business models can be transformed into a source of competitive advantage and sustainable growth and develop policy recommendations that support the shift toward a circular and sovereign space economy. This project will use a mixed-methods design, including stakeholder interviews, comparative case studies, quantitative data analysis, business model and system-dynamics analysis, and policy evaluation. This approach will deliver insights that are both scientifically and economically relevant, linking ecological impact metrics, economic viability, and governance mechanisms in order to inform pathways for a sustainable and competitive space economy

Research field:

• Innovation management and entrepreneurship
• Strategic and corporate management
• Space economy and regulation

Required skills
:

• Strong background in management, entrepreneurship, finance, economics, or related disciplines
• Experience or interest in the European space industry and innovation ecosystems
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Excellent written and spoken English

The Thesis will include 18 months at Thales Alenia Space in Toulouse, followed by 18 months at the
University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Germany.
In total the PhD will span 36 months.
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