ITRI, U.K. group sign MOU on space supply chain collaboration

London, March 5 (CNA) Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a U.K.-based group to boost collaboration on a bilateral space supply chain.

The MOU was signed by Lewis Chen (陳立偉), director general of ITRI's Commercialization and Industry Service Center, and Alun Williams, deputy director of the space sector team at ADS Group, a trade organization representing the aerospace, defense, security and space industries.

The signing ceremony took place during the Taiwan-U.K. Space Supply Chain Partnership Forum, held on the sidelines of the two-day Space-Comm Expo in London.

At the event, Williams said the memorandum is aimed at promoting greater industry interaction between Taiwan and the United Kingdom, not only in space but also in related sectors that could benefit from the partnership.

This collaboration is crucial for the U.K.'s supply chains, economic growth, and national security, he said, noting that the ADS Group has interacted with Taiwan for several years, with recent exchanges in the space sector growing particularly strong.

Taiwan's representative to the U.K., Vincent Yao (姚金祥), said Taiwan has world-class innovation and advanced manufacturing, and that the complementary strengths of Taiwan and the United Kingdom will create many opportunities for cooperation.

According to ITRI, Taiwanese companies participating in the forum included Chunghwa Telecom, Compal Electronics, Phasetrum, and Tron Future, representing a mix of large, small and startup firms.

Discussions covered satellite communications, payload technology, ground equipment, and system integration.

ITRI said the ADS Group has considerable industry integration capabilities and international influence, and that formally establishing the partnership platform was strategically significant for Taiwanese suppliers seeking to enter the European market.

The MOU signed Thursday covered five key areas of cooperation -- supply chain development, technology development and application integration, startup support, knowledge sharing and talent cultivation, and government and policy collaboration, ITRI said.