ENPULSION, the Vienna-based maker of electric spacecraft thrusters, has agreed to buy UK chemical propulsion and tank designer Lift Me Off for an undisclosed sum. The deal needs approval from the UK government under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Founded in 2016 as a spinout from the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, ENPULSION commercializes field-emission electric propulsion and says more than 320 of its systems are operating in orbit, with hardware on 15 of 17 SpaceX Transporter missions. It raised €22.5 million in growth funding in March, led by Nordwind Growth, to scale production and push into the US.
Reading-based Lift Me Off, founded in 2018 by Michel Poucet and Marcos Perez, designs chemical and cold gas systems, propellant tanks and pointing mechanisms, and has worked on multiple European Space Agency missions. Its founders will stay on to support the transition.
The combination gives ENPULSION a hybrid propulsion backbone: electric thrusters for efficient station-keeping plus chemical systems for the high-delta-V maneuvers that need more punch, all coordinated through its Cortex integration layer. CEO Alexander Reissner called it a step toward the complete spacecraft mobility backbone, letting customers configure entire propulsion architectures from one supplier.
The acquisition also plants ENPULSION inside the UK space cluster near Harwell, close to ESA’s ECSAT center.
