The VW owner holding company Porsche Automobil Holding SE is investing money in the Bavarian rocket start-up Isar Aerospace.

The Stuttgart investment company of the Volkswagen owner families Porsche and Piëch is acquiring a stake in the low single-digit percentage range with the investment and is thus expanding its investment portfolio.

Isar Aerospace develops and produces launch vehicles for the transport of satellites.

"As an investor with a focus on mobility and industrial technologies, we are convinced that inexpensive and flexible access to space will ensure innovations in many industrial sectors," said Lutz Meschke, the manager responsible for investments at Porsche SE, on Wednesday.

Rocket launch next year

Isar Aerospace has not yet launched any satellites into space, but is planning the first rocket launch for the coming year. The “Spectrum” rocket developed by the company is intended to offer a particularly cost-effective and time-flexible transport option for satellites. Cost advantages compared to currently available launchers should be achieved in particular through a high degree of automation in the manufacture of the rockets. Isar Aerospace is thus entering a future market that has recently been increasingly targeted by companies such as SpaceX from US multibillionaire and Tesla boss Elon Musk. The space company Blue Origin, headed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is also using low-cost rocket technology to bring devices and tourists into space.

The participation of Porsche SE was concluded as part of a new financing round, in which Isar Aerospace from Ottobrunn near Munich collected around 75 million US dollars (63.5 million euros) from Porsche SE and other investors. In total, the company has raised more than $ 180 million in funding to date.

In addition to its significant stake in the Volkswagen Group and various minority holdings, Porsche SE has so far primarily held shares in Karlsruhe-based PTVplanung Transport Verkehr AG, which offers software for transport modeling, simulation and traffic management. Porsche SE should not be confused with the sports car manufacturer of the same name. However, the holding company indirectly owns the Stuttgart car company, because Porsche AG is wholly owned by the Volkswagen Group - and the Porsche Holding controls it via the majority of the voting rights. Porsche SE is listed in the MDax, but it will be given opportunities to move into the Dax if the leading index is increased from 30 to 40 members in the fall.