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In recent days, one of the indisputable stars of Italian manufacturing, the Vespa Piaggio. made the national press. Like a Renaissance beauty, it has been reproduced using Lego bricks, in the round and in full scale, by a modern sculptor: Riccardo Zangelmi, LEGO Certified Professional. It was the talk of many newspapers, including Il Sole 24 Ore, La Stampa, ANSA and Wired.

Lego and Piaggio have defined it as an “engineering masterpiece”: it is made up of 110,000 pieces in 11 different colours, weighs 93.3 kg and was assembled in 320 hours of work.

The occasion was the market launch of the new Lego Vespa 125 #10298 set, which represents the Vespa 125 from 1965. A partnership between Lego and Piaggio that celebrates the Vespa’s cutting-edge engineering and style. Launched in 1946 and produced in Italy at the Piaggio factory in Pontedera, 19 million Vespas have been made to date for worldwide distribution (a number that continues to rise today with the focus on electric).

The set, made up 1,106 bricks, is of “apparent medium difficulty”, as Il Sole writes, but is not as easy as it seems (it is, in fact, recommended for adult enthusiasts). Once assembled, the miniature Vespa measures 22 centimetres in height, 35 cm in length and 12 cm in width.

Marco Lambri, Alumnus of Politecnico di Milano (Architecture) and Head of Piaggio Group Design Center explains:

“Working in collaboration with Lego has been an extraordinary experience as it has brought together two dreams, Lego and Vespa, sharing the infinite expressive possibilities they can offer their fansTwo extraordinary brands capable of spanning different eras and always succeeding in reinventing themselves because the ability to combine and construct is in their very DNA. As a designer, the challenge was to reconcile the rounded forms of the Vespa with those of Lego bricks, and I think that challenge has definitely been won”.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the key role played by the [energy] industry in our lives. And I believe that this rings even truer today, given the digital revolution, which has found its enabling factor in energy”.

This is what Francesca Bona, Energy Engineering Alumna 2015, already listed as one or the 100 young innovators under 30 (we wrote about them here) , has to say in an interview with Forbes about the pathway that led her to become “an ambassadress that guides the businesses in the industry and their management towards the strategic decisions needed to decarbonise the system”.

Having cultivated her interest in the world of energy during her studies at the Politecnico, her career began with a period working as a researcher in the world of renewable energies in Denmark, in a project funded by the European Union.

“Denmark is a pioneering country in the energy sector, with a significant wind power production”; Bona tells Forbes. “This encouraged me to want Italy to contribute to the energy transition too, and become a real ambassador in the green revolution”.

In 2019, the Alumna joined the team in Bain where she has since been working in the Energy & Natural Resources practice, mainly in the field of renewable energies.

ITALY AND RENEWABLE ENERGIES: HOW ARE WE DOING?

As far as renewable energies are concerned, in Italy we are not starting from scratch, but the real opportunity - continues Bona - is proposed with the NRRP . It has allocated 75% of the total resources available to infrastructural works, providing a unique opportunity to create a platform for boosting our efforts to generate an ecological transition.

“We’re now at a turning point: Italy is finally ready to put our plans into action, but first we need to intervene on our processes and superstructures, both in great need of simplification, and on streamlining our bureaucracy. We then need to focus on the stability of our regulatory context in order to facilitate investments. We are facing a pathway of gradual transformation that must boost the sustainability of our energy system”.

And finally, a promise and a hope for the future of women in the industry:

“I intend to continue working hard and using all my technical expertise to help face these challenges. At the same time, I would like to see more women join this industry which, like many other industrial sectors, has been characterised by a lack of women professionals for years. Instead, today, it is finally full of opportunities”.

Credits header: Appolinary Kalashnikova on Unsplash

Update May 12, 2023: Luca Rossettini, aerospace engineer, ceo and founder of D-Orbit has been named among the finalists for the European Inventor Award an award dedicated to outstanding inventions patented at the European Patent Office (Epo)

Disclaimer: this is a long article. So first...

…ITS SUMMARY

It was announced a few days ago that the start-up D-Orbitwould soon go public on the Nasdaq through Spac Breeeze Holdings, with an agreement valuing the company at USD 1.3 billion. This was discussed, inter alia, on Corriere della Sera , Startup Italia and Forbes. Founded in 2011 by Luca Rossettini, Alumnus in Aeronautical Engineering and PhD, together with Renato Panesi (CEO and CCO, respectively), D-Orbit is based in Fino Mornasco, in the province of Como. It provides products and services for the new space market.

Last year the company reported 3.4 million dollars in revenues, with an expected growth to 22 million dollars in 2022. It currently has an order portfolio of $12.5 million, though has ongoing negotiations for additional $167 million. The company expects to become profitable on an EBITDA basis by 2024, so its revenues need to grow to approximately $445 million. The company has made headlines both because of the speed of growth of the now former start-up and because of the growing interest in the commercial and pioneering aspects of space exploration.

The Alumni editorial staff met Rossettini to ask him some questions. We ended up learning a lot about the new space markets and the Italian effects of this expanding industry. Let us tell you about them.

PUT IT SIMPLY: WE ARE SPACE COURIERS, DELIVERING SATELLITES RATHER THAN PARCELS

The Falcon 9 rocket, which took off from Cape Canaveral on 13 January, also carried the ION Satellite Carrier di D-Orbit. Once in orbit, ION took care of the 'last mile' delivery, carrying satellites to their respective operational positions. “In the new space, this is called last mile delivery”, says Rossettini. “A bit like a courier truck, we go around space delivering packages door-to-door, i.e. carrying satellites where they are needed”. This service has radically changed the way satellites are sent into orbit: “it saves up to 85% of time and up to 40% of costs”.

D-Orbit was the first company to offer this type of service in space logistics, though this is only one of its activities. “Once the packages are delivered, we have a fully functioning 'truck' in orbit,” continued Rossettini. “Instead of making it return, the satellite can be used for other things, such as in-orbit demonstration and validation operations.” It can normally take years to get a piece of technology into orbit; D-Orbit ensures testing within a few months. This is an example of how advanced space logistics services represent a go-to-market accelerator for many high-tech companies, and beyond. “The end-users of our services come from a wide range of sectors, from oil and gas to services and agriculture”.

ORBITING SERVICE STATIONS WHERE YOU CAN FIND FUEL, MECHANICS, SPARE PARTS. ONLY A BAR IS MISSING

Since he comes from the Veneto region, jokes Rossettini, he likes concrete examples: a satellite is a bit like a pig, nothing gets thrown away.

"Another goal we are working on is to create a cloud network in which each of these ION satellites, after completing their deliveries, will remain in orbit and act as a node to offer services to all the satellites needing them. We are not there yet, but in the near future our IONs will be able to exchange information with other satellites, carry out repairs, refuelling, reallocation, whatever can extend the life of our customers’ satellites. When they reach their very end, rather than destroy them by plunging them into the atmosphere as we do today, we can dismantle them and build service stations in orbit to store spare parts and raw materials. Once we have these capabilities, we will be able to get closer to our vision: a logistics and transport network connecting Mars, the asteroid belt, the Moon and Earth, allowing settlements on other planets to be maintained at a sustainable cost.”

Ready for the leap toward the latest frontier.

“UNCLE SCROOGE” MODEL: ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES, GREAT RISKS, GREAT REWARDS

How come ‘new space’ is growing so rapidly? What good can it do us and what are the risks of this new gold rush? “All high-tech sectors are growing tremendously and many traditional companies are moving towards digitisation, Industry 4.0, Big Data and predictive information. Agriculture is becoming agritech, finance is becoming fintech, automotive is becoming autonomous driving and so on. To support this transformation, we need evolved information. And it all comes from satellites.”

More than 80% of the technology we use on earth is space-derived. Hence, space control has become an enabling requirement for technological and economic transformations on earth. Also the satellite market has changed, and D-Orbit understood this at an early stage, thus gaining a strategic advantage.

“In the past, a big satellite would be launched every now and then, costing 800 million and taking 15 years to produce; now, instead, much smaller satellites are being launched, which are up to 400 times cheaper. They also last less, but it doesn’t matter, since technology becomes rapidly obsolete. Besides, we need to move quickly and accurately. Logistics thus becomes an enabling infrastructure. I am reminded of Uncle Scrooge, who became rich not by panning for gold, rather by selling axes to gold diggers. That's what logistics is all about: we enable others to do better what they have to do, and it's them who decide how to use the tools we give them.” The risks are clear: space is difficult, it is a hostile environment, with unbearable temperatures, where anything wants to kill you. Things can go very wrong. Substantial amounts of capital are needed. You never know if the launcher will make it or explode But the rewards are great.

LET'S GET BACK TO EARTH...

…and ask Rossettini the reason for D-Orbit going public just now. “When you establish a high-tech company you have to think about a form of exit for investors. So you can either be taken over or become a joint-stock limited company. We have always strived to achieve the second option. Why now? Because it is time to grow fast to maintain our leadership.” This is a very different business model from the one traditionally associated with the Italian context, marked by a constellation of SMEs and family businesses.

Are you telling us that our context is not suitable for high-tech industries?, we ask. “I am not an economist, my opinion is based only on my experience and relationship with investors and customers, from a high-tech point of view and as an Italian from the Veneto region (where most effective SMEs are based). The Italian model is based on short-term ROI: make a profit as soon as possible because that is what sustains the entrepreneur and his family. If you go public, the shares go away in big packages for small amounts. It is a model based on a regional market, which is somewhat protected and manageable. In the high-tech world you can never start from a protected market, you compete in the international arena from the very first day. You immediately compete with much better funded players than in Italy. Profit is no longer a way to remunerate investors, it is not the year-end dividends that interest them, rather the company’s exponential growth. So it is a different model, I don't know which one is better. The high-tech model is very recent, while the Italian one has proven to be solid in the long run. But the context was rather different in the past. We’ll see”.

IN THE SHOES OF ROSSETTINI-ENTREPRENEUR: AN ITALIAN, FROM THE VENETO REGION, IN THE WORLD

What good is it for Italy to have success stories like yours? “Many great companies started from scratch, made it and are now a source of national pride, we do not wish to be an example to anyone. We try hard and do our best together with our local suppliers, who have become almost our partners. This moment has attracted for us a lot of media attention but we wish to convey the message that we are at the beginning of a new path. At local level, this will certainly have an impact on employment, reputational and practical benefits and an important drive for the wealth of the ecosystem around us.”

This is no small success if you consider that when you knock on an investor's door, the first question you are asked is: why should I invest in your company rather than in one of your colleagues in Silicon Valley? How to answer that question? “In terms of technology, Italy is second to none. In particular, we have always been pioneers in the space sector. In terms of technology, Italy is second to none. In particular, we have always been pioneers in the space sector: we were the third country in the world to launch a satellite into orbit, in the middle of the Cold War, after the USA and the USSR, with the billions of dollars they were investing. Our supply chain covers the whole value chain and we have a very good launcher, Vega. We also have other advantages, one of which is undoubtedly the quality of our engineers and our graduates in general, who are less specialised than others though more flexible. An Italian engineer, when faced with a problem, will certainly be able to give you good answers in a short time. This is an advantage especially for start-ups, which haven’t enough capital to hire a large team right away, thus seeking more versatile people.

D-Orbit could not have been established in another country:it is thanks to the creativity, resilience and willingness not to give up, typical of us Italians, that we have solved one problem after another. Another strength of the Italian model is that it is not over until it is over. In the Silicon Valley model, instead, the 'fail fast' mantra applies. The principle is correct: if you don't have a market, you shouldn't persist, but in most cases, giving up at the first opportunity means that you are not doing your duty as an entrepreneur".

Credits home/header: Courtesy of D-Orbit