The IPPL has received major support from the European Commission through the ASPIRE (Advanced Space Propulsion for Innovative Realization of space Exploration) project (grant. ref. no 101004366). ASPIRE is a large-scale H2020 project, bringing together several leading academic and industrial partners. It kicked-off in January 2021 and closed out in May 2024. ASPIRE was coordinated by SITAEL SpA in Italy, with the IPPL leading the work package (WP) for plasma simulation and analysis. The IPPL WP was ultimately aimed at the development of an alternative qualification strategy based on AI-enhanced numerical tools.
Investigation into the use of water as a cost-effective alternative propellant for Electric Propulsion (EP) was generously supported by a joint Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore grant administered as part of the Eureka Globalstars program (Innovate UK ref. 92812, Enterprise Singapore ref. 20102KV8, Eureka ref. 2020-16526). The IPPL was joined in this endeavor in SME URA Thrusters Ltd. and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) spin-off Aliena Pte. Ltd.
The IPPL has also benefitted from the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) through a contract for the development of its hanging pendulum style thrust balance (ref. 5001026101). IPPL research was further supported by the agency through the co-funded PhD research grants of Jesus Manuel Munoz Tejeda, Emmanuelle Rosati Azevedo, and Freddy Bayliss, as implemented through the Discovery&Preparation program (ref. numbers 4000137543/22/NL/GLC/my & 317304/21/NL/GLC/my & 40000144148).