ulf-palmnas
Swedish space-industry veteran; co-founder of Rymdkapital (2021/2022), the first Nordic VC firm dedicated to European space technology, and co-founder of Expansion, the pan-European Aerospace & Defence VC fund, alongside Ted Elvhage, Sandra Budimir, and Charles Beigbeder.
Ulf Palmnäs is a Swedish space-industry veteran with roughly 35 years of business-development and strategy experience in aerospace, now an investor and advisor to early-stage space companies. He previously served as CEO of ECAPS, the Swedish green-propellant company, and as Deputy VP for Business Development and Strategy at GKN Aerospace Sweden. For the Swedish National Space Agency, he authored an investigation concluding Sweden lacked the accelerator-stage capital needed to scale space startups. In 2021/2022 he co-founded Rymdkapital with Ted Elvhage and Niclas Lilja, the first Nordic VC firm dedicated to European space-technology founders, which later joined Audacia and Starburst to form Expansion, a pan-European aerospace-and-defense fund investing Pre-Seed through Series B, where Palmnäs is a General Partner. He holds an MSc in Physics and has advised the Swedish Government on space strategy.
Overview
- Role
- Co-Founder & General Partner
- Based in
- Sweden
- Prior experience
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Frequently asked
- Who is ulf-palmnas?
- Ulf Palmnäs is a Swedish space-industry veteran with roughly 35 years of business-development and strategy experience in aerospace, now an investor and advisor to early-stage space companies. He previously served as CEO of ECAPS, the Swedish green-propellant company, and as Deputy VP for Business Development and Strategy at GKN Aerospace Sweden. For the Swedish National Space Agency, he authored an investigation concluding Sweden lacked the accelerator-stage capital needed to scale space startups. In 2021/2022 he co-founded Rymdkapital with Ted Elvhage and Niclas Lilja, the first Nordic VC firm dedicated to European space-technology founders, which later joined Audacia and Starburst to form Expansion, a pan-European aerospace-and-defense fund investing Pre-Seed through Series B, where Palmnäs is a General Partner. He holds an MSc in Physics and has advised the Swedish Government on space strategy.
- What is ulf-palmnas's role?
- ulf-palmnas is Co-Founder & General Partner, based in Sweden.
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Sources & citations5
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- 1
Ulf Palmnas is a space veteran now active as an investor in and advisor to seed-phase space companies; he leads Expansion Aerospace Ventures and previously conducted an investigation for the Swedish National Space Agency into Sweden's space-investment ecosystem.
Rymdforum 2025: Ulf Palmnas - Rymdforum 2025Reported2026-08-12 - 2
Ulf Palmnas co-founded Rymdkapital AB together with Ted Elvhage and Niclas Lilja (public launch 8 April 2022); he previously served as an investigator for the Swedish Space Agency (Rymdstyrelsen) examining conditions for Sweden to build a stronger space-investment ecosystem, finding Sweden had strong incubators but lacked accelerator-stage capital.
Rundfunk Media AB (via Mynewsdesk): Sverige och Norden har fatt sitt forsta bolag for investeringar i rymdteknik - Rymdkapital ABVerified2022-04-08 - 3
Ulf Palmnas previously served as CEO of ECAPS and as Deputy Vice President for Business Development and Strategy at GKN Aerospace Sweden; he holds an MSc in Physics.
Rymdstiftelsen: Styrelse - RymdstiftelsenReported2026-08-12 - 4
Rymdkapital, co-founded by Ted Elvhage and Ulf Palmnas, is the first venture capital firm in the Nordics dedicated to European space-technology founders; the team's collaboration began in 2020 with investments in Pythom Inc. and Space Cowboys AB.
Lean SpaceTech: Rymdkapital - Lean SpaceTechReported2026-08-12 - 5
Rymdkapital (Sweden) joined Audacia and Starburst to expand Expansion into a pan-European, Paris/Stockholm aerospace-and-defense fund investing Pre-Seed through Series B.
Actu IA: Audacia and Starburst announce the launch of Expansion, a new investment fund dedicated to aerospace and defense start-upsVerified2022-04-12