ESA and UK Space Agency announce new funding call
ESA and the UK Space Agency are pleased to announce a new joint funding call ‘InCubed2 - Innovation in Public Services with Satellite Earth Observation’ for all UK-based entities developing innovative and commercially viable Earth observation projects. The deadline for pitch proposal submissions is 12 September 2024.
InCubed is a co-funded programme run by ESA’s Φ-lab Invest Office, focusing on initiatives that exploit or enhance the value of Earth observation imaging and data. With the support of its participating Member States, InCubed funds a wide scope of activities, ranging from satellites to ground and downstream applications.
Successful applications receive personalised guidance from world-class experts to develop technical, commercial and financially viable products. Currently, 140 activities are in the pipeline and about 10 satellites are under development. One of these projects was launched in 2023 and three others are planned for launch in 2024.
In collaboration with the UK Space Agency (UKSA), the latest funding cycle will be open exclusively to the UK industry. Following the success of last year’s call, this round will be dedicated to activities with the underlying theme of ‘Innovation in public sectors use of Earth observation data’.
These could include climate indicator modelling and monitoring, for example greenhouse gas emissions, ‘nowcasting,’ incorporating Earth observation data in modelling, biodiversity monitoring, sustainable agriculture and aquaculture usage, solar and wind energy, infrastructure monitoring and watercourse management.
Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, commented, “Earth observation satellites and the data they provide are crucial for improving the lives of citizens and delivering services to UK businesses and communities.
“From better water management and sustainable farming to the rollout of clean energy infrastructure, we work with ESA to accelerate the development of innovative projects that use images and data from space and turn them into commercially viable solutions. This will help kickstart growth and build more efficient and effective public services.”
The budget for this call is £3,000,000. Proposals will be evaluated according to the ESA InCubed assessment criteria on business case credibility, technical feasibility and relevance to the Earth observation domain.
In addition to these criteria, proposals must target at least one end user from the public sector, in accordance with the specified theme.
The call will be presented during the Farnborough International Airshow, on 25 July 2024, in the ‘Unlocking Space for Business’ panel. There will be a Q&A webinar on 1 August 2024 (11:00 BST/12:00 CEST) to guide the UK industry on the application process and answer questions related to the call, with both ESA and UKSA representatives.
More information about the call and how to apply can be found here. The deadline for pitch proposal submissions is 12 September 2024 at 23:59 CEST.
