Are you keen to develop and promote innovative solutions using EU space data and services? Your expertise and/or interest lies in the areas of location-based services, smart mobility, or quantum technologies? Now is the time to apply for the #myEUSpace competition recently launched by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).
The €1 million #myEUspace competition, part of the European Commission’s Cassini initiative, aims to enable innovators to develop and commercialise breakthrough space-based commercial solutions that can respond to emerging societal needs and serve different sectors such as smart mobility and agriculture, health and leisure, as well as logistics and smart cities.
“We especially welcome young entrepreneurs that have not used space data before. Also, we would like to encourage companies to join our network and see that space data can boost almost any kind of business”, explains Justyna Redelkiewicz, EUSPA Head of Sector LBS, Market and Technology, Market Development, “we believe there is a huge, unlocked potential in using location information from Galileo and meteorological data, pollution indicators and imagery from Copernicus. The competition should help us to increase awareness of this.”
EU space data, what for? Free and easily accessible EU space data has, for example, recently enabled the development of original and innovative projects and services in areas such as IoT, precision agriculture, robotics, and drones. In addition, Galileo’s precise positioning, Copernicus’ data and high-resolution imagery, and the use of quantum technology are expected to set European innovation on a new course.
#DYK that 2 out of 6 #myEUspace tracks are targeting solutions supporting #climateneutral 🇪🇺?
🌍Our Green Planet challenge is looking for environmental entrepreneurs working on solutions addressing environmental concerns, promoting sustainable life, consumption & production. pic.twitter.com/fjkzyLgFxO
— 🇪🇺 EUSPA – EU Agency for the Space Programme (@EU4Space) October 6, 2021
“#myEUSpace surely comes at the right time”, says Fiammetta Diani, EUSPA Head of Market development. She stresses that the competition is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators of all kinds to receive funding, technical and business guidance from EUSPA: “What’s more, with initiatives like this, EUSPA is supporting the European Union in delivering certain priorities such as the EU Green Deal and the digitization of Europe.”
In fact, EU Space data is used far more often than many realise: The competition has set up six thematic areas to apply for, including “Move Me Smart”, “Map My World”, “Farming By Satellite” and “Space Up my Life”. The latter is about just that – space data in our daily lives. “From tourism to fitness, we are using satellite signals multiple times each day without fully realizing it”, Diani stresses.
In the area “Our Green Planet”, EUSPA expects innovative solutions that could help monitor and mitigate the effects of climate change. The combination of EO and GNSS data can, for example, help companies to make their operations more environmentally friendly and thus minimise their ecological footprint. Thanks to Copernicus, for instance, Europe can monitor the biodiversity of various ecosystems and monitor CO2 emissions.
The competition, which will award over 50 prizes, consists of two independent and parallel tracks, each with a list of objectives and deliverables. Track 1 aims to turn a theoretical idea into a product prototype/beta version. Track 2, on the other hand, aims to turn the prototype into a product. Prospective startups, innovators and entrepreneurs can apply until 15 November 2021. The ideas will be judged on their relevance to the EU space, their innovative approach, their market potential, their feasibility in the context of current technology and finally their operational organisation.
