This week, the European Commission informed the Member States about the upcoming award (grant agreements to be signed by mid-October) of €255 million for research and innovation projects in the area of Space. The corresponding Work Programme can be accessed here.
The €255 million will be allocated to a wide range of European actors, from large, medium and small-sized companies to SMEs and start-ups, research establishments, public entities, universities and other organizations for projects in the areas of:
- Competitiveness of the European space system (including for example satellite communication and electrical propulsion);
- Access to space for European actors (including for example reusable and low-cost launchers);
- Evolution of the services of the earth observation system Copernicus;
- Technological non-dependence;
- Quantum space gravimetry;
- Education & skills;
- EGNSS (satellite navigation, mainly Galileo), Copernicus and GOVSATCOM use and applications.
The €255 million are part of a bigger budget of €520 million dedicated to Space R&I for 2021 and 2022 under the Horizon Europe programme.
In addition to calls for proposals, which are managed by the agencies HaDEA and EUSPA, part of the budget is allocated through other types of competitive tendering and granting for:
- R&I in Space Situational Awareness;
- R&I for the evolution of EGNSS, for In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation and for the development of secure satellite communication for governments (GOVSATCOM) - delegated to ESA, the European Space Agency;
- Activities to support Space entrepreneurship.
The space R&I support from the European Commission represents a major investment into the current and future uses and benefits for EU citizens and businesses of space-related technologies, services and applications!
Details
- Publication date
- 30 June 2022