Dates:
Competition closes: 12th September 2024 (Stage 1).
Notification of progressing to Stage 2: 3rd October 2024.
Deadline for Stage 2: Up to 8 weeks from notification.
Scope
To develop innovative and commercially viable products and services that generate or exploit the value of Earth Observation (EO) imagery and datasets (public sector use of EO Data). A range of activities will be co-funded with the underlying theme of “Innovation in Public Sectors’ Uptake of EO Data”. Possible themes include:
- Climate indicators modelling and monitoring (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions)
- ‘Nowcasting’ – incorporating EO data in modelling
- Watercourse management
- Precipitation monitoring and modelling
- Infrastructure monitoring (e.g., transport networks)
- Local government use
- Biodiversity monitoring
- Sustainable agriculture and aquaculture
- Solar and wind energy
Proposals must demonstrate that the product or service will be commercially and/or operationally ready by the end of InCubed2.
Two development cycles depending on the maturity of the development being proposed:
De-risking cycle: Less mature developments, results in a credible technical concept with identified commercial customers with a robust roadmap and tangible interest.
Product Development cycle: More mature development, results in commercially viable product or service without any further public funding.
Eligibility
- Must be a member of a participating ESA member state: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
- Requires a letter of authorisation from the respective national delegation.
- You may partner with non-UK companies, they must be funded by other ESA member states/self.
- You may apply for either one or both of the development cycles.
Funding Rates
- Total pot of £3Mn – no upper or lower limit on individual projects.
- Universities and research institutes from participating member states with no commercial interest may apply as part of an industrially led consortium. If not from a member state they may still be involved if they don’t request co-funding.
| Cycle | ||
| Organisation size | De-risking (Up to TRL4-6) | Product Development (Up to TRL7) |
| Large business | <75% | <50% |
| SME | <80% | <80% |
| University/RI (with no commercial interest) | Up to 100% of maximum, 30% of the cycle costs |
Up to 100% of maximum, 30% of the cycle costs |
How PNO can support you
The UK team has a strong track record in securing some of the most competitive national and European grants on behalf of its clients, with a full understanding of how a project should be presented to stand the highest chance of success. Each year in the UK alone, we are responsible for the submission of more than 100 funding applications across all sectors and priority areas. Based on this extensive experience, through careful project selection and using key insight into how a project should be best positioned, we consistently achieve success rates >5 times the typical success rates for UK national schemes and EU programmes.
