EUSPA welcomes excited delegates of the SME Assembly 2022
Taking place in Prague, from 28 to 30 November 2022, the 2022 SME Assembly is the most significant event for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. The conference is held once a year during the European SME Week. Together with the network of SME envoys, the assembly creates the governance structure of the Small Business Act.
This year’s SME Assembly included discussions and workshops about how the EU Space Programme enables companies to improve their operations, level-up and increase their return on investment.
The delegates of the Assembly enjoyed an exciting visit to our EUSPA headquarters where they were welcomed by the Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa. Market Development and Innovation professionals familiarised themselves with the funding opportunities that the agency offers.
“The true impact of space data and services is felt with downstream, and SMEs and start-ups are at the heart of the EU economy. At EUSPA, our role is to provide to non-traditionally space companies the means to innovate by using Galileo/EGNOS, Copernicus and in the future satellite communications’’ says Fiammetta Diani, Head of MDI at EUSPA.
EUSPA’s support of the European SMES’ ecosystem goes beyond funding to include GNSS and Earth Observation market intelligence, mentoring and knowledge sharing through the CASSINI activities for instance and other platforms like the EUSPA Space Academy.
With the promotion of Copernicus on board since 2021, the agency’s efforts also focus on engaging with new commercial and private bodies, research, and education organisations charities. SMEs are central part of this new strategy for Earth Observation which is why over the past EUSPA launched a call for new Copernicus demonstrators for Mobility, Emergency and Infrastructures, among others.
SMEs to clean up the ocean using space!
Of the 300 million tonnes of plastic produced every year, an estimated 26 million eventually ends up in the ocean. As a result, some estimates suggest there are now 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans and seas.
The Maritime CASSINI Prize for Digital Space Apps is looking for innovative commercial solutions that leverage the EU Space Programme to detect, monitor and remove plastics, microplastics and other litter from our oceans and waterways. With a total prize purse of EUR 2.85 million, the top three proposals are eligible to win EUR 0.95 million each, which can be used to help further develop and commercialise your solution.
Because the contest aims to create a new ecosystem of entrepreneurs, applications are only open to SMEs. All proposed solutions must be close-to-market and be able to prove their effectiveness in a real-world demonstration.
The prize is foreseen as part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme.
More information can be found here.
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