Archives: Activities Portfolio

Objectives of the Product

The TALISMAN activity aims to address key challenges in methane detection applications through the development of an advanced optical instrument. SATLANTIS, by collaborating with INTA, enhances its iSIM technology with polarimetric capabilities, specifically targeting Earth observation in the Visible (VIS) and Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) spectra. This upgraded iSIM-90 payload significantly improves methane detection, crucial for various stakeholders.

For mission developers and operators, acquiring suitable instruments for methane detection is often difficult, leading to costly ad-hoc solutions. SATLANTIS’ solution integrates into satellite systems, offering a cost-effective and efficient approach.

Methane-emitting industries face pressure to monitor emissions accurately. SATLANTIS’ technology ensures compliance with environmental guidelines, providing dynamic, precise emissions data to aid sustainability efforts and regulatory compliance.

Governments and public institutions require comprehensive methane data. This SATLANTIS’ solution complements existing datasets, facilitating innovative, sustainable practices and aiding ambitious environmental agendas. In summary, the TALISMAN project addresses the need for accurate, cost-effective methane detection solutions, benefiting mission developers, industries, and governmental bodies alike.

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Customers and their Needs

The targeted customers/users for the developed product, primarily major players in the Oil & Gas sector and energy industries, face several challenges. Mission developers struggle to find payloads in the market that meet desired functionalities, particularly for methane measurements in complex environments with cluttered backgrounds. Methane-emitting industries encounter limitations with commercially available satellite imagery, hindering accurate emissions monitoring in noisy environments with aerosols. Similarly, Governments and Public Institutions lack reliable emissions data due to satellite imagery not optimised for changing environments, impacting their ability to develop sustainable practices and meet ambitious environmental, social and governance (ESG) agendas.

To address these challenges, our solution, the TALISMAN standardised technology, optimises performance in aerosol-impacted environments, providing dynamic and accurate emissions data. By complementing existing datasets, it facilitates the development of innovative, sustainable practices, aligning with the goals outlined in ESG agendas. Throughout the project, customers actively participate in defining user requirements, validating product performance, and selecting observation targets, ensuring the solution meets their diverse needs across various stages of development.

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Targeted customer/users countries

The activity primarily targets customers in the oil and gas sector across Europe and the United States. While these are our main focus areas, we are open to opportunities with various markets globally to address diverse needs and compliance requirements.

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Product description

The TALISMAN project is developing an enhanced optical instrument, aimed at improving methane detection and quantification in environments affected by dust and aerosols. This instrument builds on the high-resolution capabilities of the SATLANTIS iSIM cameras by incorporating polarimetry into one of the two camera channels, refining its ability to analyse methane emissions.

System Components:

• Satellite: Hosts the instrument for primary data collection.
• Launch Segment: Manages all aspects related to satellite deployment and launch operations.
• Ground Segment: Handles communications and initial data processing.
• Data Segment: Enhances detection and quantification algorithms through the integration of data processing chains that utilise aerosol characterisation and polarimetry. This segment prepares and refines data for effective dissemination.
• User Segment: Facilitates the provision of processed data to final users.

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Added Value

TALISMAN brings significant added value over existing methods by integrating advanced polarimetry with high-resolution imaging to enhance methane quantification accuracy in aerosol-affected environments. Unlike traditional methods, which often struggle with interference from particulate matter, TALISMAN employs polarimetric techniques to characterise and correct for these effects, significantly enhancing measurement precision. This capability is crucial for industries required to monitor and report emissions accurately for regulatory compliance and environmental assessments.

Furthermore, incorporating this sophisticated technology into the cost-effective and compact format of a SmallSat offers versatility and economic viability. It provides a lower-cost, higher-efficiency alternative to larger satellite platforms, making advanced methane monitoring accessible to a broader audience, including governments, environmental agencies, and the energy sector, thus positioning TALISMAN as a very convenient solution for global methane monitoring initiatives.

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Current Status

The project has just started, with requirements being defined at the user, system, and instrument levels. Initial trade-offs are currently being accomplished to refine design and operational strategies. This work is setting the stage for the upcoming design and development phases.

Objectives of the Product

Marble Imaging, supported by Scanway, aims to address the current need for daily Very High Resolution (VHR) Earth Observation data availability by offering a unique European solution. The instrument design, developed by Marble Imaging and Scanway, focuses on high geometrical and spectral performance, featuring two instruments: one for Visual (VIS) and Near Infrared (NIR), and another for Short Wave Infrared (SWIR). Marble Imaging will provide valuable EO data and analytics that can be seamlessly integrated into policy and decision-making processes across various sectors, including insurance, agriculture, urban planning or logistics. By aligning with the wavelengths used by Sentinel-2, the Marble-Scanway payload ensures that the data is harmonised with Copernicus products, enhancing compatibility and utility for all stakeholders. This initiative will deliver detailed, accessible, and daily EO-based analytics using VHR multispectral data from a planned constellation of up to 200 satellites.

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Customers and their Needs

The targeted customers for Marble Imaging’s satellite data and analysis include governmental agencies, public sector organizations and commercial customers as insurance, agriculture, or infrastructure companies. These users depend on Marble’s Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery for detailed spatio-temporal analysis. In particular, the data is used to monitor aquaculture sites or forest loss, identify drivers of deforestation, and assess land use changes, which are critical for compliance with the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Additionally, the data supports applications such as crop yield estimation, early drought detection through soil moisture monitoring, and maritime security, including ship tracking and oil spill detection.

The targeted customers need accurate, timely, and consistent VHR satellite data coming from a reliable European source to integrate into their analytical frameworks and operational strategies. Marble Imaging addresses these growing demands by planning to offer daily VHR imagery, which is further enhanced through machine learning-based value-added services (VAS). The “Precious Marble” analytics products extend the capabilities of this data by analysing and identifying environmental vulnerability drivers, aiding in the management and mitigation of ecological risks.

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Targeted customer/users countries

Europe and worldwide.

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Product description

The data acquired through our satellites will be offered as Level 2 data products, Analysis Ready Data (L3 products) and value-added services (VAS) via a Marble-developed portal. With the successful deployment of the first demonstrator satellite, Marble Imaging plans to expand the Marble constellation with Scanway, as the key partner providing the VHR optical payloads. The resulting Marble data and analysis will deliver valuable insights for many customers in the EU and worldwide. This collaboration further strengthens the European EO industry.

To achieve daily global coverage in VHR, the Marble Imaging-Scanway optical/multispectral payload, to be integrated into a small satellite, acquires data in the Visible, Near Infrared and Short-Wave infrared spectrum. The Level 2 data product consists of images in the Red, Green, Blue (RGB), Near-infrared (NIR) and panchromatic (PAN) bands at a ground sample distance (GSD) of 80 cm native VIS/NIR/PAN and Short-Wave infrared (SWIR) at a GSD of 6m. This is being achieved with two instruments, one for RGB, NIR, PAN and one for SWIR. The entire satellite mass of approximately 110 kg ensures compatibility with a wide range of European microlaunchers.

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Added Value

The Marble Constellation fills the gap regarding daily coverage of VHR data offered by a European provider. Existing satellite constellations often lack the capacity for comprehensive global mapping and timely revisit rates, leaving many critical sectors underserved.

Marble Imaging’s constellation is designed to meet the needs of sectors such as infrastructure monitoring, early hazard warning, rapid hazard mapping, forestry, and agriculture, which require consistent and temporally high-resolution satellite data. As a European provider, Marble Imaging aims to offer timely and uninterrupted access to VHR data, reducing the EU’s reliance on non-European companies. Supported by Scanway, this initiative plans to provide a reliable and independent source of satellite imagery, enhancing the ability to monitor and respond to changes on a global scale.

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Current Status

SEMOViS kicked off after the contract signing in July 2024. The project is currently in the early design phase, with the Requirements Review successfully completed and the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) planned to be held in February 2025. The full optical payload is planned to be delivered for integration into the satellite platform in November 2025. The first satellite launch is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

Objectives of the Product

The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is urgently needed to curb global warming. Satellite-based Earth Observation offers objective, independent, and global measurements of emissions, detailing their magnitude, source, and type. Methane emission reduction is particularly crucial due to its significant impact on global warming and its short-lived nature compared to other greenhouse gases, presenting strong potential for effective monitoring.

The rise in satellite missions has produced a wealth of data, some publicly available and used in scientific projects. However, the practical application of these data for emission reduction remains limited. Challenges include the inaccessibility of data for end-users lacking necessary technical knowledge, the need for derived information rather than raw satellite data, and the necessity of models and expertise to interpret emission data from raw satellite inputs. While scientific expertise exists, it is not readily accessible to all stakeholders.

Furthermore, some companies use proprietary methods to interpret public data sources without sharing their methodologies, complicating result comparisons. With impending methane emission regulations in the EU and US, there is a significant commercial opportunity for information services based on satellite measurements.  BrightSkies’ methane emission service aims to provide accessible, reliable data to address these needs for industry and governmental customers.

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Customers and their Needs

Our key customer segments are Oil & Gas operators and the regulatory market.

We chose to start with larger players in the Oil & Gas Industry for several reasons. The industry has consolidated over the years, with a few companies now covering a significant portion of global production. This centralisation also centralises pollution, increasing the likelihood of large emissions that our monitoring tools can measure. Additionally, the industry is aware of its pollution levels and actively works to reduce emissions. Major companies and organisations like OGCI have set ambitious methane emission reduction targets and expressed interest in our service to help achieve these goals.

Regulatory bodies, inspection services, and policymakers are also interested in our service. The inspection of polluting companies in respect to local laws and the effect that this pollution has on the general health of nearby residents is a high priority for them. Organisations focused on nature pollution and public health have shown interest in using our insights and are willing to assist in developing a service valuable to their work.

Both market segments have expressed interest in our project, and we will conduct demonstrations to showcase the added value of our solution.

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Targeted customer/users countries

Target customers can be found worldwide. We will start with a focus on customers with a European presence, as it is easier for us to approach those. Once our technology has been demonstrated and validated, we will expand globally, with organisations active in other important areas such as the Persian Gulf, or the Permian Basin.

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Product description

The BrightSkies Methane portal consists of a data processing pipeline that is able to detect, quantify and pinpoint the source of methane emissions worldwide. This pipeline consists of multiple processing steps and is implemented on a cloud-based data processing framework. The user can interact with the system via several means, such as directly through an API, but also through a web-based portal where requests can be made, and the results are displayed.

End-users and/or customers can interact directly with the web portal by means of the subscription service, and based on the web-portal results, also in-depth case studies can be performed to provide additional added value to customers.

The figure shows the BrightSkies methane portal overall architecture and their key modules and major interfaces. The system consists of three modules that contain data processing functions (modules 1-3), a data processing infrastructure (module 4) and a data portal with a user interface to end-users (module 5).

Each module will be based on either the latest scientific insights and/or in-house developed technologies. This ensures optimal performance while reducing the development risks.

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Added Value

BrightSkies will stand out compared to other data providers in several key areas:

1. Robustness: BrightSkies will use best practices from the science community, documented thoroughly. Instead of providing “off the shelf” data, we will enhance existing methane concentration data with post-processing techniques like de-striping and artifact removal. Advanced tools for hotspot detection and emission source quantification will be developed based on state-of-the-art methods. This ensures the most accurate insights from open data sources.
2. Validated and Open Data Policy: We aim to provide the best information transparently. Part of our data will be open to the community for auditing, with all scientific literature used openly referenced. We will compare BrightSkies’ results with independent methods, and these comparisons will be published openly. This approach fosters trust and broad uptake.
3. Easy Access: Our insights portal is web-based and user-friendly. User-specific reports can be requested periodically.
4. Competitive Pricing: Without a first-mover advantage, we will compete on price and validation of our open data policy. The service will have standard and advanced versions, priced competitively. This strategy aims to attract clients with minimal investment.

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Current Status

The project had a successful kick-off with ESA on 25 June 2024, and an internal kick-off on 12 July, where the project responsibilities and tasks have been laid out and described to all the involved personnel.

Subsequently, the team started working on the tasks required for the first milestones, the Requirements Review (12/11/2024) and the Critical Design Review (21/03/2025). As such, the requirement analysis and system design have been performed. In addition, first versions of the (pre-)processing algorithms have been developed. Training data for the algorithms were obtained by performing plume simulations.

Next steps will be to finalise the algorithms and build the operational infrastructure.

Objectives of the Product

The core of our offering is an API, seamlessly integrable into any existing software. Within seconds, our system can assess the climate risk associated with assets located anywhere within the European continent, offering a spatial resolution of 30 meters by 30 meters.
A key distinguishing feature of our approach is our commitment to objectivity. Unlike traditional methods that may exhibit historical biases, Eoliann’s methodology revolves around analysing the root causes of events. We continually update our data, prioritising the assessment of causal factors over historical occurrences. This ensures a climate change-proof prediction.

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Customers and their Needs

According to a recent study from ECB, up to 30% of the European Banking Credit portfolio is exposed to climate risk. This means that banks may lose the collateral backing their loans, increasing the share of Non Performing Loans, deteriorating the banking credit score and, consequently, their solvency.
Considering Italy alone, the total banking loans to firms amount to €600 billion, of which 28% are classified as high or very high climate risk exposure according to the Bank of Italy. This implied a potential cost of €168 billion for the banking industry.
This situation highlights how climate disaster poses a severe threat to the financial stability of Europe. To address this, the European Banking Authority (EBA) is demanding that financial institutions integrate climate risk into their risk assessment processes and supervisory framework starting from 2025. Specifically, the regulation requires Banks to integrate the EBA Pillar 3 with a Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Prudential scoring. This means that European banks will need to quantify the exposure of their credit portfolio to extreme climate events and disclose this to the banking authority.
Banks will need to estimate how the probability of default (PD) and the loss given default (LGD) of their exposure is affected by natural catastrophes.

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Targeted customer/users countries

All the European continent.

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Product description

The product consists of an interface providing climate risk assessment data related to different climate risks. The product primarily offers two customer-facing components: an Application Programming Interface (API) as the primary tool for end-users to access and utilise the product, and a Graphical User Interface (GUI) providing non-programmatic access to the data made available via the API. On the backend, a cloud infrastructure manages multiple algorithms, ensuring automation and scalability. These algorithms, rooted in physics, economics, and climate studies, compute the data points served through the API.
The API can be queried on European locations, provided by users either as a textual address or a pair of geographical coordinates. The output resolution is 30 m. The figure below shows the overall architecture and the key modules of the product.

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Added Value

Eoliann’s climate risk assessment solution sets itself apart through several key differentiating and innovative features:

• Dynamic modelling with monthly updates: Our approach employs dynamic modelling, with monthly updates based on satellite data, providing real-time insights and adaptability to changing climate conditions.
• Urbanisation detection and modelling: Eoliann’s solution goes beyond climate data by detecting and incorporating urbanisation changes into the modelling, offering a holistic understanding of risk factors.
• No historical biases, shifts to cause and effect analysis: We eliminate historical biases and focus on cause-and-effect analysis, allowing us to provide more accurate predictions.
• Full European coverage: Thanks to satellite observations, Eoliann will offer full European coverage without any black spots, ensuring that no region is left without risk assessment capabilities.
• Quantitative output: Our solution provides quantitative outputs, offering precise data-driven assessments for informed decision-making.
• ML Algorithm for climate change detection: We use machine learning algorithms for climate change pattern detection, enhancing our predictive capabilities and staying ahead of emerging risks.

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Current Status

Eoliann ESA InCubed activities and project implementation started on 7 May 2024. The Flood Risk Assessment module has been completed for all Europe. The Wildfire and Drought Risk Assessment modules are currently in progress. The next major milestone is foreseen for January 2025.

Objectives of the Product

The future scientific missions require instruments with very high data processing and storage capability. On top of that, development times are being reduced and, therefore, uncertainty for phases B2/C/D has to be minimised via standardisation and by increasing TRL before electronics kick off. Solutions based on industry standards allow reducing developing times while keeping the costs low by maximising the reuse.

NICE is the Airbus Crisa answer to these demands from the industry. NICE is a modular concept fully aligned with the state-of-the-art ADHA standard (Advance Data Handling Architecture) currently promoted by the European space industry. It provides the flexibility demanded by the payload applications while keeping the NRE cost under control by reusing core modules in several missions.

The NICE project develops the core items of the concept, by integrating existing ADHA modules already developed by Airbus Crisa (Processor module and I/O module) with brand new modules (Power and Backplane) in a fully standard 6 slots ADHA rack, which is submitted to full qualification campaign. The TRL achieved for NICE concept is TRL7.

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Customers and their Needs

The key customers segments targeted by the NICE product, the related problems and needs are summarised as follows:

• Satellite/Instrument manufacturer:
  • New instruments need electronics with sufficient capacity to process on-board the higher amount of data provided by the sensors. NICE provides processing capacity increased in a factor of 25.
  • Increased storage capability to manage very-high volumes of data. NICE provides 2Tbit mass memory which is 16 000 times higher than previous product.
  • High data volume requires increased data rates in communication links. NICE provides internal SpFi links increasing data rates by a factor of 60. External Optical Links with aggregated net data throughput of 10Gbps are also provided.
  • Need to redesign common building blocks from similar applications and potential requalification is needed, with a cost increase. NICE is based on the ADHA concept, allowing a fast integration of existing modules provided by third-party suppliers. This approach allows cost improvement and decrease of development uncertainties and risks
• Units’ integrators: Need of redesigning already existing building-blocks with impacts in cost and schedule. In some scenarios geo-return rules are difficult to meet. Standardisation based on the ADHA concept, allowing a fast integration of existing modules already qualified providing improved time to market.

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Targeted customer/users countries

The NICE product targets mainly European users (satellite and instrument primes, as well as unit’s integrators).

Using the ADHA standard also opens the possibility of exporting to non-European customers, either at the unit or module level.

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Product description

The NICE electrical architecture is a cold-redundant one supplied by independent power busses powering independent electrical chains and managed by independent TM/TC/Science Interfaces. It could include specific modules that are instrument dependent. The redundancy is implemented in two independent units with no cross-strapping.

Each NICE section is composed of two groups of functions/modules:

• A set of core modules which implements basic functions common to all ICUs.
• A set of specific modules which implements instruments specific functions not covered by core modules.

The modules are connected via a backplane and enclosed in a standard ADHA rack.

The NICE core is composed by the following modules:

• Payload Controller Module (PCM): This is the ADHA rack System Controller of NICE. It implements most of the functions and interfaces required for the Data Handling function.
• Standard Interface Module (STDIM). It implements functions of standard discrete input/output interfaces (relay commands/status, acquisition chains for thermal sensors and voltage telemetries).
• Power Module (PM): it implements the interface with the spacecraft power bus as well as the discrete command and monitoring interfaces with the platform.
• Thermal Control Module (TCM): it implements functions for thermal control support, which provides supply to the heaters in charge of the instrument’s thermal control.

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Added Value

There are several areas of innovation which differentiate NICE from the existing products in the market:

• Increased processing capacity: NICE is based on quad-core processor GR740, which leads to the increasing of the processing capacity by factor higher than 25
• Increased storage capacity: NICE will implement a mass memory bank of 2 Tbits able to store several instances of BSW/ASW plus Scientific/mission data, being 32.000 times higher than previous product.
• Higher data management capability via multiple internal high-speed serial links based on SpFi over copper, which increases the rate by a factor of 60. External Optical Links with data throughput target of 10Gpbs
• Standard modularity: standardisation based on the state-of-the-art ADHA concept, which allows the fast integration of existing modules provided by third-party suppliers, or to deliver Airbus Crisa modules to units’ integrators.
• Flexibility: The use of re-programmable FPGAs will provide flexibility to primes, allowing closer and shorter firmware update cycles after coupling tests between the electronics and the instruments.
• Equivalent performances in terms of mass and power consumption, but with increased capability in processing power, storage capacity and communication data throughput

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Current Status

The NICE kick-off was held in mid-January 2024. The Preparation of Requirement Review (starting mid-June 2024) is in progress. Documents delivered to ESA include technical, PA and management documentation. MPRs are held with ESA on a monthly basis. The next short-term activities include the kick-off of Unit Tester activities with the supplier and preliminary identification of LLIs to start procurement activities.

Objectives of the Product

Climate Platform is an online platform where customers receive key information regarding their exposure to climate risks regarding the crops that they source and/or invest in. When customers access the online platform through password and login, they see their areas of interest in a dashboard, and will receive key information regarding climate risks of the crops of their interest in those areas. The climate risks identified include: droughts, flooding, temperature change, changing seasonality, overheating, frost, and water scarcity. We have chosen these parameters, because these parameters have a great effect on crops which hurt the business of our (potential) customers.

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Customers and their Needs

Customers need an online platform that provides consistent and reliable data concerning the exposure of crops to climate risks. Our customers are characterised as multinationals that are active all over the world, who need climate information that they can directly use in their strategies and operations without additional processing. To satisfy those needs, Climate Platform provides multiple data layers and summarizing indicators, and comes with an easy-to-understand user interface.

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Targeted customer/users countries

Climate Platform is a global service.

Target customer segments are the food & beverage industry and the financial sector. Potential clients from both segments are involved as pilot users of the service.

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Product description

Climate Platform is an innovative service that provides insights regarding the (local) exposure of crops to climate change impact. The provided information has the following features:

• Global, comparable, up-to-date, and reliable data with predictive power.
• Scalable and cost efficient.
• Resulting in a data driven action plan

Climate risk related services currently available in the market have major limitations, including the following:

• Specialised knowledge is required to access the data.
• It is often unclear what the data means for the company; it is challenging to translate the data to the business. The risks are generic in the sense that they are not linked to business performance. Example: the increase in temperature is provided, but not what the impact will be of the temperature rise on the client.
• Some services only use historical data without integrating climate models, which limits their predictive value.

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Added Value

Our service provides insights into the impact of climate change on crop production and business performance, which enables the mitigation of companies’ exposure to climate risks.

Example pains that we relieve include:

• Production sites are forced to close during the dry season for multiple months by the local government to safe water for the agricultural sector.
• Production sites are faced by high prices of crops that are needed for their production due to failed local harvests (due to higher temperatures for instance).
• A lower quality of foods and beverages are produced when the crops have lower quality.
• Shareholders demand more and more from companies to be transparent regarding their exposure to climate risks.
• Investments in agriculture are lost when climate risks are not taken into account (agricultural lands do not produce the expected volumes).
• Additional costs to mitigate climate risks of assets when climate risks are not estimated before investments are committed.
• Shareholders demand more and more from companies to be transparent regarding their exposure to climate risks.

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Current Status

A prototype of climate platform is developed. 52impact is working on bringing the prototype to an operational service. The service is discussed with multiple potential customers. The focus is on how to integrate the service into existing processs of the clients.

Objectives of the Product

The amount of data to be downloaded from Earth Observation (EO) satellites is highly dependent on the type of payload, however the trend is clearly towards an increasing demand of data volumes at the time that the variety of EO payloads and complexity increase. To face this problem, SENER proposes the development of the EODDL-LYNX, which is a new version of the previous existing high-rate data downlink system called EODDL, using the work performed in the EODDL Payload Data Transmitter to integrate it with a built-in active electronically steerable antenna for data downlink on EO satellites in X-band, aiming to increase the data downlink capacity, and at the same time reducing power consumption, mass and cost respect to traditional fix antenna systems. EODDL-LYNX also allows to maximize the data transmission in orbit at low elevations, offers modulation scheme flexibility and growth potencial. In particular, EODDL-LYNX achieves a medium-high data rate, a medium power consumption, a low-medium mass and a medium cost.

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Customers and their Needs

The key customers segments targeted by our product are the satellite manufactures of small satellites for the Commercial EO market, although its flexibility makes it a suitable solution for any application in which massive data downlink is required. In particular, EODDL-LYNX is a product targeting the satellite manufactures of Microsatellites and Minisatellites. The identified and approached customers are Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, Maxar, QinetiQ, LuxSpace, OHB-I, OHB-Systems, Deimos, Sitael, Satlantis and Satellogic. For these companies, EODDL-LYNX can represent a suitable choice or a highly convenient replacement of a previous solution initially chosen. Furthermore, six of these companies (Deimos, QinetiQ, OHB-Italy, Satlantis, Sitael and LuxSpace) have shown their interest in EODDL-LYNX by signing a support letter and have been already contacted to analyse their necessities in advance to propose this product. Moreover, it is considered to inform them of the product development advances in order to align it with their necessities as they are changing. The customer segments needs that are covered by the EODDL-Lynx product are the following: a medium-high data rate, a medium power consumption, a low-medium envelope, a medium cost and a low-medium mass.

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Targeted customer/users countries

Germany, France, United States, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain and Argentina.  

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Product description

EODDL-LYNX is a fully integrated electronically steerable downlink system, which integrates a Payload Data Transmitter with an active electronically steerable antenna. The active antenna system has a pyramidal configuration of five switchable antenna tiles controlled by the integrated electronic box, which implements the antenna beamforming and control function, and the base band modulation for data encoding and transmission. The electronic box also includes the power supply, external I/Fs and frequency conversion stages. The main components of the product are the mother board, the up conversion stage, the RF switch, the antenna tiles and the power supply unit. The proposed data downlink system, with built-in phased array antenna, represents an innovation respect to the available technologies and products, because it increases the amount of data that can be transmitted and at the same time, it reduces the power consumption respect to traditional X-band downlink systems which relay on fixed Isoflux antennas. In comparison with data downlink systems based on mechanically steerable antennas, EODDL-LYNX is a solution much cheaper, more compact and lighter. Our product has distributed amplification, allowing grateful degradation in case of any power amplifier fails, unlike traditional downlink systems,which are based on a unique power amplifier element.

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Added Value

EODDL-LYNX presents a compact design of a fully integrated Data Downlink system, with in house developed Payload Data Transmitter and active antenna. This solution provides a maximum integration level for a low mass product. EODDL-LYNX allows to obtain higher data rates at a lower transmitted power,with low consumption comparable with traditional systems based on fix isoflux antenna. The high processing capacity of its electronics embeds a relevant growth potential towards even higher order modulations and more advanced SDR based signal processing. The reprogrammable FPGA allows offering to the end-user a high flexibility to adapt the product to the specific needs of each program. The product has been conceived at start adopting a modular approach, targeting a family of simplified versions of one or three tiles for cost optimization in mission with low data download requirements. This flexibility is offered at the price of a limited customisation cost. Therefore, the EODDL-LYNX product presents a competitive price. This solution also allows to have higher contact time than isoflux based systems and presents a distributed amplification which, in case of a failure in a power amplifier, results in a small impact on the total power transmitted.

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Current Status

The EODDL-LYNX project is focused on the design and breadboard of a X-band active electronically steerable antenna as an alternative to mechanically steerable antennas, and on the integration of the antenna and the modem developed in the previous InCubed project in a single box configuration for data downlink on Earth Observation satellites. EODDL-LYNX inherits the experience of SENER producing antennas for satellites including Earth Observation applications. SENER has soundtrack record in the RF and communication system market for space applications, outstanding flight heritage in RF units and well stabilised commercial relationship with the key industrial actors in Europe and America. Thanks to that SENER has well established key resources to successfully complete this activity. SENER has experience on space qualified electronics units in ESA missions and is a leader in Commercial and ESA programs for antennas, RF products and electronics.

Objectives of the Product

The product offers an asset-level global inventory of commercial, industrial, and utility-scale PV installations. It enriches data with generating capacity, installation date, historic land cover, and proximity to protected areas and indigenous lands. This aids in understanding global land-cover patterns and facilitates decision-making regarding renewable energy deployment, considering factors like land use and political acceptability

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Customers and their Needs

The product targets various users including policymakers, land planning authorities, and market intelligence companies in the renewable energy industry. Policymakers utilize the data to align renewable energy policies with national goals and ensure effective design. Land planning authorities benefit from detailed maps of installed PV capacity for informed decision-making on land allocation and environmental impact management. Market intelligence companies use the datasets for strategic decision-making and market insights. User needs encompass an asset-level overview, precise location, plant outline for size assessment and land impact evaluation, installation year, and identification of land types utilized for solar deployment. Challenges entail maintaining data accuracy, accessibility, and relevance to diverse user requirements, while addressing market demand and regulatory compliance.

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Targeted customer/users countries

Policymakers, market analysts, land developers, land originators, environmental analysts, researchers. Global scope.

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Product description

SolarEye applies computer vision on Sentinel-2 imagery to detect commercial and utility-scale solar PV installations on a global scale. By back-tracking Sentinel-2 imagery, SolarEye is capable of enriching the asset-level data with the year of installation and land type replaced in favor of solar PV.

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Added Value

SolarEye brings value to users by delivering asset-level data that includes key metadata such as installation date, size, and historic land use.

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Current Status

The project is currently half-way in the derisking phase.

Objectives of the Product

Farmers lack scalable solutions for managing nitrogen—the most critical nutrient for crop growth, yield, and profits—with existing tools costly, inaccurate, and/or impractical for widescale use. Messium leverages hyperspectral satellites, machine learning, advanced weather forecasting and crop growth models to provide weekly, cost-effective nitrogen assessments for wheat fields, using wavelengths only hyperspectral satellites can detect. Messium provides growers optimised fertiliser timing and quantity recommendations that maximise yield, cut inputs and boost farm profits.

Messium operates a B2B2C sales model, selling its services to corporate agronomy consultancies, fertiliser companies, and large agricultural enterprises. These organisations are the primary customers, purchasing Messium’s solution to enhance their offerings, deliver better client outcomes, and gain a competitive edge in the highly demanding agriculture industry.

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Customers and their Needs

Messium operates a B2B2C model, providing fertiliser companies, agronomy groups, and precision agri-tech startups with nitrogen estimation insights that they integrate into their existing platforms. These partners then deliver Messium’s data to end users—farmers and agronomists—through their established networks, enabling more precise fertiliser recommendations without requiring behavioural changes.

By offering accurate, frequent, and affordable nitrogen insights, Messium helps its B2B partners enhance their services, attract customers, and maintain a competitive edge. Farmers and agronomists benefit from these insights through their existing agritech platforms, improving yield efficiency while reducing costs and environmental impact.

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Targeted customer/users countries

United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, US and Canada.

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Product description

Hyperspectral satellites represent a transformative advancement in remote sensing technology, offering a comprehensive and detailed perspective of Earth’s surface. Unlike conventional satellites that capture imagery across a broad spectrum of wavelengths, hyperspectral satellites break down the electromagnetic spectrum into numerous finely spaced bands, allowing for a highly nuanced analysis of materials and environmental conditions. Our innovation utilises cutting-edge hyperspectral satellite technology to assess wheat crop nitrogen status remotely, addressing sub-optimal nitrogen use in farming. Our primary focus is on developing and implementing a novel wheat nitrogen management system, representing a step-change improvement over current approaches.

We merge existing and new research to translate imagery data into actionable insights, offering nitrogen concentration and optimal application insights. We are building the world’s largest spectral library for wheat nitrogen, accounting for various wheat varieties and soil types across growth stages, matching satellite imagery with ground truth through custom data pipelines. The project yields actionable nitrogen application insights (quantity and timing) and early warning alerts for when crops are becoming nitrogen deficient, delivered via API to existing integrated agri-tech platforms. These outputs empower farmers to optimise nitrogen use, cut costs, and meet regulatory and environmental demands, addressing the need for efficient nitrogen management in agriculture.

Architecture Diagram

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Added Value

The Messium Nitrogen Estimator drives significant nitrogen cost savings for farmers, with annual potential savings or yield boosts in their tens of thousands for most farms. These savings empower farmers to allocate funds more effectively, whether investing in productivity-enhancing technology, increasing employment or addressing personal financial goals.

From an environmental perspective, Messium stands to make substantial contributions to reducing toxic nitrous oxide emissions and mitigating nitrate runoff into drinking water sources. With targeted and precise applications, Messium can maximise nitrogen use efficiency and minimise nitrogen leakage and loss. This aligns closely with governmental regulations being introduced across Europe to better manage nitrate run-off and nitrous oxide emissions.

Compared to other solutions, our product is:

• More accurate – hyperspectral is a step-change improvement over existing multispectral or NDVI-based solutions.
• More frequent – hyperspectral constellations offer weekly data refresh, versus monthly for existing satellite-based solutions.
• Less labour-intensive – data retrieved remotely, requiring little to no farmer input, critically necessitating minimal behaviour change to existing operations.
• More cost-effective – the cost per hectare is less than the amount they are able to generate or save using the product.

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Current Status

The Messium Nitrogen Estimator activity successfully concluded on 28 February 2025 with the completion of the Final Review which took place in Rome, Italy.