Horizon Europe promotes six calls
for space-related projects

The Horizon Europe program opens this Thursday, November 3, six calls for proposals to fund space-related projects with a total budget of 48.1 million euros. The European Union’s funding program for 2021-2027 has 95.5 billion euros to support research and innovation projects in various areas.

These six tenders are managed by the European Union Space Program Agency (EUSPA) and focus on the downstream segment of the use of data generated by European Space Program components such as Copernicus, Galileo, EGNOS and Govsatcom.

The topics of these tenders are: European Navigation Satellite System (EGNSS) applications for smart mobility; Copernicus downstream applications and the European data economy; “Public sector as a user of Galileo and/or Copernicus”; “Large-scale data capture of Copernicus through Artificial Intelligence and High Performance Computing (HPC)”; “Development of space-based downstream applications with international partners”; “Development of GOVSATCOM services and demonstrations”.

The deadline for submitting applications for these opportunities is March 2, 2023. For detailed information as well as to make the application just access the Funding and Tenders Portal.

“Portugal was very successful in the 2021 competition, capturing 875,000 euros in funding. This amount corresponds to 2.71% of the total budget, which translated into a rate of return of 187% for the country,” points out Joan Alabart, Industrial Relations and Projects Officer at the Portuguese Space Agency. “In the 2021 call, the total success rate of applications overall was 26%, significantly higher than the average of the Horizon Europe program,” he adds.

Hugo André Costa, executive member of the board of the Portuguese Space Agency, recalls that “one of the priorities of the national strategy for Space is to promote the diversification of funding sources for industrial and scientific activities”, encouraging Portuguese companies to seek these types of opportunities. “In this sense, Horizon Europe continues to be a good opportunity for the Portuguese businesses in this sector to continue to ensure their development, creating jobs and contributing to national economic growth. It also helps to consolidate Portugal’s position internationally in such a strategic sector as Space,” he further points out.

Horizon Europe is based on three pillars, of which Space finds its place in the second, concerning “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness“, which includes the Digital, Industry and Space cluster. This cluster aims to put European industry at the forefront of key areas while respecting the planet. The ultimate goal is to build a competitive, digital, low-carbon and circular industry, in order to ensure a sustainable supply of raw materials.

In addition to combating climate change, the European Framework Programme aims to contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to promote competitiveness and growth among the countries of the European Union. Thus, and from the European continent, the program seeks to respond to global challenges, stimulating collaboration in research and innovation while supporting European Union policies. In this sense, it is also an objective of Horizon Europe to create jobs and invest in talent in the European Union.

This vision is aligned with the participation that Portugal wants to have in this area, and which is reflected in the National Strategy for Space, Portugal Space 2030, which the Portuguese Space Agency intends to implement.

Marta Gonçalves and Joan Alabart are the national contact points on Horizon Europe, working closely with the other entities of the PERIN network.

Any questions should be sent to the e-mail address horizonteeuropa@ptspace.pt.