The 2026 Space4Climate Members’ Conference highlighted the current wealth of opportunities for growth this summer.
We were proud to host the official announcement by the UK Space Agency of the new UK Commercial Climate Services Call 4, which is bound to be of great interest to our members, designed to fund cutting-edge innovations based on satellite Earth Observation data.
But there were also fresh insights into what the funders are looking for in funding calls that are already open, from the European Space Agency (ESA) and UK Space Agency.
Open door to encourage proposals
Both space agencies are keen to hear directly from potential applicants ahead of submissions, to advise on how best to angle particular proposals and what aspects may need further development. While scopes are deliberately being left open, to encourage businesses and spin outs to put forward their own suggestions for growth areas in the next generation Earth Observation market.
Grants are not the only option for growth – we were also joined by representatives from Barclays Eagle Labs and venture capitalist Greensphere.
UK Commercial Climate Services Call 4
But first, to the details behind the new UK Commercial Climate Services Call 4, which is open until August 7th with a deadline to notify your intention to submit a proposal of July 31st. The total funding pot is £500,000, with up to £85,000 available for each selected proposal and the target is projects in the early stage of development, typically in a Technical Readiness Level 2-4, that is exploring a novel EO-based service. Projects will run from September 2026 – February 2027.
Patrick Gibson, Earth Observation senior lead for Climate at UK Space Agency, said at the conference on June 25th, that while the scope on the new call is broad, ‘We are looking for proposals with a clear pathway to commercial market but that are not quite there yet’.
The official guidelines say: “We will consider all projects demonstrating new and innovative ways of using EO in climate services provided that the service offered or developed is focused on climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience in some way.”
Read the full details of the UK Commercial Climate Services Call 4.
UK Space Agency / ESA InCubed call
Connor Perkins, ESA Earth Observation Programme Lead at UK Space Agency, gave a reminder of the InCubed (Investing in Industrial Innovation) call run jointly between the two space agencies, which opened on June 16th and closes on August 21st. Funding can range from €300,000 to €4m with projects expected to run for up to 18 months. It is open to UK-based organisations with consortia particularly encouraged, and can include participation of non-UK organisations that either have the support of their own national agencies or are self-funded.
Research and academic institutions with no commercial interest in the product can also be part of an industrial-led consortium.
There are two stages: Stage 1 is the Idea Pitch (Outline Proposal) – Applicants must submit an idea pitch via ESA’s ORBIT platform. ESA and the UK Space Agency will jointly assess submissions and invite selected applicants to a pitch session. Stage 2 is the Full Proposal.
Connor’s tip for applicants is to clearly define the product or service you are proposing and clearly set out a route to market within the 18-month timeline.
Read the full details on the ESA UK Space Agency InCubed call.
NSI Call 3 – coming soon
High-risk, high-reward space technologies, services, and applications with clear market potential will be the focus of the new National Space Innovation Programme Call 3, due to go live at the end of July.
Applications will follow a two-stage selection process, preceded by an Expression of Interest.
Major Projects (supported by the UK) – grants of £150,000 – £2m over two and a half years for schemes at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL): 5-9, focussing on commercialisation and growth.
While the scope is deliberately not restrictive, and is open to any technology, application or service, up to 20% of the overall fund will be earmarked for proposals centring on Space Domain Awareness and 20% on In Orbit Manufacturing.
Applications from industry will be limited to one per lead organisation per scheme. Academic institutions and research organisations can submit up to three proposals per scheme.
Look out for details in the Space4Climate Members’ Newsletter and on our LinkedIn page.
Open door for advice
For both these calls, informal support – described as ‘an open door for advice’ – is available by emailing uksa.eot@dsit.gov.uk with the title of the call in the subject line.
The European Space Agency also promoted its ‘open door’ for approaches. Grant Day, ESA’s Business Applications UK Regional Ambassador, told members: “Get in touch if you have an idea … my job is help you navigate the process.”
Again, Grant encouraged making a direct approach with ideas that have a route to market, even if you are not certain which call – if any – is the most suitable, adding: “We want you to tell us where you see the opportunities.”
ESA BASS calls
He encouraged members to explore ESA Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) current calls. These include:
- Pilot Projects (up to €2m) which usefully are awarded as contracts rather than funding.
- Proof of Concept (viability) Studies (up to €600,000) – projects that are technically feasible and economically viable.
- Growth Projects for space-enabled solutions that have already achieved demonstrable commercial success in a primary market to unlock secondary market opportunities.
- Open Call (no deadline).
- Water Sector Call for proof-of-concept and pilot projects, closes August 30th.
- Arctic Region Environment and Economic Resilience Call, has a fluid closing date, currently listed as September 4th.
- Arctic Region Safety, Navigation and Operations, opens September 5th, closes November 5th. Information webinar 10am BST September 9th. One of three sub-calls under the Arctic Region Call for Proposals, supporting European space-enabled solutions to address the region’s growing operational, environmental and security challenges. Open to start‑ups, SMEs, large companies, consortia involving industrial and non‑industrial partners and cross‑sectoral teams combining space and non‑space actors.
- Upcoming Road and Traffic Safety thematic call, opening on July 15th, open to proof-of-concept and pilot projects to develop sustainable space-based services and applications that address challenges related to the road and traffic safety sector. There is an information webinar being held at 10am on July 15th. The call closes on November 27th. Details, including a link to register for the webinar.
Earth Systems & Earth Sciences for action
The first edition of open calls under the recent ESA Earth Action Pillar is due later this summer (no date available at time of writing). The maximum funding per project will be €250,000, said Clement Albergel, Head of ESA’s Actionable Climate Information Section. He talked members through the Earth Action strategic priorities, sitting in the FutureEO programme and embracing the Climate Change Initiative and the Global Development Assistance initiative. It aims to address the ‘triple crisis’ of Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Pollution/Waste by supporting innovation and business ideas for actionable climate and environmental information, and solutions for society.
External support for commercialisation
Routes to growth was the theme running through the conference agenda, from introducing the S4C Board’s proposals for a fee structure to sustain the growth of Space4Climate, to welcoming our new members who bring our total to 101, to a showcase of members innovating for growth, to our guest speakers, Luke Hampson from Barclays Eagle Labs, and Ned Hillsborough of Greensphere venture capitalist.
Barclays Eagle Labs is keen to engage with the satellite Earth Observation community and Luke, the Ecosystem Manager, encouraged members to consider joining their National Climate Tech Accelerator before applications close later this summer. This offers three tiers of support to founders preparing to pitch for investors. They also run the Funding Readiness Programme, which Luke described as an all-encompassing programme, that teaches founders about the funding landscape. It runs 10am-1pm online on Fridays over 10 weeks and helps innovators to connect with large businesses and corporates. Contact Luke by email, luke.hampson@barclays.com
A list of tips on taking the first steps towards commercialisation, particularly relevant to researchers considering spin-outs, was shared by Ned, an Associate who sits on the Gaia Sciences Innovation Fund investment team, drawing on Greensphere’s 15 years investing in renewable energy, agriculture and forestry. His No.1 tip was to focus on products that deliver returns for customers, either easing a pain point for potential customers or justifying a price premium. Greensphere are interested in hearing novel use cases of satellite data that concurrently solve customer pain points and reduce environmental impacts. Contact Ned at ned@greenspherecapital.com.
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