Arctic Region: Environmental and Economic Resilience
ESA funds projects using satellite technology to monitor the Arctic's environment, support climate resilience, and enable sustainable economic activities like fisheries and aquaculture.
Funder: European Space Agency
Due Dates: September 4, 2026: Activity Pitch Questionnaire (APQ) closing date — Sub-call 1: Arctic Region: Environmental and Economic Resilience
Funding Amounts: Up to €600,000 per Proof-of-Concept Study (75–80% ESA co-funding for companies; up to 100% for non-commercial research/public sector, capped at 30% of total cost); Pilot Projects assessed case-by-case.
Summary: Funds space-enabled services for environmental monitoring, climate resilience, and sustainable economic activities in the Arctic.
Key Information: APQ submission is mandatory; national delegation authorisation required for full proposal.
Description
This funding opportunity supports the development of space-enabled services to address environmental protection and climate resilience in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The focus is on monitoring, protecting, and strengthening Arctic ecosystems and supporting economically critical activities such as fisheries and aquaculture, which are increasingly impacted by climate change, pollution, and maritime pressures. Projects should enable services for environmental monitoring, risk reduction, decision-making, and sustainable resource management, leveraging satellite Earth Observation (EO), satellite communications (SatCom), and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
Key areas of interest include:
- Environmental and pollution monitoring (e.g., oil spills, emissions, water quality)
- Climate impact assessment (e.g., ecosystem stress, biodiversity)
- Fisheries and aquaculture resilience
- Food security and sustainable Arctic value chains
- Decision-support tools for environmental authorities and operators
The program is part of ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) under the ACCESS initiative, offering technical guidance, business support, and access to ESA’s network.
