Ibadan, 25 October, 2022. – The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) has announced the third iteration of its myEUspace competition. The competition challenges innovators to develop game-changing commercial solutions that leverage EU Space data and signals from Galileo, Europe’s
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and/or Copernicus, the European Earth Observation program. As a result, interested persons can register for the competition here.
The myEUspace competition is open to teams from all Member States, including Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland. It has a total prize purse of nearly EUR 1 million. In addition to the cash prize, the competition supports entrepreneurs, from early-stage start-ups to scale-ups, during the entire innovation cycle.
While ideas can range from mobile applications to hardware-based solutions, all must be related to one of three targeted innovation areas:
- Space My Life: Consumer solutions like mobile applications, wearables (smart watches, smart glasses, fitness trackers, etc.), drones, or robotics that address significant societal challenges in focus areas such as health, citizen safety and security, gaming and entertainment, sports and fitness, and tourism.
- Our Green Planet: Innovative solutions addressing environmental challenges and sustainable life that contribute to the implementation of the European Green Deal, as well as solutions that aid the green transformation of corporations. The proposed solutions must address significant societal challenges in focus areas such as the conservation of ecosystems, green mobility, sustainable agriculture, and managing energy and resources.
- Dive in Deep Tech: Innovative solutions that combine EU Space data with deep technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), quantum (quantum computing, sensing, simulation, encryption, etc.), blockchain, the metaverse, and extended reality (augmented reality [AR], mixed reality [MR], virtual reality [VR]). The proposed solutions must address major societal challenges in focus areas such as biotech, MedTech, and fintech.
Participants can compete and win in three different prize tracks, depending on their solution’s maturity during the applications. The price tracks include the following:
- Best Ideas: For promising theoretical ideas that leverage EU space data and have high market potential. The best 15 ideas will receive a cash prize of EUR 10,000 each;
- Best Prototypes: For tested prototypes or beta versions ready to be brought to market. The ten best prototypes will receive a cash prize of EUR 30,000 each; and
- Best Products: For existing commercial products looking to scale up. The five best products will receive a cash prize of EUR 100,000 each.
The competition uses a rolling submission deadline. As a result, teams who win in one category can take the same award-winning idea or prototype and apply again in another track to compete and win additional prizes. The deadlines are 30 November 2022 for the Best Ideas track, 10 February
2023 for the Best Prototype track, and 23 April 2023 for the Best Products track.
The organizers will assess all applications on their innovativeness, market potential, feasibility, relevance to the EU Space Programme, and operational capacity. Winning teams will receive invitations to showcase their solutions to the public and investors during the Contest Finals, part of next June’s Entrepreneurship Day.
