South West Water
How can space-enabled technologies be used to understand where and how water company activities interface with nature?
The South West SpaceTech Challenge will support innovative entrepreneurs using space-enabled technologies to grow their business, and connect with commercial opportunities in the Climate & Nature Resilience and Offshore Wind spaces. As part of the SpaceWest programme, it will push forward our ambition to build a leading space ecosystem across our region.
What is the Innovation Challenge
The South West SpaceTech Challenge is a competition inviting innovators using space-enabled technologies to provide solutions to real world problems in offshore wind. It is led by the Space West and supported by Deloitte.
This is a unique opportunity for innovators to work with an important growing sector and gain a deeper understanding of specific industry challenges. The package of support will help innovators develop solutions with the potential to scale up for the global market.
The Challenge aims to deliver three key objectives:
- Supercharge the growth of SpaceTech businesses in the South West region
- Help organisations associated with Climate & Nature Resilience and Offshore Wind (the Challenge Group) to lift-the-lid on the applications of SpaceTech for their industry
- Connect SpaceTech businesses with the Challenge Group organisations to encourage collaboration and commercial opportunity
South West SpaceTech Challenge Workshop
We will be hosting an in person workshop event with further information on the Challenges in Bristol on Thursday 1 February 2024– to sign up, click here.
Why take part?
Taking part in the South West SpaceTech Challenge will give you an opportunity to:
- understand product market fit by applying your space-enabled technology to specific real-world business problems
- build your network with large organisations seeking external innovation
- learn best practises on how to grow your business.
By participating in this program, you will get access to:
- in-person networking and pitch events, where you will receive tailored feedback from our judging panel
- four virtual, interactive webinars on the topics of product roadmap, fundraising, pitching and proposal writing
- access to a mentor pool of both Innovation and Space subject matter experts
- 1-1 Collaboration sessions with the Challenge Group to ensure your solutions align to their business challenges.
The Challenge Statements
STATEMENT 1
Climate & Nature Resilience: How can using space-enabled technologies help organisations and individuals understand, evaluate, or mitigate their climate and nature related risks?
STATEMENT 2
Offshore Wind: How can using space-enabled technologies have a positive impact on businesses operating within the Offshore Wind value chain?
Innovators can take part in either of the above Challenge Statements and showcase how their space-enabled technology can be leveraged in these areas.
Further, more specific challenges briefs have been developed by the Challenge Group, and innovators are invited to apply to showcase how their technology can provide solutions for these current, real world problems end users are facing today.
The Challenge Group
The Challenge briefs have been developed by a group of organisations developing UK Climate & Nature Resilience and growing the offshore wind industry in the Celtic Sea.
To learn more, click on the green arrow to read the Challenge Briefs.
Challenge Area - Climate & Nature Resilience
The Environment Agency
How can space-enabled technologies be used to ensure we are a nation ready for and resilient to flood and coastal change now and in the future?
Challenge Area - Offshore Wind
Celtic Sea Power
At Celtic Sea Power we want to understand the applications of Satellite data for:
- Measurement of Turbulence Intensity, including high shear events like low-level jets etc.
- Modelling of wave period to a higher degree of accuracy
- Modelling currents
- Mapping fishing and leisure vessels (sub AIS scale)
- Understanding the environmental impact of Offshore wind (e.g. to birds and marine mammals)
- Conductivity salinity temperature and depth
The Crown Estate
The Crown Estate is a unique landowner growing the financial, environmental and social value of our diverse portfolio to create lasting and shared prosperity for the nation, and we play an active role on the UK seabed in offshore energy, marine aggregates and cables and pipelines. As part of identifying areas to be leased for offshore wind, we use a stakeholder-validated evidence base to enhance understanding of spatial interactions, co-location opportunities and risks to other seabed activities, and through this challenge, we’re interested in understanding how satellite data can help to improve this evidence base. To ensure the most value out of this space solution, there is also further opportunity to use information about smaller leisure and fishing vessels (less than 12 metres in length) that are not captured within existing vessel monitoring datasets. Improving understanding of vessel density and location would be incredibly valuable for marine spatial planning and habitat restoration efforts.
The Challenge Group
The South West SpaceTech Challenge brief was developed by a group of organisations developing UK Climate & Nature Resilience and growing the offshore wind industry in the Celtic Sea.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be an SME business based in the UK.
- Applicants must use space enabled technology, where insights or capabilities are driven by satellite data and services.
- Successful applicants are required to attend two in person events, as well as virtual mentoring and collaboration sessions.
Contact
For information please email: [email protected]
