ESA BIC Noordwijk incubatees Carble and Soilspect both have won the local prize of this year’s European space business competition – the Copernicus Masters and Galileo Masters.

Together with the Netherlands Space Office (NSO), SBIC Noordwijk is organiser of the Netherlands Prizes of the Copernicus & Galileo Masters 2021. Through this competition, both entities have brought attention to the application of space technologies on earth for several years now.

This year, we are pleased to inform two businesses in the ESA BIC Noordwijk incubation programme have won the local awards.* The winners were announced by NSO director Harm van de Wetering at the Space Awards night on December 14.

The competition has been one of, if not the biggest European celebration of entrepreneurship in the space industry for several years. Last year, Dutch startup and ESA BIC Noordwijk incubatee Reef Support won the overall Copernicus Masters 2020.

Copernicus Prize The Netherlands 2021: Carble is taking carbon storage to the next level

Startups that use remote sensing technologies to measure carbon storage are on the rise, and for good reason. But Carble extends that idea and uses this concept in a specific, more focused way. Their approach: creating a platform for coffee brands to reward coffee farmers in Ethiopia for storing carbon in coffee forests. This way, the coffee industry fights climate change, coffee brands improve their sustainability efforts and coffee farmers get a fair price for their work. Truly a win-win-win idea!

More on Carble: read our interview

Galileo Prize The Netherlands 2021: Soilspect automates ground settlement measurements

Soilspect, founded by four engineering students that met in an entrepreneurial minor, is solving one of the biggest problems with manual land surveying. This of course can be time consuming and very labour intensive. The startups has developed a device that automatically monitors ground settlement with the use of GNSS. Ground settlement data will then be presented in an online dashboard for necessary trends and insights.

More on Soilspect: read our interview

NSO and SBIC Noordwijk congratulate both winners and wishes them more successes in the near future.

*Disclaimer: as we also manage the ESA BIC Noordwijk programme, we kept away from discussing these businesses in the selection and voting.

The Galileo Prize The Netherlands and Copernicus Prize The Netherlands are brought to you by the Netherlands Space Office (NSO) and SBIC Noordwijk.

The Galileo Prize Netherlands and the Copernicus Prize Netherlands were also made possible by our competition partners ANWB, ESA Space Solutions, HE Space, NVR, Rabobank and Zuits.

The post Carble and Soilspect winners of The Netherlands Prizes at Copernicus Masters & Galileo Masters 2021 appeared first on Space Business Innovation Centre Noordwijk.

The space industry literally bring endless opportunities to improve life on earth. Where commercial earth observation nowadays is popular amongst entrepreneurs, let’s not forget the impact of satellite navigation on our daily lives. If you have such an idea, you can make a business out of it with help from the Galileo Masters competition.

The Galileo Masters is the global innovation competition scouting for cutting-edge solutions using satellite navigation data. It is looking for the best uses and business cases of a GNSS like Galileo in fields like agriculture, logistics, healthcare, cyber security, location-based services etc. Since 2004, the competition has counted for 4.700 business cases and attracted more than 13.000 participants. Fuelled by the European Commission, this event is aiming to utilize space technology to improve life on earth.

Galileo Masters prizes: what’s in it for you?

What’s in it for you? Well, for starters, it has the biggest prize pool to date. There is over 830.000 euro in prize money and expertise to distribute. Next to that, there is over 350.000 euro worth of the Galileo Incubation Programme to distribute. This programme is funded by the European Commission. It will support entrepreneurs and startups to move beyond idea conception into business incubation in order to develop their solutions into true commercial ventures.

Choose your path

It’s recommended to apply your idea and link it to a specific region in Europe. Why? Because each region offers slightly different prizes. See what market suits you best, and apply there to get the best tailored support after the competition. There are 18 regions to choose from! For instance, winning the Galileo Prize Netherlands gets you office space and business support in the form of incubation programmes like the Ignition Programme and even ESA BIC Noordwijk.

Need help with an idea and just want to compete and test your entrepreneurial skills? There are 8 partner challenges (for instance by the EU/EUSPA, ESA and the German government) that focus on markets that need our attention right now.

Thanks to the initial outline of the competition, you basically can win twice. Whether you apply for a country prize or a specific partner challenge (or both!), either way you are also automatically competing for the overall Galileo Masters 2021 award.

If this appeals to you, and have an idea that can benefit the world, you can apply until July 19, 2021.

The Galileo Prize Netherlands is brought to you by Netherlands Space Office and SBIC Noordwijk.

The Galileo Prize Netherlands is also made possible by our competition partners ANWB, ESA Space Solutions, HE Space, NVR, Rabobank and Zuits.

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Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) like Europe’s GALILEO play an important part for sustaining life on earth. Actually, it’s crucial. Here’s why we can’t live without satellite navigation & communication.

Emergency rescues

GNSS signals will play a key role in civilian protection and humanitarian operations and disasters, especially when conditions are harsh. For instance, they are an invaluable asset for coastguards and border control authorities, ensuring faster rescue operations.

To go into more detail, Galileo’s Search and Rescue (SAR) alarm signal is indispensable. For example, in the event of a boat or airplane crash, the SAR transmitter will send an emergency positioning signal that will be received by the satellites, allowing for a quick and accurate emergency response.  

On a personal level: in short, GNSS signals allows users to determine their location and the location of other people or objects at any given moment.

Scientific, environmental and meteorological research

Galileo signals are crucial for scientific research in areas like geology. It is also used in the mapping and measuring of oceans, tides and sea levels – great for understanding climate change. And then there’s the meteorological impact: without we can’t have accurate weather forecasts. For instance Galileo improves measurements in the atmosphere like the level of water vapour in the air.

Next to that, the scientific community simply needs the high-accuracy timing signals of a GNSS if they want to measure time as accurate as possible, as is often done with an atomic clock.

No transport troubles

In road transport, Galileo’s highly accurate and reliable signals play an important role in fleet management, delivering the vehicle’s positioning on a map. It’s also used to help locate specific shipments, thus creating more efficiency in logistics. The same advantages go for aviation, maritime, rail, and even pedestrian traffic.   

Also it’s crucial in transport safety: dangerous goods can be tracked by transmitting GNSS-based positioning data, along with other information about the status of the cargo. And smart tachographs are GNSS-enabled and simply couldn’t work without them. These devices of course are used by truck drivers for location and time tracking because they must take breaks, which adds to the safety on road.

And what about public transport? Well, imagine your daily routine when there’s no traffic control at all. And think of all the traffic apps that give you the most optimal route. They couldn’t work without the availability of accurate positioning – which is necessary to give the right delay info.

(Local) governments also can’t operate properly without GNSS for traffic management. As roads are becoming more congested every year, authorities rely on satellite navigation to regulate road use and traffic jams.

Timing signals in finance, communication & energy industry

The world is depending on accurate time handling. In short, Galileo’s Public Regulated Service (PRS) time signal is key for critical infrastructure such as power grids, telecommunication networks, and the functioning of the global financial system. The PRS ensures availability even when access to other services won’t work.

In today’s information society and global economy, security, authenticity and confidentiality have emerged as major issues in the exchange of electronic documents and computer files, especially in the financial industry. That’s why certified time stamps are key in the daily use of ATM’s and other machines which involves payments, electronic banking, e-commerce and stock transactions. Without, you can’t even withdraw and transfer money and companies can’t even make payments. As you can imagine, that means a huge obstacle for the continuation of our global economy.

On a more personal level, let’s talk about the buddy in your pocket: smartphones need (wireless) telecommunication networks and mobile phone companies rely on this timing signal for network management, among others.

The most scary thing of all, when GNSS services won’t work? A failure of a power grid. Without energy, daily life comes to an abrupt end, causing a major disruption. Accurate location systems are essential in the design, construction and operation of modern energy networks. Power grids must be continuously monitored, and when a power line breaks, it is vital that monitoring instruments are synchronised with maximum accuracy. Time synchronisation by Galileo for instance makes sure the energy distribution in done safely.

We can’t live without Galileo

When you first think of satellite navigation and communication, you might not think of the impact it has on society. We hope you think different about this subject now, as we also think it deserves more attention.

In short: a GNSS like Galileo saves lives, ensures the continuity of our global economy and is the perfect preventer of personal discomfort.

Your idea is wanted

Still, there are tons of other crucial appliances to think of, like IoT, location based services, civil engineering and agriculture. And that’s where you come in. If you think you have an idea that can benefit the world, try submitting it to the Galileo Masters space business competition. With a prize pool of over 850.000 euro and a business incubation prize pool of over 350.000 euro, the organisation wants you to turn the winning ideas into reality. Inspired? Then apply before July 19, 2021.

The Galileo Prize Netherlands is brought to you by Netherlands Space Office and SBIC Noordwijk.

The Galileo Prize Netherlands is also made possible by our competition partners ANWB, ESA Space Solutions, HE Space, NVR, Rabobank and Zuits.

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