ESA Φ-lab and Altair join forces to drive innovation in Earth observation

ESA has signed a letter of intent with Altair to encourage the development of Earth observation (EO) commercial products and services. The collaboration will target companies supported by ESA Φ-lab, the InCubed EO commercialisation programme, ESA-PhiLabNET, ESA Business Incubation Centres (ESA BICs) and ESA Technology Brokers, within the ESA Partnership Initiative for Commercialisation (EPIC) framework.

ESA Φ-lab plays a pivotal role in driving innovation and commercialisation in the European EO sector, by providing technical, commercial and financial support to a large group of enterprises through the ESA InCubed programme and other numerous research initiatives. Its contributions go beyond funding and guidance, extending to the formation of strategic partnerships that offer essential business and commercialisation services.

One of such partnerships, established through the ESA Partnership Initiative for Commercialisation (EPIC), was secured with the German division of Altair, which provides software and cloud solutions in simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, and AI, and has decades of global experience and reach in the space and newspace sector. Altair is used by primary companies and emerging startups to develop, test, optimise, and build their innovative products, including satellites, launchers, sensors and antennas, probes and rovers.

The partnership between Φ-lab and Altair, within the ESA-Altair Space Acceleration Programme, is focused on the development of a dynamic and thriving EO commercial ecosystem, by making use of digital engineering, AI and data analytics tools, and increasing awareness of EO-based services.

“This collaboration with Altair marks a significant milestone in our mission to push the boundaries of Earth observation exploration and technological development”, comments Giuseppe Borghi, Head of the Φ-lab division. “Together, we aim to leverage the use of HPC and data analytics for the advancement of groundbreaking projects, creating new possibilities within the space research field and enhancing Europe’s position as a leader in Earth observation innovation.”

Further details about this partnership and the two offers for start-ups and large companies provided within the Φ-lab-Altair partnership can be found here.

To know more: Φ-lab, InCubed, ESA BIC, ESA Technology Broker, Altair

Photo courtesy of Pexels/Pavel Danilyuk