Next ESA InCubed Portugal National Call focusing on ‘Earth Observation for Municipalities’

Supported by the ESA InCubed programme, the Portuguese Space Agency has announced a call for innovative projects to modernise Portuguese cities through the use of Earth Observation (EO) technologies. This InCubed call has a total budget of €1.5 million. The deadlines for the first and second cycle of applications are 12 March and 2 June 2025, respectively.

The ESA InCubed programme plays an important role in growth and competitiveness within the space economies of its Participating States by supporting the development of commercially successful business ventures in the Earth Observation sector. As a longstanding participant in InCubed, Portugal has reaffirmed its commitment by announcing a new call for applications seeking InCubed co-funding.

Building on the ‘EO for Municipalities’ initiative by the Portuguese Space Agency, this new call promotes innovation and the adoption or generation of EO data and services at the local government level, targeting participation from the Portuguese industry.

Possible themes include, but are not limited to, territory and urban planning; climate adaptation and mitigation in urban and rural context; air quality and pollution monitoring; biodiversity monitoring and preservation; forestry management and fire preparedness; natural hazards monitoring and emergency management. The budget for this call is €1.5 million, with no upper limit for individual projects.

Submitted proposals must demonstrate that the proposed product or service will be commercially viable or (pre)operationally ready by the conclusion of the InCubed activity, and they should align with the technical specifications for systems integration outlined by the Agency for Administrative Modernisation, I.P. (AMA), under the framework of the National Strategy for Intelligent Territories (ENTI).

Proposals can be submitted at any time, with two evaluation cycles per year. The first evaluation cycle is scheduled for March 2025 and the second one for June 2025. Two online webinars to explain InCubed opportunities in Portugal will take place on 3 March 2025 and 5 May 2025.

“Launching targeted national calls allows us to collaborate closely with our Participating States to drive Earth Observation innovation within individual countries, and the ‘EO for Municipalities’ initiative from Portugal highlights the strong dedication to support commercial initiatives”, commented Michele Castorina, InCubed Programme Manager and Head of the ESA Φ-lab Invest Office. “We are committed to working closely with our Participating States to expand financing opportunities for Europe’s EO sector, and we look forward to receiving innovative proposals from Portuguese companies.”

Further details can be found on the Portuguese Space Agency website. Applicants should summit their proposals on the Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) by 2 June 2025.

To know more: ESA InCubed, Portuguese Space Agency

Photo courtesy of Pexels/Diogo Miranda