Innovation fuelled by Earth Observation
An immense opportunity for the development of innovative services and products has opened up: the advent of the Big Data era, spearheaded by Copernicus’ free, full and open data policy and galvanised by the emergence of new business models for exploiting Earth Observation data.
In order to benefit from this opportunity, start-ups and SMEs need four basic elements: access to capital, knowledge, markets and technology. Starting in May 2019, the PARSEC project set out to make these resources much more accessible through a holistic acceleration programme alongside coaching, training and market entry support.
Since then, the PARSEC Accelerator has enabled the transformation of innovative ideas into market-ready products that bring significant value to users in the food, energy and environment sectors. 100 winners of the first Open Call received a small cash injection of 10K, and 15 winning teams from the second Open Call have benefitted from a substantial grant of 100K.
PARSEC is supporting the optimum exploitation of EO data and services in support of the implementation of regional smart specialisation strategies and the increased competitiveness of EU companies on the international stage.
Faster, Higher, Stronger
Becoming a market champion in the Earth Observation context implies being able to quickly analyse vast amounts of data, develop services of great value and bring them to as many customers as possible. To help boost these capabilities, PARSEC set up three Large Scale Demonstrators, known as the Business Catalysts:
The Big Data Toolbox: A suite of resources helping companies to harness the power of big EO data.
The In-situ Data Hub: A store-house of non-space data that can enhance or validate EO products.
eoMALL Galleries and eoPages: These portals act as a “window to the market” for solution providers.
The Business Catalysts were developed by innovative SMEs within the PARSEC consortium. Beyond facilitating the acceleration process of new marketable solutions, the “business catalysts” developed in PARSEC will help the greater Earth Observation community to achieve the motto: “Faster, Higher, Stronger”.
As part of the legacy of PARSEC, these tools will come to complement the technology provided by the Copernicus DIAS platforms. They will support the business models for future EO-based innovation, including – but not limited to – the solutions commercialised through the PARSEC Accelerator.
Let the ideas take flight
After a fierce pitching competition, an independent jury of experts selected the most promising 15 teams representing cross-border and/or cross-sectoral consortia (#15PARSEC). The teams were awarded 100.000€ each in equity-free funding, and can enjoy the support of PARSEC’s second stage business services to help them see their innovations enter the market, until the end of the project in December 2021. Here are the 15 winning solutions!
 | Providing actionable intelligence for development planning and investment Village Data Analytics Energy, Food, Environment |
 | Crop Predictions Take Flight xseedscore Food |
 | Global oil pollution intelligence OKEANOS Energy, Environment |
 | Snow information for Hydropower SNOWi Energy |
 | Automated cotton insurance Cottonsurance Environment |
 | Preventing illegal fishing Copernicus Blue Environment, Food |
 | Optimizing navigation routes with precision polar fisheries POLARIS Food |
 | Space application for detecting Aedes mosquito risk areas Dipetron Environment |
 | Monitoring carbon uptake of forests from space Foresight Carbon Environment |
 | Integrated planning for climate resilient and energy renewable cities The Century Project Energy |
 | Observing and understanding the environment ScyscrApp Environment |
 | EO and long-range drones combined solution for power line inspections. Rom(EO) Energy |
 | Air Quality-Based Urban Routing and Information HealthyPlaces Environment |
 | EO-Based Digital Chemical-free Plant Protection System IO3T Food |
 | Pest and disease warning and prediction platform for horticulture Space4Fauna Environment |
On the Horizon
We are examining options for the future of the accelerator beyond the end of the project, and are seeking ways in which we can continue to support the development of EO-based products and services, enabling access to finance, knowledge, markets and expertise.
Are you interested in future partnership? Let us know here and we will contact you shortly.
Follow us, as our journey continues, with our next flagship event, presenting the results of the PARSEC Accelerator, in December.
Twitter: @PARSEC_EU
Facebook: PARSEC Accelerator
LinkedIn Group: PARSEC Accelerator
For further information
Project Coordinator
Mr. Emmanuel Pajot
email: emmanuel.pajot@earsc.org
Tel: +32487743569
Project Manager
Mrs. Weronika Borejko
email: weronika.borejko@earsc.org
Tel: +48663881993
The PARSEC project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 824478.