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Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today. Overcoming it requires a green transformation – one characterised by a drastic reduction in carbon emissions and a significant increase in sustainable best practices. 

Driving this transformation is the European Green Deal, which strives to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. But to achieve this goal, companies must take a deep look at their internal operations, as well as their supply chains, to identify opportunities for reducing their own environmental footprint. 

This is where EU Space comes into play.

The EU Space Programme, including Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS, can play a critical role in supplying the information companies need to monitor environmental indicators, reduce their environmental impact, become more sustainable and drive the green transformation.

“EU Space data and services are an important asset to support the implementation of the Green Deal,” says EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa. “Businesses in particular stand to benefit from a myriad of possible applications for EU Space data, which translates into greener practices, cost reductions and increased efficiency.”

EU Space for Green Transformation, a new report by EUSPA, introduces the Green Deal and its implications for companies. It also presents detailed examples of how various industries, including energy, road transport, aviation, agriculture, forestry and mining, are leveraging the power of EU Space to drive their sustainability journeys.

EU Space data supports the shift to renewable energy  

According to the Report, the EU Space Programme is set to support the energy sector’s shift from fossil fuels to renewables – a process that starts with site selection. 

Choosing the right location for renewable energy infrastructure is a key prerequisite to efficient energy production. Connections to the grid, historical weather data (solar irradiance, windspeeds and directions, marine currents, etc.), as well as oro- and topographical characteristics, are all crucial parameters in this process.

EU Space data makes finding the optimal site easier. For example, using information gathered from Copernicus’ satellites and atmospheric models, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service produces global irradiation models that the renewable energy sector can use to make informed decisions on where to best place solar panels. Considering Copernicus’ ability to monitor wind and marine currents, similar applications can be used to optimise the location of wind turbines and tidal power generation plants. 

EU Space offers substantial environmental benefits

Once the infrastructure is built and operational, it must be maintained – something that becomes all the more challenging when the solar panels and wind turbines are located in difficult-to-reach and remote locations. 

Here too EU Space can help.

The precise positioning services offered by Galileo and EGNOS, together with the latest developments in computer vision-aided navigation, enable the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, to efficiently, effectively and safely inspect renewable energy infrastructure.  

GNSS-enabled drones are already used to remotely detect solar panel hotspots, which can reduce power generation, and inspect wind turbine structures. With the forthcoming Galileo High Accuracy Service, this capability will become even more efficient and widespread. 

“Whether it be increasing the efficiency of renewable energy infrastructure, enabling more efficient flightpaths or implementing precision agriculture operations, as this Report makes clear, the cumulative environmental benefits enabled by the EU Space Programme are simply substantial,” concludes da Costa. 

To learn how your company’s sustainability journey can benefit from EU Space data and services, download the full EU Space for Green Transformation report here. Or contact us at market@euspa.europa.eu.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

Galileo, European Union Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), begins the delivery of its High Accuracy Service (HAS) today as officially announced by Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, “feeding a prosperous market for innovative applications – from farming to drone navigation and autonomous driving.”

Galileo is now the first Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) providing free-of-charge, high accuracy Precise Point Positioning (PPP) corrections worldwide both through the Galileo signal in space (E6-B) and via the internet.  

The precise corrections provided by the Galileo HAS will allow users to improve the accuracy associated with the orbit, clocks and biases provided through the Galileo Open Service broadcast navigation messages and the GPS Standard Positioning Service navigation data. These corrections enable the computation of a high accuracy positioning solution in real-time when processed by an appropriate algorithm in the users’ receivers tracking the Galileo E6-B signal.

The typical accuracy below a few decimetres (<25cm horizontal) in nominal conditions of use is a revolution where Europe provides this as an integrated service for free, thus allowing the massive development of applications worldwide. 

“This new service has been made possible thanks to the outstanding cooperation and team commitment of all involved partners” declared EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa.

“Galileo HAS will become the pillar of many EU sectorial policies. Currently, high accuracy is primarily used in such professional applications as surveying, precision agriculture and civil engineering, amongst others,” he says. “However, new and emerging applications, including autonomous driving, unmanned vehicles, robotics and a range of location-based services will all welcome high accuracy.” 

Da Costa also notes that, when used in synergy with Copernicus, the Galileo HAS will open up new market possibilities and help design new services. 

All official HAS documentation, including its Service Definition Document (SDD) are available in the European GNSS Service Center (E-GSC), managed by EUSPA. 

The culmination of an ongoing process

In 2021, EUSPA published an Information Note on the Galileo HAS. The note provided an overview of the service’s main characteristics, along with information on such key features as targeted performance and markets, service levels and a roadmap for implementation. 

External stakeholders participated in a testing campaign of the Galileo HAS Signal in Space broadcasting. Thus, relevant feedback has been collected not only on the HAS SiS Interface Control Document structure and implementation at the receiver level, but also on service-related aspects and specifications. 

“The Galileo High Accuracy Service offers new levels of accuracy to everyone who needs it, while the Open Service Navigation Message Authentication allows users to authenticate Galileo signals, and therefore supports spoofing detection. ESA's role is to oversee Galileo system upgrades, working together with Galileo’s service provider, EUSPA, and its owner, the European Union”, remarks Javier Benedicto, ESA Director of Navigation.

“The Galileo programme has been performing a long set of HAS testing activities since 2019 leading to the first-ever HAS signal broadcast in May 2021,” adds Javier de Blas, EUSPA Commercial and HAS manager. “Based on the feedback gained during the joint efforts conducted by EUSPA, the European Commission and ESA, with the key support of the European aerospace industry during the testing phase, we were able to publish the first Galileo High Accuracy Service Signal in Space Interface Control Document and introduce the necessary changes to ensure the HAS Initial Service implements the feedback received from the users.”  

Following the HAS Initial Service Declaration, the Galileo Programme will continue its efforts to incrementally improve its coverage and performance over the next years towards its Full-Service Declaration.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

After several months of intensive testing and continuous improvement, the Galileo OSNMA Public Observation Test Phase is coming to an end. During this period, receiver manufacturers and application developers from different market segments were able to design their own OSNMA solutions and validate the service’s performance in various scenarios. The feedback provided by involved stakeholders has been key to fine-tuning the data authentication mechanism throughout the testing phase. An updated version of Galileo OSNMA Receiver Guidelines for the Test Phase has been issued in October 2022 and can be downloaded from GSC electronic library. 

As a conclusion of the Public Observation Test Phase, EUSPA will host a final workshop to gather and get feedback from the community. 

It is taking  place online on 16 February 2023 from 1.00 pm to 5.30 pm. 

A preliminary agenda for the event can be found here. Participants will be able to present how they implemented  OSNMA , learn key aspects of the service tested and discover what is coming for OSNMA in the next months. In preparation for the service provision phase, the Galileo OSNMA Receiver Guidelines for Service Phase have been published in December 2022. 

EUSPA and EC experts will share the main takeaways of this important phase for the Galileo authentication service. In addition, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) will present an overview of the results obtained using non nominal test vector scenarios. Key E-GNSS actors will discuss their test results, and specific use cases will be presented by selected market stakeholders. The last part of the workshop will present two different approaches for the implementation of OSNMA in smartphones.

To attend this Workshop, please register here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).