***Opening and closing dates are to be determined. This call is most likely to open in Q2 2023***
Outline proposals will need to be submitted within 6 weeks from the opening date, which is still to be identified.
In the upcoming Announcement of Opportunity, economic operators are invited to propose either a Feasibility Study or a Demonstration Project addressing the theme of: Structural Monitoring and Risk Modelling
KEY FOCUS AREAS
Buildings, infrastructure and urban areas are exposed to an increasing number of events which are determined by anthropic activities (e.g. heavy load vehicles, construction works, environmental pollution) and natural hazards (e.g. earthquakes, climate change, heavy rains, hydrogeological instability). These can potentially compromise the health of structures, including their static and dynamic behaviour under certain conditions, with direct consequences on the stability, functionality, accessibility, service operability and safety of the building, which in some unfortunate cases has lead to loss of life.
Structural Health Monitoring is able to apply a systematic risk assessment by gathering critical information which is essential for all value chain activities including planning, construction, operation, optimisation, safety and service resilience of structures. These services are extremely valuable for a number of end-user and stakeholders including municipalities, building owners and operators, infrastructure network managers, engineering firms, environmental agency, service network operators and smart cities.
Structural Health Monitoring and Risk Modelling systems include a number of elements such as use cases, data models, risk managing processes, system concepts, technologies, in-situ sensors and satellite technologies. Managing this complexity requires a structured, secure means of communications, encompassing the integration between satellite communication and terrestrial communication infrastructure(5G), to ultimately share information across spatial area in a timely manner and ensuring reliable connectivity. In order to design, deploy and manage these types of services for a series of users and applications, trade-offs such as system functionality/complexity and interoperability versus the cost of deployment and operation must be considered andshould be taken in account in the business modelling.
In response to the aforementioned high-level scenarios, four main use cases have been identified and further characterised in collaboration with the end-users (e.g., municipality of l’Aquila, municipality of Torino):
- Structural Health Monitoring of buildings and road infrastructures,
- Utility Network Infrastructure monitoring,
- Risk Modelling and Geotechnical analysis,
- Evaluation of Environmental Impact of construction work and infrastructure operation.
VALUE OF SPACE
All proposed ideas must use satellite or space-based data as well as 5G technology.
- Satellite Communication: Satellite communications might play a role in providing connectivity for remote structure/infrastructures sites (e.g. rural and remote areas). They could play an essential role as back-up connectivity to terrestrial communications.
- Earth Observation: Optical HR/VHR images provide observation capability with high accuracy resolution of the structure/infrastructure and contingent area. This enables a series of functionalities such as vegetation monitoring, change detection and post-event assessment capability. Satellite Radiometric measurements provide altimetry mission mapping (e.g. in land waters build hydrology models); topography models which detect the status and evolution of the earth surface. SAR data and related interferometry data series analysis provides accurate (e.g. to mm) monitoring of the earth surface movements which could evidence risks of landslides and deep seeded gravitational movements. Atmospheric satellite missions provide measurements of the pollution levels such as the presence of dust particles, CO2 ,NO2 across the area-of-interest.
- Satellite Navigation: GNSS enables PNT functions, which are deemed instrumental in the geo-localisation of in-situ sensors, tracking/registering oscillation/tilts of structures/bridges to ultimately support dynamic and static analysis. Navigation functionalities are deemed essential for traffic mappings and heavy-load vehicles stress analysis to determine the capabilities and criticalities of road and bridges. GNSS also enables geo-tagging of environmental and weather parameters to enable analysis, nowcasting and forecasting capabilities. GNSS allows the tracking and route optimisation of vehicles during construction works, delivering key information which will ultimately minimise the environmental impact and living standards across the area of interest.
WHAT WE OFFER
We offer funding and support to companies, both for business case assessment and for the development of new, space-based services related to 'structural monitoring and risk modelling'. Our offer includes:
- Technical & commercial guidance
- Access to our network and partners
- Use of the ESA brand for your service
- Zero-equity funding as summarised in the table presented below:
| ACTIVITY | ESA PROJECT FUNDING (UP to % of ELIGIBLE COST) | ESA CO-FUNDING LIMIT |
| Feasibility Study | 50%** | Max ESA price: 200 kEuro |
| Demonstration Project | 50%** | Max ESA price: 1 MEuro |
** ESA will bear up to 50% of the project cost. The remainder must be financed by the tenderer and/or other partners through private and/or public sector direct or indirect co-financing.
- SMEs (i.e. enterprises fulfilling the criteria defined in the European Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 (2003/361/EC) or as updated) involved in Feasibility Studies or Demonstrations Projects, may be funded by ESA up to 80%.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for teams that have identified an attractive sustainable opportunity with real potential for engaging customers. Motivation, business experience and domain expertise are all important features. We want to hear about your sustainable ideas that involve either space technology or space data. For this call, companies residing in the following Member States will be eligible to apply: AT, BE, CH, CZ, DE, DK, FI, FR, IE, IT, LU, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, UK. Please also see the information below on obtaining letters of support from National Delegations.
HOW TO APPLY
There are two steps involved in applying to this call:
1. Outline Proposal: the first step is the submission of an Outline Proposal.
Please download the relevant tender documentation including the OP template on the website esa-star publications
Please upload the finalised Outline Proposal using the online web submission form.
Outline Proposals shall be submitted to ESA at the latest on a date which is to be determined once the opening and closing dates for this call are known.
2. Full Proposal: Following notification by ESA on the acceptance of the Outline Proposal, the Tenderer may decide to prepare a Full Proposal using the provided template. Only Full Proposals supported with a “Letter(s) of Authorisation of Funding” (AOF) from National Delegations covering the Full Proposal will be admitted for evaluation. The Full Proposals shall be delivered via “esa-star”. To submit the Full Proposal on “esa-star”, the following steps are applicable:
1. Register your team on esa-star today! If your team is made up of more than one company or organisation, each member will need to register.
2. Visit esa-star publications and search for this opportunity to download the official tender documentation. official documents will include proposal templates, a draft contract, and additional information about this opportunity.
3. Create a ‘Bidder Restricted Area’ via esa-star.
4. Use the official documents to prepare your proposal
5. Reach out to your National Delegate and request a Letter of Authorisation.
6. Submit your proposal via esa-star before the appropriate deadline.
Funding Scheme
Funded participation to ESA ARTES Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) is open to any company and/or organisation, be it as a group of users, public body or non-governmental organisation, residing in any of those states that subscribe to the ARTES BASS programme.
To date, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have subscribed.
The applicable funding level of the individual prime- or subcontractors is subject to authorisation by the involved National Delegation(s). Therefore, bidding teams are requested to obtain a Letter of Authorisation from all their national delegations before submitting a Full Proposal.
WEBINAR
- 11:00 CET, 14 December 2022.
External speakers: Fabio Graziosi (University of l'Aquila) and Elena De Ambrogio (Municipality of Torino)
