Funding Opportunity
Electromobility has a crucial role to play in decarbonising the planet. Transport is responsible for around 25% of the EU’s total CO2 emissions, with road transport representing the greatest share of this (72% in 2019).
The electrification of transport is playing a key role in the ongoing transformation of the mobility landscape, offering significant opportunities across the mobility ecosystem. There are also rigorous efforts underway to reduce average CO2 emissions from new vans and heavy-duty vehicles.
The ‘Space for Electromobility’ invitation to tender (ITT) offers funding for teams who would like to develop sustainable space-based services and applications that address challenges related to the electromobility ecosystem.
The Challenge
Countries around the world are introducing regulations and subsidies to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs). In Great Britain, the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold tohave a zero emission rating by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035. In Europe, the European Green Deal is aiming to achieve a 90% reduction in transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with a milestone of 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030.
However, the continued acceleration of electrification is putting pressure on charging infrastructure, supply chains of critical components, and the electric grid network. The deployment, upgrade, and maintenance of key electromobility infrastructure must go hand in hand with EV adoption to ensure that there are no bottlenecks.
Topics of Relevance
Examples of services that could be relevant are outlined below. The list is not exhaustive as other services could also be evaluated if duly supported by user communities.
Expansion of charging infrastructure
This theme explores innovative applications to expand EV charging infrastructure in a variety of environments — rural areas, urban streets, along highways and in depots. The aim is to support the efficient and fair deployment of infrastructure to encourage the uptake of electric passenger cars, as well as the electrification of buses, coaches, and trucks:
- Urban Charging: There is a need for more efficient and data-driven decision making on the roll out of urban car charging infrastructure. Considering the large quantities of charging stations to be rolled out and maintained, innovative solutions are needed to identify which residential areas require on-street charging. This includes assessing factors such as residential property types, the availability of off-street parking, population density, commuting patterns, and proximity to existing charging infrastructure.
- Rural Charging: Equal access to charging stations is a critical factor in a fair and just transition to electromobility and the intention is to ensure that populations living in different environments can benefit whilst also supporting the electrification goals for heavy duty transport, where depots are often found in rural areas. There is a need to accelerate the electrification of rural bus, coach, and truck depots to enable the charging of heavy duty vehicles which are parked there for extended periods of time. Innovative solutions are needed to map depots and to quantify the efforts required to electrify them. Innovative Vehicle to Gird (V2G) solutions can also be employed to maximise the benefit of rural depot electrification. In addition, poor rural digital connectivity can impede EV users from locating and paying for EV charging. Innovative solutions to this problem would help to increase the accessibility of rural charge points.
- Grid resilience and flexibility: This topic explores innovative applications which augment electric grid resilience and flexibility to address the increased demand from EV charging.
The widescale adoption of EVs will bring a surge in electricity demand, especially during peak hours. If not managed effectively, this increased load may strain existing infrastructure, leading to potential overloads or blackouts
Improved forecasting and planning capabilities are required to adapt the electric grid for the varying charging patterns of EVs, as well as for integrating renewable energy sources.
There is a need for innovative services which employ smart grid technology to optimise energy distribution. This is possible by monitoring usage patterns, predicting demand, and dynamically adjusting energy distribution based on overall renewable energy generation. Furthermore, by integrating innovative V2G capabilities into smart grid infrastructures, grid operators can leverage the capacity of EV batteries to enhance grid flexibility.
Driving EV uptake
This theme explores innovative services for drivers and industry to encourage EV uptake, providing information on charging points or battery swapping locations, promoting optimal charging behaviour, and encouraging V2G applications.
EVs are highly regarded as a key technology for decarbonising the transport sector, yet uptake remains limited. This is because attaining EV targets relies on the willingness of consumers to embrace them and innovative services are needed to build consumer confidence and encourage the EV uptake.
During the transition phase to net zero targets, internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles will continue to coexist with EVs. Cities need services to enable better management of urban traffic to comply with the city pollution limits. For example, when pollution is higher, bus fleet management should be optimised to allocate electric vehicles on the most polluted routes.
There are also innovative battery swapping services being developed for both the automotive segment and the electric two-wheeler markets. Services which enable battery swapping can help ensure the continuous operation of logistics and fleet vehicles as well as ride-sharing services, reducing downtime during charging. Battery swapping can also help mitigate the strain on the power grid, which can be complemented by strategically locating swapping stations to distribute load more evenly.
Finally, the heavy duty segment is also in need of innovative services to encourage the EV uptake. For example, innovative road freight charging solutions such as the eHighway can benefit from complimentary services which provide precise localisation as well as innovative V2X applications which can directly communicate of the eHighway’s status to the vehicles and vice versa.
Value of Space
Examples of the potential non-exhaustive uses of space technologies and satellite data for this Feasibility Study are outlined below:
- Satellite Positioning and Timing: Global Navigation and Satellite System (GNSS) data can be used to provide innovative services to drivers by providing information on charging points or battery swapping locations and traffic density,and giving insights on driver behaviour and supporting route planning. These services could include information about expected waiting times, energy availability, and optimal route suggestions to streamline the charging process. Satellite navigation is also useful in enforcing the routing of certain vehicles according to pollution levels in urban areas.
- Satellite Communications (Satcom): Satcom can provide reliable connectivity in rural and remote areas where terrestrial infrastructure may be limited. This capability can support innovative services which connect and monitor the status of EV charging infrastructure in rural areas. Additionally, it can enable digital connectivity to allow drivers to pay for electricity digitally in remote locations. Satcom is also vital for data transfer between IoT monitoring devices located at EV charging stations and renewable energy sources which may help with the integration of these renewable energy sources and better grid management.
- Satellite Earth Observation (SatEO): SatEO can support strategic decision-making on infrastructure deployment locations by providing data on topography, land use, weather, accessibility, and environmental data. In urban areas, EO can be combined with terrestrial data to predict and prioritise where electrification infrastructure is needed most, for example, based on property type and location. For rural locations, EO is relevant in identifying areas which are lacking the necessary infrastructure to enable the fair and wide adoption of electromobility, informing on strategies to increase accessibility and roll out for both passenger car vehicles, as well as for heavy duty transport such as bus, coach and truck depots. EO can also be used to monitor pollution levels in cities to inform on municipal enforcement strategies for both private and public vehicles.
What we look for
We look for promising business ideas addressing topics of relevance or related areas that propose:
- Commercially-viable service concepts
- Technically feasible solutions
- Sustainable service concepts
- Added value of space data or technology
- Motivated teams with business, technical, and financial expertise
Feasibility Studies explore the sustainability potential and technical viability of new applications and services that exploit one or more space assets (e.g. satellite communications, satellite navigation, Earth observation). Feasibility Studies should evaluate the technical and economic sustainability potential of the service but have the objective of eventual development, demonstration and operational provision of the service investigated thereafter (if proven viable).
What we offer
Up to 200,000 Euro (firm-fixed ESA price), 80% of the maximum total cost of 250,000 Euro.
ESA Tender Information
Bidders shall submit their full proposals according to the procedure provided in ESA-STAR.
How to Apply
- Register by completing the online questionnaire on esa-star registration (this provides for the minimum ‘light registration’).
- 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.
- Write your proposal and obtain a Letter of Support from your National Delegation, if needed (see Authorisation of Funding section below).
- Submit your proposal via esa-star tendering before the deadline (do not wait until the last minute).
Authorisation of Funding
This opportunity is open to companies that intend to develop space-enabled services and products related, but not restricted, to the topics of relevance outlined above.
To be eligible for funding, your team must be based in one of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
Authorisation of Funding letters from the corresponding National Delegations are required as part of the application.
Webinar
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