Energy supplier E.ON has been working with the European Space Agency and Earth observation specialist Astrosat to develop ThermCERT, a thermal efficiency reporting tool to pinpoint where energy-efficiency measures are needed most across the UK. The system could turn out to be a game-changer for reducing energy costs and improving efficiency, especially when it comes to heat loss in vulnerable homes. 

What is fuel poverty? 

Households with above-average energy costs whose income falls below the official poverty line once they’ve paid their energy bills are considered to be in ‘fuel poverty’. The UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy estimates that England had about 2.55 million such households in 2016.

Addressing this issue can be challenging, however, as at-risk households are not always easy to identify. Traditional energy efficiency monitoring programmes rely on door-knocking or bulk mailings to contact customers and identify their needs. 

Empowered by Space

ThermCERT could transform the way energy efficiency is mapped in the future.  Using a combination of satellite and Earth based data,  ThermCERT understands the demographics of cities and communities, from social vulnerability to the quality of the built structures. The local area insights are described at the same granularity all over the UK and help deliver improvements to the households that are most affected. 

This innovative tool is set to pack a powerful socio-economic punch by: improving housing condition and insulation, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing energy costs. The software can also be applied to other critical health and environmental issues such as air quality, traffic congestion and carbon emissions. 

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: “This government-backed technology could boldly go where no technician in a van has gone before, with the potential to pinpoint households in fuel poverty or those at risk”. 

Fraser Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer at Astrosat: “We’ve applied our technical knowledge to E.ON’s wealth of experience with local authorities and ESA’s space acumen to create something truly unique that will add real value to the UK energy market.”

Michael Lewis, E.ON’s UK Chief Executive, said: “Delivered on the doorstep but driven by big data gathered from Earth orbit, our work with Astrosat, in collaboration with ESA, is about using the almost endless possibilities of space to deliver real benefits on the ground.”  

Nick Appleyard, Head of the Downstream Business Applications Department at the European Space Agency, added: “Our Business Applications programme is dedicated to supporting space-enhanced services with two objectives: to generate growth for the industrial partners, and to benefit society at large. ThermCERT checks both of these boxes. We have a two-pronged approach to supporting the green energy revolution. Initiatives like ThermCERT show how space assets can help to reduce costs and improve energy efficiency in existing neighbourhoods. In parallel, we are open to proposals for space services that help to create Green Neighbourhoods by improving their initial design.”

Following the signing of a Letter of Intent in Toulouse on 13 November, ESA, CNES and CapDecisif Management will give some of the most promising European space-powered ventures the chance to gain improved access to venture capital in France.

CosmiCapital reflects a trend that has become a priority for a growing number of ESA Member States. The creation of partnerships between industry, government and academia is key to exploiting the fast-growing ecosystem of “New Space” companies that have a focus on rapid innovation, new business models and new applications of space technologies. This trend has led to an agreement between ESA and CosmiCapital to link companies that are involved in the ESA Business Applications programme with new sources of finance. companies the chance to gain improved access to venture capital. The CosmiCapital fund, launched by the French Space Agency CNES in May 2018 and managed by CapDecisif Management, aims to raise €100m to invest in European start-ups and to start operations in Q2 2019.

Olivier Dubuisson, Managing Partner at CapDecisif Management, pointed out that, “The market for space enabled start-ups is extremely promising. Several leading market studies show that the global space economy is expected to grow 3 to 8 fold in the next 20 years.” He added that in this context, “ESA and CNES provide unparalleled access to the space ecosystem for innovative space-related projects across Europe.”

Antoine Seillan, CNES’s Director of Finance, emphasized that, “If France is a strategic place to start a space venture fund, then this new partnership is a first step for the CosmiCapital European expansion that CNES is supporting. With a privileged access to the best space start-ups across Europe and the technical and financial backing of best-in-class partners, CosmiCapital will be the best venture capital partner of the European New Space ecosystem.”

Magali Vaissiere, ESA’s Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, added another perspective. “Increasingly we see the development of a virtuous circle, where companies that partner with ESA increase their attractiveness to private investors. In this way, we leverage public funding to enable an increase in overall European R&D investment. Our commercially oriented applications projects now typically attract equal investment from ESA, industry and private third party investors: and we anticipate that CosmiCapital will reinforce this picture.”

Nick Appleyard, ESA’s Head of Downstream Business Applications, observed that, “Our analysis of over 200 projects has shown that when ESA investment stimulates follow-on funding by a private third party, the returns increase considerably, resulting in 75% more revenue and 145% more jobs.”

All companies that have contracted projects with ESA’s commercial applications programmes may be considered for support from the CosmiCapital fund, subject to prior discussion with ESA.

For more information about CosmiCapital see https://cosmicapital.com