The UK Space Agency discusses its “Unlocking Space for Business” programme, aiming to enhance the adoption of space data and services to drive operational efficiencies, improve customer experiences, and support sustainability.
In an era where data drives decision-making and innovation, the integration of satellite technology into business operations has emerged as a transformative force.
Recognising this potential, the UK Space Agency (UKSA) has introduced the “Unlocking Space for Business” programme to facilitate the adoption of satellite solutions across various industries. By leveraging the capabilities of space data and services this programme bridges the gap between the emerging space sector and commercial enterprises, empowering them to harness new technologies and unlock unprecedented opportunities for success.
Following the announcement of their new grant call, The Innovation Platform spoke with the Unlocking Space for Business team at the UKSA to discover how the programme could revolutionise the way industries operate, making the vast possibilities of space accessible to all.
Can you provide an overview of the UK Space Agency’s Unlocking Space for Business programme and its primary objectives?
Unlocking Space for Business is a UK Space Agency programme which aims to drive private sector adoption of satellite data and services by tackling barriers to adoption being faced by private sector end-users, which is preventing the sector from delivering greater benefits for businesses, citizens, and the environment.
Since its launch in October 2023, the Unlocking Space for Business programme has taken a demand-led approach to supporting financial service and transport & logistics companies to realise operational, customer and environmental benefits through the adoption of innovative satellite solutions.
Unlocking Space for Business has engaged more than 350 organisations in the financial services and transport and logistics sectors, supporting their understanding and exploitation of business benefits through networking events, tailored exploration workshops, learning and development, and government funding for pilot projects.
Why should UK businesses look to use space solutions, and how do these motivations differ across various industries?
Satellite products have historically been focused on defence, scientific and weather applications, but have evolved into a key enabler of commercial innovation, with a global market size of £320bn.¹
The emergence of private space industry driven by commercial interest and innovative business models, referred to as New Space, is driving down the cost of investment in space and simultaneously increasing the development of value-adding applications. Many UK businesses are already using and benefiting from satellite solutions in their organisations, enabling transformation, delivering real-time insights, improving operational efficiency and supporting sustainability reporting.
For example, in the financial services sector, insurance companies are using satellite imagery to verify insurance claims, saving time and money that would be spent on in-person verification, which enables more precise and timely claim resolutions for customers.
In the transport and logistics sector, fleet operators are using high-precision location services to track vehicles and assets in real-time, which improves overall fleet management.
Could you elaborate on the potential economic benefits businesses might gain by working with the space sector, including job creation, revenue generation, and access to new markets?
The Unlocking Space for Business programme identified four key business benefits of using satellite-enabled solutions:
Driving revenue growth – addressing technology gaps which need to be closed to bring new commercial solutions to the market;
Enhancing operational and financial efficiency- including unreliable forecasting leading to inefficiencies and delayed action, and frequent travel and on-site visits to remote locations driving up costs and operational complexity;
Improving customer retention – generic customer strategies and experiences are posing challenges to engagement and loyalty, as well as disruptions and delays in resolving customer issues; and
Addressing environmental obligations, as companies are facing growing pressure to report on climate and nature-related risks, traditional assessments, monitoring, and compliance are resource-intensive and fragmented.
Unlocking Space for Business grant-funded project case studies clearly demonstrate how UK businesses have realised these benefits. Being a demand-led programme, Unlocking Space for Business Grant projects had an end-user-led approach which encouraged embedded collaboration between end-user organisations and space suppliers to de-risk innovative pilot projects for businesses and deliver tangible benefits. This encourages long-term, fruitful relationships and partnerships between end-users and suppliers, creating competitive advantages for organisations.
Home insurer Admiral, in collaboration with ground movement specialist SatSense and engineering consultant Optera, used satellite-derived imagery data to remotely monitor and assess subsidence risks across UK properties. The potential impacts are significant, given Admiral’s portfolio of over 1 million home insurance customers and more than ten years’ experience in handling subsidence claims.²
Rail software company OneBigCircle is transforming rail safety and efficiency through a satellite imagery-powered solution that detects vegetation overgrowth, land movement and flood risks across the UK’s critical railway infrastructure. Using hyperspectral Earth observation sensors which capture a wide range of details on the ground — beyond what the human eye can see — the system can detect subtle environmental changes that signal potential hazards. This satellite imagery is combined with AI, machine learning and ground-based videos to provide real-time monitoring, risk assessment and event triage for rail operators.
How does the Unlocking Space for Business programme align with the UK Government’s broader strategies for economic growth and scientific advancement in the space sector?
The UK Space Agency aims to provide support to UK space companies across their investment journey, with an emphasis on supporting companies from start-up to scale-up, to maximise delivery against economic growth. The Unlocking Space for Business programme provides interventions at the latter end of this journey, with a focus on the commercialisation of downstream space solutions that can be readily adopted by end-user businesses.
Unlocking Space for Business forms part of a wider Unlocking Space programme, which is focused on growing the UK space sector through championing the benefits of space to government, business, defence and investor groups, catalysing investment into the UK’s high-potential space sector and supporting economic growth. This aligns with the Government’s Plan for Change, supporting the growth of the wider UK economy.
Can you specify the types of businesses that can benefit from the programme? What kind of training or resources does it offer to participants?
The Unlocking Space for Business programme is focused on supporting end-user organisations with programme interventions. These were developed in response to identifying challenges and barriers to businesses that were looking to get into the space sector, and include:
Organisations are not aware that satellite solutions opportunities may be relevant to their business performance and perceive them as too expensive;
The right information to inform ROI is not being presented to decision makers in a way that is evidence-based, easily digestible, trusted and comparable against alternatives;
Products being offered are not easily accessible, used and integrated by businesses to realise target benefits, taking up too much time, money and resources.
Following an assessment of these market failures, the Unlocking Space for Business programme developed a number of targeted interventions to support UK businesses’ adoption of downstream space applications.
The programme held a series of bite-sized learning and development webinars for current or potential users of satellite data and services within the financial services and transport and logistics sectors. These sessions explored everything from the procurement and integration of different types of satellite data to the specific use cases for these two sectors. Short summary videos are available for financial services and transport and logistics businesses.
The programme has also hosted seven in-person insight and networking events and four industry roundtables, working closely with trade bodies and other organisations, bringing together stakeholder groups and demonstrating the possibilities of adopting satellite solutions. Alongside this, we have delivered 42 tailored workshops to 27 end-users in the Financial Services and Transport & Logistics sectors. These customised workshops allowed organisations to explore potential opportunities to leverage satellite solutions, including exploring value propositions, prioritising areas most relevant to their current business needs, understanding the supplier ecosystem and developing a forward-looking delivery plan.
We’ve also produced a report, “The Space Advantage”, co-authored by PwC and the Satellite Applications Catapult, which is designed for businesses who are at the start of their space-adoption journey and want to learn about real-life case studies from across the financial services and transport and logistics sectors. It provides accessible insights into the real business benefits experienced by household name companies who have adopted space-enabled solutions through Unlocking Space for Business funded grant projects, and crucially, the tangible benefits they’ve seen as a result.
Unlocking Space for Business is primarily focused on encouraging adoption of space solutions by non-space businesses, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t consider the space sector, too. Through extensive Programme engagement with end-user businesses, we’ve produced a summary of insights for suppliers and integrators of satellite data and services. This sets out the common themes that end-user businesses perceived as limiting their business from fully capitalising on the potential use cases offered by satellite solutions. This summary of insights aims to help the space sector to better understand the needs of prospective business customers who are looking to adopt space solutions: Summary of Insights to Suppliers and Integrators of Satellite Data and Services – GOV.UK.
In what ways does the programme promote the adoption of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, among businesses that utilise space data?
Through our two previous funding calls, we’ve encouraged projects to combine satellite data and services with enabling technologies, like AI and Machine Learning, alongside existing terrestrial data, as these technologies can help to create a more comprehensive dataset, which enhances decision-making by businesses. Integration of these emerging technologies can make satellite solutions more accessible, actionable and affordable for businesses. Over two-thirds of Unlocking Space for Business-funded Contracts for Innovation projects and grant-funded projects involved AI or Machine Learning, which was integral to identifying patterns across multiple datasets and automatically producing the analysis required for business decisions, such as on investment or risk management.
Equitix Limited partnered with Sust Global to build high-resolution wind speed projections using Sust Global’s innovative geospatial artificial intelligence (AI) approach and satellite data. Equitix incorporated the projections into their investment processes, developing new climate-adjusted capacity factors. The solution provided actionable insights tailored to Equitix’s portfolio management processes, supporting investment decisions and long-term resilience in the wind energy sector. Looking forward, the geospatial AI approach can be applied to other asset classes to enable climate resilience across the infrastructure investment industry.
Level E Research partnered with EOLAS insight to develop an AI Risk Index (AIRI) that measures exposure of a company or investment portfolio to environmental factors. By quantifying the exposure of an investment portfolio to environmental factors, end-users can make informed decisions, reducing idiosyncratic risk. AI front-end solutions are highly scalable and offer the possibility to produce profit margins and process vast amounts of data to provide valuable insights, helping Lebel E’s customer base and diversifying its revenue streams. Future use of the application has significant market potential across various sectors, including asset management and insurance.
The Unlocking Space for Business Grant Call 2, which is currently open to applications, encourages proposals which include complementary enabling technologies alongside at least one satellite domain.
What future plans or upcoming initiatives within the Unlocking Space programme aim to further stimulate innovation and investment in the space sector?
As part of the Unlocking Space Programme, Unlocking Space for Investment aims to boost the UK space sector by enhancing business readiness to gain investment, strengthening investor confidence in the space sector, and expanding financing options. The programme addresses access to finance challenges, connecting space businesses with investors to drive sustainable growth and innovation, via four pillars:
The Growth Pathway, which provides tailored investor-readiness training and supports businesses gaining access to key advisory services.
The Investor Pathway, which educates and engages deep-tech investors to build confidence in space as an investable sector.
The Space Investment Network, which facilitates structured engagement through events, roundtables, and a public information hub.
The UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund, a publicly backed venture capital fund supporting early-stage space businesses.
Announcements
The Unlocking Space for Business Grant Call 2 is currently inviting proposals from end-user business-led consortia, with a space supplier and any relevant integrator organisations, for innovative pilot projects to commercialise space solutions within the Financial Services or Transport & Logistics sectors in the UK. The call closes at 16:00 BST on 7th July 2025, with more information available here.
Our regular Unlocking Space newsletter includes updates on all upcoming activities across the Unlocking Space programme for business end-users, space companies and investors. Sign up here.
References
European Space Agency, Report on the Space Economy 2024, December 2024
Admiral, our milestones ( 2024)
Please note, this article will also appear in our Space Special Focus Publication.
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