SPACE4Cities pre-commercial procurement uses European satellite data wisely to create replicable solutions for better urban management.
The SPACE4Cities innovation project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe innovation program through the European Union Space Program Agency (EUSPA) and aims to leverage European satellite data to solve urban challenges and create more sustainable urban environments.
The public procurement method used in the SPACE4Cities project is called Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP). Pre-commercial procurement is a convenient way for public sector procurers to purchase research and development services from multiple contractors (suppliers) in parallel, to lead the development of innovative solutions that do not yet exist on the market to meet the public procurer’s needs, and to test the developed solutions over a long period of time in real-world conditions. SPACE4Cities specifically aims to use European satellite data wisely to procure replicable solutions for better and more dynamic management of public spaces, green spaces, transport infrastructure, urban maintenance, and overall city resilience.
From concept to prototype
In November 2025, as part of the second phase of pre-commercial procurement, SPACE4Cities selected 10 companies to utilize space technology to develop concepts into working prototypes. The winning concept will receive a total of €900,000 in funding.
Traditionally, satellite data has been used for weather and disaster monitoring, navigation and surveillance, defense and intelligence. Currently, the SPACE4Cities project is exploring new horizons by investigating how space technology can benefit European cities in preparing for climate change.
The 10 winning concepts selected by SPACE4Cities are developing space technology solutions to common challenges in European cities, including detecting floods and heat islands, reducing traffic emissions, preventing wildfire risks, protecting cultural heritage, tracking leaks in underground pipes, and monitoring the condition and changes of green spaces, bridges, and roads.
“We are very satisfied with the innovation of the solutions won at this prototyping stage. We believe that many of them will be used in cities across Europe in the near future. There is great potential for efficiency gains and cost reductions,” says Lenske Martinse Hartikka, project coordinator at Forum Villium Helsinki, the City of Helsinki’s innovation company.
Benefits for municipalities across Europe
The benefits are wide-ranging and vary from solution to solution. Some companies are developing comprehensive tools to help European cities proactively address critical climate risks and adapt or optimize plans related to wildfires, urban heat, flooding, biodiversity, urban greening, etc. Another benefit that can help a wide variety of municipalities is the enhancement of infrastructure integrity and efficiency through predictive maintenance. Various solutions use satellite technology to detect ground and infrastructure stresses down to the millimeter scale. This continuous, non-intrusive monitoring reduces maintenance costs, prevents failures, and ensures resilient public services. Finally, some solutions can help cities achieve sustainable development and climate neutrality goals through data-driven governance. The company’s highly innovative monitoring tools provide the verifiable data cities need to measure impact, improve public health, and ensure sustainable urban development.
Real life pilot after summer
In July 2026, the best five of the current ten prototypes will be awarded a total of €1,250,000 in development funding. There will also be an opportunity to pilot real-life situations in 15 European cities (Amsterdam, Athens, Ghent, Guimarães, Helsinki) and 10 so-called “replicator cities”. Recruitment for these Replicator Cities is expected to begin in late spring 2026. These Replicator Cities benefits include a free three-month solution pilot and favorable commercial terms to maintain the solution beyond the pilot period, a small budget to cover pilot-related travel and contract costs, and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange with cities in the SPACE4Cities buyer group throughout the pilot phase. After the pilot phase concludes, the solution will be ready for broader commercialization in spring 2027, with follow-up procurements planned.
Top 10 companies and their solutions
Six of the current 10 award-winning companies are individual companies, while four are comprised of consortia of multiple companies. The countries of origin of the companies are France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. This is a list of 10 solutions and suppliers that are in the prototyping stage of SPACE4Cities pre-commercial procurement.
AI-WUIFIRE: Wildfire risk prevention – Vexiza (Spain) CHERISH: Cultural heritage protection – eOnsight (France) CityMotion: AI agents for urban stability and infrastructure – Detektia (Spain) CLIMAPS: Heat island, flood and extreme weather detection – Latitudo 40, Planetek, Teamdev (Italy) DYNAMO-SM: Reducing transport emissions – Everimpact (France) GeoRisk Monitor: Monitoring the condition of bridges, roads and railways – Survintel (Netherlands) and Gisaia (France) OPTIM-Green: Strategic planning for urban green spaces – Optim.aize (France) URBAN LENS: Tracking underground pipe leaks – Neptune and Cosmic (Italy) UrbanRoots: Monitoring the condition and changes of green spaces – CEiiA (Portugal) VISTA: Managing green spaces and biodiversity – BitaGreen (Belgium), Climate Scale (Spain), TreeSense (Germany)
Procurement partners and specialized organizations collaborate
The SPACE4Cities project is being implemented by the City of Helsinki’s innovation enterprise forum Villium Helsinki (Finland), the City of Amsterdam (Netherlands), the City of Guimarães (Portugal), the Attica Regional Development Fund (Greece), the City of Ghent’s digital innovation and technology organization District09 (Belgium), the Open & Agile Smart Cities Network (OASC), and European organizations. Major aerospace cluster, Aerospace Valley (France).
Please note that this article will also be published in Space Special Focus publications.
Source link
