The Altiwave team. Image: EUPSA
Altiwave was one of 11 winners of the #MyEUspace competition, which challenged European start-ups to develop prototypes based on satellite data.
An Irish team of entrepreneurs has won €25,000 at a competition held by the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).
Altiwave was selected as one of the 11 winners of the #MyEUspace competition. The team focused on satellite-derived regional wave heights for the marine energy sector, and had to turn their idea into a prototype.
The competition was open to innovators and entrepreneurs across Europe. Participants were challenged to develop and commercialise applications that use data and services from the EU Space Programme.
The 11 winners were split between Track 1 and Track 2 of the competition. Entrepreneurs in the first track, including the Altiwave team, had to turn a theoretical idea into a prototype. The latter track involved the teams turning their existing prototype into a product to launch on the market.
Each team used Galileo or Copernicus satellite data to inform their project. Some of the tools developed by the other winning teams related to location-based services, smart mobility, geomatics and smart agriculture.
The competition was launched last September as part of the European Commission’s Cassini initiative. Cassini is a €1bn European fund focusing on space innovation and start-ups.
What a day yesterday! 43 🇪🇺start-ups gathered at the #EUSPA HQ to celebrate the #Entrepreneurship Day & finals of #myEUspace competition.
Discover the best ideas & products, powered by #EUspace & are ready to disrupt the market.👇https://t.co/RoLRiA62ND#EUinnovation pic.twitter.com/kvIm90pGN7
— 🇪🇺 EUSPA – EU Agency for the Space Programme (@EU4Space) June 2, 2022
The winning #MyEUspace teams were announced at an event in Prague this week at EUSPA’s headquarters.
As part of the event, 43 teams had the chance to give an elevator pitch to some of Europe’s top venture capitalists as well as Timo Pesonen, the European Commission’s director-general for defence industry and space.
“With the Cassini initiative, we are supporting innovation and growth to give their chance to the many untapped talents in the European Union,” Pesonen said.
“The applications presented today during the Entrepreneurship Day at EUSPA are solid proof of what can be achieved when we mix entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and EU space data.”
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