Ten projects trialling new solutions that use satellite data and services to support transport, logistics, and financial services have collectively been awarded £2.5 million by the UK Space Agency.

The trials will combine terrestrial data and technologies such as AI, quantum, and machine learning with satellite data and services, providing deeper analysis to develop insights and present new solutions for particular issues.

For instance, one project with Sports City Management Company aims to enhance visitor travel to the Etihad Campus, which is home to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium and the new Co-op Live arena, by reducing congestion and increasing the sustainability of fan travel.

The project will support the development of an AI-enabled travel demand solution, using satellite data from the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Open Access Hub and Sentinel satellites, to predict patterns in the travel of music and sports fans at major events.

Coupled with machine learning, this will provide transport operators and event planners with insight into congestion points, public transport requirements, and crowd flow. It’ll be tested in a partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

The money comes from UK Space Agency’s Unlocking Space for Business programme, helping to combine satellite data and services with other data sources and technology to drive benefits for businesses, including new revenue growth, operational efficiencies and environmental, and social and governance (ESG) benefits.

The full list of organisations that have been awarded grants under this grant call is as follows:

1. Admiral Group Plc: Assessing subsidence-related insurance claims risk using satellite radar.
2. Citigroup: Measuring Nature-Related Footprint: Corporate Impacts and Risks Quantified.
3. Equitix Limited: Renewable energy resilience powered by satellite-derived climate models.
4. Foresight Group: Advancing Satellite-derived Insights for Nature and Climate Management and Disclosure.
5. Level E Research Limited: AI Risk Index (AIRi).
6. Octopus Investments Ltd & Treeconomy Ltd: Earth Observation for Natural Capital Investments.
7. Safe Earth Solutions Ltd: Accelerating adoption of nature-related financial derivatives using Earth Observation data.
8. Shipping Strategy Ltd: Risk Scoring for Maritime Hull and Machinery Insurance.
9. Sports City Management Company: EventGo 5.0: AI-enabled Earth Observation for Travel Demand Management.
10. FieldMore Investment Management Limited: CERES – Comprehensive Environmental Risk Evaluation System.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology minister Chris Bryant commented: “This government is embracing the power of technology to improve lives and support businesses to thrive.

“We have a fast-growing space sector in the UK but for too long we have struggled to tap the huge potential of satellite data to drive positive change in the real world.

“These new projects seek to unlock this potential by combining data from space with cutting-edge technologies here on Earth.

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Dr Craig Brown, investment director at the UK Space Agency, further added: “These new grants and contracts are just some of the ways the UK Space Agency is kickstarting growth and creating high quality jobs to position the UK as a leading space economy.

“Unlocking Space for Business is set up to identify and help tackle barriers facing organisations that have not traditionally used satellite data or services, or considered how space can benefit their bottom line.

“From AI powered satellite-derived climate models to maritime incident avoidance and easier football fan travel, these projects will help accelerate innovation and investment, and showcase the untapped potential of space data to support a range of UK industries.”