E.ON Innovation, a driver for emerging technologies and innovative solutions within E.ON Group and the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) programme have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to advance innovation within the energy sector through satellite applications and space technologies.
The partnership is aimed at fostering and supporting the development of innovative space-based applications to accelerate purposeful innovation to address the challenges of the energy industry and energy infrastructure. The partnership will foster cross-industry collaboration with a range of stakeholders in the energy sector and beyond.
As a first step of the cooperation, E.ON Innovation is collaborating with ESA BASS on the ‘’Space for Infrastructure: Energy’’ initiative, providing use cases of E.ON´s energy business such as the automatic detection of damage to power lines by extreme weather or by critical third-parties such as unannounced construction sites.
Through this partnership with ESA BASS, E.ON Innovation will leverage the significant role that satellite technologies and applications play in the evolution of the energy sector and its transition to a greener future.
Christof Kortz, Head of Startup Partnerships at E.ON Innovation, said “Space-based technologies hold great potential for surveilling large areas of grid infrastructure both above and underground of which 13,000 km of high-voltage lines alone are located in forest areas that are often difficult to monitor. To make the E.ON grid more resilient and to better oversee the wide grid areas, we are very excited to partner with ESA BASS to find new solutions, innovative companies, and startups for the E.ON grid business.”
Davide Coppola, Head of the Space Applications Initiatives Section at ESA Space Solutions, said:
“Space applications can play a significant role in supporting the sustainable growth of green energy economy. We are confident that this cooperation with E.ON Innovation will unlock significant opportunities for innovative space-based applications which will showcase the impact of space technologies on the energy sector.”