SPACE4Cities participates to the session ‘AI for Regional and Industry Applications’ held on 23rd of January 2026 at 10:00 CET. Forum Virium Helsinki will represent SPACE4Cities presenting the use of AI in all of the 10 satellite data solutions that are developed during Phase 2.
Blog
-
Webinar for cities | How can cities and regions access Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (CDSE) and Copernicus Contributing Mission (CCM) data
Date and time: Thu 22nd January 2026, 11:00-12:30 CET (12:00–13.30 EET)
Location: online (webinar links will be sent to the participants)
Registration: belowParticipants will learn how to explore and analyse satellite data directly in the browser, generate and share their own data products, and understand which premium datasets and computing capacity are available exclusively to public authorities at no cost. The session will also highlight how Copernicus data can support key local priorities such as urban planning, climate adaptation, air quality, and risk management.
Cities and regions play a vital role in addressing climate, environmental, and resilience challenges—and Copernicus satellite data offers a powerful, free resource to support that mission. This webinar provides a clear and practical introduction for public authorities on how to access and use data through the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (CDSE)—the EU’s central platform for accessing and processing Copernicus satellite data in the cloud—and the Copernicus Contributing Missions (CCM), which provide additional high-resolution satellite data to complement the core Copernicus missions.
Agenda
11:00 Introduction to SPACE4Cities Capacity Building Programme (Alex Gluhak, Open and Agile Smart Cities)
11:10 Accessing Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (CDSE) and Copernicus Contributing Mission (CCM) data- What is CDSE? Why process data on the cloud instead of downloading it?
- Introduction to Copernicus Browser, viewing and analysing satellite imagery without installing software or downloading datasets
- Urban greenspace mapping (Sentinel-2)
- Elevation and flood risk (Copernicus DEM)
- Air quality and pollution (Sentinel-5P)
- Heatwaves and urban heat islands (Sentinel-3, Landsat)
- Generating your own data products
- Working with custom scripts in Copernicus Browser
- Sharing analysis results online and in desktop GIS
- Generating Configurations and OGC services in CDSE
- Special data and capacity for public authorities
- Overview of service levels and account types
- Introduction to Copernicus Contributing Missions (CCM) high-resolution optical mosaics
- Upcoming features in CDSE
12:10 Question and Answer Session (Q&A)
12:25 Conclusions and final remarks (Alex Gluhak, Open and Agile Smart Cities)Register now!
Why cities and regions should attend
This webinar equips cities and regions with the knowledge to unlock powerful European Earth observation data for smarter, more resilient decision-making. Attendees will learn how to access high-value datasets—many available free only to public authorities—and apply them to real local challenges.
-
Advancing Urban Climate Adaptation with User-Driven Earth Observation: The SDGs-EYES Way
SDGs-EYES is organises a panel discussion showcasing how Earth Observation (EO) can help cities to become more resilient in the face of climate-related hazards and contribute to the monitoring of the SDG 13 Climate Action.
The event is a valuable opportunity to present and discuss the outcomes of the project in terms of developing and monitoring SDG indicators using Copernicus data. Weiyi Ding from Municipality of Amsterdam represents SPACE4Cities in the panel.
Agenda
6 November 2025, 9:30 – 11:30 | CC1 – Room 1.2
- 9:30 – 9:40 Welcoming and opening
Technical part
During this section, we will showcase how SDGs-EYES pilots translate Earth Observation (EO) into operational tools that help cities tackle both mitigation and adaptation challenges.
- 9:40 – 9:55 Presentation and live demo of the FIRE-TRACE service, addressing wildfires in peri-urban and forested areas
- 9:55 – 10:05 Presentation and live demo of the Health Health Risk Assessment, addressing the rising threat of extreme urban heat.
From co-design to policy uptake
This second part will explore how engaging users early improves Earth Observation (EO) service design, and how those same user-driven insights can be elevated to inform policy, bridging the science-policy gap.
- 10:10 – 10:40 User perspective. Why co-design with users is central in SDGs-EYES?
- 10:40 – 11:15 Policy perspective. How to scale what works at local level into broader policy? How to ensure EO-based solutions are embedded into governance processes and local needs translate into service design?
11:15 – 11:25 Wrap up messages
11:25 – 11:30 Concluding remarks
-
SPACE4Cities Workshop for Cities & Regions | Smart City Expo World Congress 2025
SPACE4Cities Workshop: Solving Urban Challenges with Innovative Satellite Data Solutions
📅 Date: November 4 (Day 1 at SCEWC)
📍 Location: Room Europa, Hotel Porta Fira, in front of the entrance of the Fira Barcelona Congress Hall (Plaza Europa 45)
See the presentation slides here!This interactive workshop will showcase cutting-edge solutions that use European satellite data and technologies to tackle some of today’s most pressing urban challenges.
Workshop Programme
- 12:00–12:10 Coffee, tea, and light refreshments
- 12:10–12:15 Welcome – Dr Alex Gluhak, OASC
- 12:15–12:25 SPACE4Cities Overview – Paula Kultanen, Forum Virium Helsinki
- 12:25–12:40 Urban Challenges Deep Dive – Boen Groothoff, City of Amsterdam
- 12:40–12:50 Opportunities for Replicator Cities – Dr Alex Gluhak, OASC
- 12:50–13:55 Solution Pitches: Examples of selected solutions (including Q&A):
- ”Trusted Carbon Data for Smart Cities” – Lorenzo Eula
- ”The Urban Climate OS: A Platform for Evidence-Based Transformation” – Gaetano Volpe
- ”From Cracks to Clarity: Saving Cities Millions with Accurate Geotechnical Insights” – Dolphine Rambaud
- ”Unlocking Urban Intelligence: AI agents for urban stability and infrastructure” – Candela Sancho
- ”Forest fire and AI: Supporting operational response and preparedness strategies to protect public safety” – Inmaculada Martín Fernández
- ”Satellite-Powered Leak Detection for Smarter Cities” – Denise Zanato
- ”VISTA – Predictive Insights for Landscape Vitality & Nature-based Climate Resilience” – Nora Van Cauwenbergh
- ”How Satellite Data is Powering Greener Cities: The UrbanROOTS Approach” – Andre Dias
- 13:55–14:00 Closing Remarks – Dr Alex Gluhak, OASC
Target Audience
This session is designed for city and regional representatives who want to:
- Discover how satellite-powered solutions can address real urban needs.
- Join fully funded pilot programmes as early adopters of these innovations.
The workshop is limited to 35 participants, with priority given to cities and regions. Participation is first come, first served.
Additional Information
Over the past year, SPACE4Cities has engaged 20 suppliers to design innovative solutions in areas including sustainable mobility, climate resilience, and digital urban planning and management. Following a rigorous selection process, 10 suppliers have now been awarded further funding to develop deployable prototypes in partner cities such as Amsterdam, Athens, Ghent, Guimarães, and Helsinki.
In the workshop, we’ll present a curated set of these pioneering solutions, offering cities and regions a unique opportunity to explore the practical potential of space technologies. We will also open a call for 10 additional cities and regions to join free pilot deployments as replicators.
Other SPACE4Cities Related Events at SCEWC 2025
- SPACE4Cities will organise a SPACE4Cities Meet & Greet at the OASC booth, Hall 2, Street A, Number 65 on 4 November 2025 at 15:00–16:00 CET. Come and say hi!
- SPACE4Cities Coordinator Forum Virium Helsinki will have a stand at the Nordics & Baltics Pavillion, Hall 3, stand D121. Come and say hi!
- Project Manager Alex Gluhak from OASC will participate in a Panel Session 6 November at 9:30–10:15 CET at the Impact Tech Stage on “Eye in the sky for resilient and healthy cities – apply big data from space”
- Weiyi Ding from City of Amsterdam will participate in a session titled ”Advancing Urban Climate Adaptation with User-Driven Earth Observation: The SDGs-EYES Way”, 6 November at 9:30–11:30 at CC1 – Room 1.2.
Read more and get your pass here!
Join our Newsletter List for Follower & Replicator Cities to learn more about upcoming opportunities!
-
Winners selected! SPACE4Cities Top 10 Suppliers move to Phase 2 – Prototype Development
Traditionally, satellite data has been used for monitoring weather or disasters, for navigation and surveillance for defense and intelligence. Now, the SPACE4Cities project is exploring new horizons by investigating how space technologies could benefit European cities in preparing for climate change.
The ten winning concepts selected by SPACE4Cities are developing space technology solutions for common challenges in European cities, such as detecting floods and heat islands, reducing traffic emissions, preventing wildfire risks, protecting cultural heritage sites, tracing underground pipe leaks, and monitoring the condition and changes of green spaces, bridges, and roads.
”We are extremely pleased with the innovativeness of the winning solutions. I believe that many of them will be in use in cities around Europe in the near future. There is a lot of potential for efficiency gains and cost savings,” says the Project Coordinator, Renske Martijnse-Hartikka from the City of Helsinki innovation company, Forum Virium Helsinki.
Seven of the winners are individual companies while three consist of a consortium of multiple companies. The companies come from France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.
In July 2026, the five best prototypes will be awarded with development funding of total amount of €1,250,000 and the opportunity to pilot in real-life situations in fifteen European cities, including Amsterdam, Athens, Ghent, Guimarães and Helsinki. After the piloting phase, in spring 2027, the solutions are expected to be ready for wider commercialisation.
Top 10 Companies and their Solutions
- Vexiza (Spain): “AI-WUIFIRE” – Prevention of wildfire risks
- eOnsight (France): “CHERISH” – Protection of cultural heritage sites
- Detektia (Spain): “CityMotion” – AI agents for urban stability and infrastructure
- Latitudo 40, Planetek and Teamdev (Italy): “CLIMAPS” – Detection of heat islands, floods, and extreme weather events
- Everimpact (France): “DYNAMO-SM” – Traffic emission reductions
- Survintel (Netherlands) and Gisaia (France): “GeoRisk Monitor” – Monitoring of the condition of bridges, roads, and railways
- Optim.aize (France): “OPTIM-Green” – Strategic planning of urban green spaces
- Neptune (Italy): “URBAN LENS” – Tracing of underground pipe leaks
- CEiiA (Portugal): “UrbanRoots” – Monitoring the condition and changes of green spaces
- BitaGreen (Belgium), Climate Scale (Spain) and TreeSense (Germany): “VISTA” – Management of green areas and biodiversity
Challenges covered in Phase 2 proposals SPACE4Cities, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe innovation programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), aims to harness European satellite data to solve urban challenges and create more sustainable urban environments.
The project is implemented by the City of Helsinki innovation company Forum Virium Helsinki (Finland), City of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Municipality of Guimarães (Portugal), the Regional Development Fund of Attica (Greece), the City of Ghent’s digital innovation and technology organisation District09 (Belgium), Open & Agile Smart Cities network (OASC), and Europe’s leading aerospace cluster Aerospace Valley (France).
-
EuroGEO Workshop 2025 – ”Communication at the Heart of EuroGEO: Shaping a Connected and Collaborative EO Ecosystem”
Since EuroGEO’s inception, the European landscape has significantly changed. Firstly, at EU level, with the implementation of the EU Space Programme, which provides the necessary infrastructure, data, and technological advancements, whilst EuroGEO coordinates and integrates these resources to address global and regional challenges through GEO work programme activities. And secondly, at GEO level, with the adoption of the ‘post-2025’ GEO work programme, which shifts from “Earth observation” to “Earth Intelligence” and from a focus on services to equity, in order to bridge the global information gaps.
SPACE4Cities on Panel Sessions
SPACE4Cities Partner Weiyi Ding from the City of Amsterdam will assist the Session titled: “Delivering Earth Intelligence in Europe”, 13 October at 11:15–12:45 CET.
SPACE4Cities Partner, Project Manager Alan Mandrillon from Aerospace Valley will speak in a roundtable on “Communication at the Heart of EuroGEO: Shaping a Connected and Collaborative EO Ecosystem”, 14 October at 17:00 CET.
-
EAFIP Webinar – Techniques to Foster Innovation Procurement
The EU Scaleup Strategy will be outlined highlighting the legislative, political and financial support measures to promote European start-ups and scale-ups at EU level as well as in the Member States.
Different case examples will showcase best practices in different sectors, including space innovations for cities and water intelligence, supercomputers, solar energy and value-added in the healthcare. The relevance of innovation-friendly IPR regimes will be explained through examples.
SPACE4Cities Project Planner Ari Kaukiainen from Forum Virium Helsinki will talk about ”SME’s participation in Pre-Commercial Procurement (examples from AI4Cities and SPACE4Cities)” at 10:30 CEST.
Preliminary Agenda
-
New Space Economy Congress
This year, the Région Occitanie is the invited ecosystem and, as an important project for the regional ecosystem, SPACE4Cities will be featured. In particular, the second day of the Congress is dedicated to downstream space solutions which SPACE4Cities is supporting.
The Congress brings together international experts, public institutions, major companies, start-ups, and research centres to explore the transformative potential of New Space technologies across various sectors. In addition to high-level panels and thematic sessions, this edition will include dedicated B2B spaces and curated networking activities to foster collaboration between industry, institutions, and research.
SPACE4Cities is represented by Alan Mandrillon from Aerospace Valley, participating to The Future of Cities: Transforming Urban Development with Space Innovations discussion on July 4th, with following participants:
- Carles Franquesa, CEO of Aistech Space
- Pol Llorca, Head of Business Development at Airbus GeoTech
- Alan Mandrillon, Space Projects Manager at Aerospace Valley (SPAC4CITIES)
- Josep Carles Terés, Head of the Innovation and International Consulting Area at Catalan Government Railways (FGC)
- Chaired by: Carlos Fernández, CEO of Telespazio Ibérica
Come and meet us there: https://www.newspacecongress.cat/
-
3rd Edition of Finnish Space Business Forum 2025
Space Business Forum is a community meeting of Finnish space industry players, which meets several times a year. The topics of the meetings are current and future developments in space business and research; technology-related topics as well as international cooperation initiatives and frameworks in the European Space Agency ESA, the EU and the European Union. Space Business Forum acts as a knowledge distributor for the entire Finnish space network.
Forum Virium Helsinki will present the SPACE4Cities Call for Tenders results along with promoting another Pre-Commercial Procurement project called PCP WISE that Forum Virium Helsinki is a partner in. The PCP WISE project aims to develop environmentally sustainable solutions that help prepare for water-related crises caused by climate change, with help of satellite data. It also ensures that the solutions developed are sustainable and beneficial for both the environment and people. PCP WISE is currently in Open Market Consultation phase.
-
7th EUROPEAN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION CONFERENCE (ECCA)
Our intervention takes place on 18 June at 12:00 and under the theme “Managing cities to be fit for the future theme”. Aerospace Valley will participate in the “Earth Observation for Urban Climate Adaptation Strategies” workshop moderated by Evenflow/ESA Stakeholder Engagement Facility.
This session aims to demonstrate how Earth Observation (EO) data can be leveraged to enhance urban climate adaptation strategies by supporting decision-making, policy integration, and risk assessment. EO data offers scalable, data-driven solutions for adaptation planning in urban environments with complexity of climate risks including heat islands, flooding, and air pollution. This session highlights current case studies of EO data being used in urban adaptation in European cities and regions across the Covenant of Mayors framework. the session discusses how EO capabilities should evolve to better address urban climate resilience challenges, while identifying gaps in EO-driven adaptation and determining who should address them. This session will feature case studies from cities and regions from .
Other panellists include Sarah Connors (ESA), Patrizia Bianconi (Emilia-Romagna Region), Sara Barilari (CARTIF, Region of Murcia) and Diego Carcedo (Serco Italia).
Discover more about “Managing cities to be fit for the future” on the ECCA website.