ESA: Coastal Resilience to Climate Change

Programme:ESA

Awards:Up to €250,000

Geographical Scope:european

Beneficiaries:public

Key Features:Secure funding to develop space-based solutions that address coastal climate risks and support global resilience with ESA: Coastal Resilience to Climate Change

Key Information of ESA: Coastal Resilience to Climate Change

Funding Type & Coverage: Feasibility studies with potential for future demonstration projects; up to 100% funding of eligible costs (subject to ESA rules and national variations).
Eligibility: Open to UK-based companies, research organisations, universities, public sector bodies, and consortia.
Technologies Involved: Focus on Earth Observation (EO), GNSS, Satellite Communications, AI, and data integration tools.
Use Cases: Includes crop monitoring, precision farming, pest control, climate adaptation, and supply chain optimisation.
Application Process: Submit a project idea to ESA, engage with technical officers, and then provide a feasibility study proposal.

Funding Details

How Much Funding Is Available?

ESA offers funding for both Feasibility Studies and Demonstration Projects under this call:

Feasibility Studies: Total costs can be up to €500,000. ESA will cover 50–80% of eligible costs, depending on the SME status of the applicant and member state approval.
Demonstration Projects: There is no set limit for total costs. ESA will cover 50–80% of eligible costs, with the exact percentage determined by similar criteria as above.

These funding mechanisms are designed to:

Assess the technical and commercial viability of your proposed service.
Prepare the groundwork for a future demonstration project.

This means selected applicants can receive substantial funding for the initial study phase, significantly reducing the financial barrier to early innovation.

Eligibility Criteria

Who Can Apply?

Eligible applicants include:

UK-based companies and organisations (including SMEs and start-ups)
Academic and research institutions
Public and third-sector organisations

Applicants must be able to demonstrate relevant experience in either:

Earth Observation or space technologies; or
Climate resilience, coastal infrastructure, or environmental services

Collaborative consortia are encouraged, especially those combining technical and domain expertise.

Competition Overview

The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched an exciting new funding call: Coastal Resilience to Climate Change. This initiative invites commercial and research organisations to propose innovative services that leverage space assets to support climate adaptation along coastal regions. With increasing risks from sea-level rise, erosion, and extreme weather events, the ESA aims to catalyse the development of data-driven solutions to support policy, infrastructure planning, and disaster risk management.

This call is managed under the Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) programme, supporting the commercialisation of space technologies for real-world impact.

Scope

The call specifically seeks projects that address climate adaptation in coastal zones, using space-based technologies such as:

Earth Observation (EO)
Satellite Communication
Satellite Navigation
Artificial Intelligence integrated with space data

Key Use Cases May Include:

Monitoring and Early Warning Systems: Monitor environmental changes to provide early warnings for extreme weather events, such as storms, floods, and heatwaves.
Monitoring Coastal Erosion and Sea-Level Rise: Track coastal erosion and sea-level rise to plan and implement coastal defences.
Water and Ecosystem Management: Manage water resources by monitoring rainfall patterns, river flows, and drought conditions.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Monitor changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services to protect and manage natural habitats.
Urban and Infrastructure Planning: Use accurate geospatial information to design resilient infrastructure that can withstand climate impacts.
Adapting Coastal Agriculture: Implement services to protect crops from salinity intrusion, flooding, and extreme weather events.
Disaster Response and Recovery: Ensure reliable communication during and after disasters for effective coordination of emergency services.
Nature-Based Solutions (NBS): Implement NBS, such as mangrove restoration, to enhance coastal resilience and provide multiple ecosystem services.
Port Solutions: Develop management systems for ports to adapt to climate impacts, such as raising quays and installing advanced drainage systems.
Tourism: Implement climate adaptation strategies to protect tourism infrastructure from rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and extreme weather events.
Insurance: Use satellite data to assess risks and manage claims, providing financial protection against economic losses from storms, flooding, and erosion.
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): Help companies report physical risks and opportunities related to climate change and outline strategies for resilience.

Applicants are expected to propose solutions that demonstrate:

Tangible benefits to end-users (e.g., local authorities, insurers, engineers)
Technical feasibility using space data
A clear path to future commercialisation

Timeline and Deadlines

Call Opened: 9 June 2025
Closing Date: 31 October 2025
Webinar: 3 July 2025 at 11:00 CEST (10:00 UK time)

Our Service Offering in Grants

At FI Group UK, we help businesses unlock funding for innovation through expert support in grant discovery, bid writing, management, and innovation loans. From early-stage project scoping to full application and delivery support, our team ensures your funding journey is efficient, strategic, and successful.

Our services include:

Grant scouting and strategy: identifying the right UK and EU funding opportunities for your project pipeline
Bid writing: crafting compelling, compliant applications with strong technical and commercial narratives
Grant management: supporting delivery, reporting, and compliance throughout the project lifecycle
Innovation loans: helping secure and manage Innovate UK loans for late-stage development and market readiness
International support: leveraging our global network to access cross-border innovation funding opportunities

Book An Introductory Meeting

Our Service Offering in Grants

Our services include:

Grant scouting and strategy: identifying the right UK and EU funding opportunities for your project pipeline
Bid writing: crafting compelling, compliant applications with strong technical and commercial narratives
Grant management: supporting delivery, reporting, and compliance throughout the project lifecycle
Innovation loans: helping secure and manage Innovate UK loans for late-stage development and market readiness
International support: leveraging our global network to access cross-border innovation funding opportunities

Book An Introductory Meeting

Read Our 2025International Grants Guide

Trusted by InnovatorsAcross the UK

Discover how businesses like yours have benefited from our expertise in R&D tax credits and innovation funding.

Brad Hilder, Finance Director, Dronamics

What stood out was their proactive in-year review process. This approach has meant that we are now months ahead on our next claim, as the technical information has already been obtained during the year. This ensures our future claims are based on up-to-date and more reliable technical data, giving us even greater assurance.

Michelle Hennessy, Financial Controller, Stablepharma

We are extremely pleased with the R&D tax work carried out by FI Group on behalf of Stablepharma during 2024. Giuseppe and his team were great collaborators and quickly assimilated the necessary data to best showcase our R&D efforts, with excellent attention to detail. This resulted in a much-improved claim for our organisation, which will have an immediate impact on the work we can carry out in 2025. We would highly recommend them to other industry colleagues.

Praveen Sagar, Director and co-founder, OxDevice Ltd.

Giuseppe Amoroso from FI group did our R&D tax claim and successfully submitted on our behalf of OxDevice. Excellent team work in Submitting the claim.

Jenny Young, Head of Business Operations, Mocean

We've had an excellent experience collaborating with FI Group. Their team of consultants demonstrated proficiency in evaluating and comprehending our innovative wave energy technology, leading to a comprehensive technical report that played a significant role in securing our R&D tax credit repayment.

Robin Lumely-Savile, Director, BemOre

The smoothest way to work on R&D Tax Credit – not only are they experts of the subject but also sectors specialists; FI Group could get all the technical elements of our business by themselves leading to a successful and remarkable result.

Jaco Rabie, CFO, Equipsme

Service was fantastic, the claim exceeded our expectations and FI Group were very fair on contract points that I wanted to negotiate on. The original sale person followed the consultancy process throughout every stage to ensure the claim delivery met the expectations agreed from the beginning. We would highly recommend the services of FI Group.