Unlocking Space for Business

Programme Overview   

As part of the government’s plan to make the UK a science and technology superpower, the National Space Strategy sets the ambition to use space to deliver for UK citizens and the world. Unlocking Space for Business will play a key role in enabling this ambition, through the delivery of a range of government initiatives to support the realisation of business, operational and environmental benefits from innovative uses of satellite data and services. Initiatives will include:

Information hub

Access to insights on how businesses in the financial services, and transport and logistics sectors can unlock value from satellites, with examples of activity from across the world.

Exploration workshops

Dedicated advisory support and expertise through a series of focused workshops to help businesses identify and develop satellite data and service opportunities. Sign up and register your interest in attending an Exploration Workshop.

Learning and development

The programme is now accepting registrations for our learning and development programme, which will be held throughout the first half of 2024. The initial sessions are for those in the financial services or transport and logistics sectors in alignment with the programmes strategic objectives. If you are in either of these sectors and want to find out how to implement innovative solutions using space-derived data in a series of tailored sessions, register to secure your spot.

The programme is also planning a dedicated series of sessions later in the year, tailored specifically for suppliers and integrators of space data. Once confirmed, these sessions will be promoted in the Unlocking Space for Business newsletter and on this page. An overview of all sessions will be available once they have concluded.

Funding call

Our grant funding call has now opened. There is a total of up to £3.5 million available to de-risk pilot projects financial services and transport and logistics companies to pilot solutions that use satellite data and services delivering benefits to their organisation. Projects to be funded would be expected to run up for 9 months from July 2024 to March 2025 .

The call is open to end-users with a supplier of space data or services as a partner and there is a requirement for all applicants to be able to match the grant funding with their own sourced funding (not through other grants).  Find out more.

RegisterWatch toa attendrecording of our Unlocking Space for Business grant call webinar.

Insights and networking events

Join us at our upcoming networking events:

• ‘unlocking satellite-driven insights for financial services: managing risk and driving sustainable finance’ at PwC More London, SE1 2RT, on Monday 15 April 2024. Find out more and register your attendance
• ‘unlocking satellite-driven insights for transport and logistics: establishing connected and intelligent operations’ at PwC 1 Embankment Places, WC2N 64H, on Monday 29 April 2024. Find out more and register your attendance

Ahead of future funding activities, these interactive events will bring together stakeholders across financial services, transport and logistics, technology and space sectors. This allows businesses to learn about latest use cases from suppliers, suppliers can learn more about business challenges and requirements, and all attendees can establish connections across the different sectors to accelerate exploration of high value opportunities.

Sign up to keep up to date on future events.

Important information for participants  

Unlocking Space for Business aims to implement a number of customer-focused initiatives to support and enable greater awareness, engagement, learning and development and demand for satellite data and services. It is expected to run until March 2025, and funded projects must be completed within the 18-month lifetime.

As a new pilot programme, continuous learning and feedback is encouraged from participants of events, workshops and recipients of funding.

The focus areas for the programme are businesses within the financial services, and transport and logistics sectors.

The programme will be open to opportunities across all satellite domains (including satellite imagery, satellite connectivity and communications, satellite position, navigation and timing), in combination with complementary data types.

Funded projects should be targeting a tangible benefit to the UK, whether that’s the realisation of benefits to UK businesses and citizens, or contributing to the growth of the UK space sector.

Further information

Our privacy notice sets out how we will process personal data received through the sign up form for the Unlocking Space for Business Newsletter and upcoming events.

A live webinar took place on Monday 6 November to launch Unlocking Space for Business, looking at what the programme involves and how it could benefit you.

Unlocking Space for Business live launch webinar

If you would like any further information, have any questions or feedback about this programme, or would like to request the newsletter and events sign-up form in a different format, please contact the team at UnlockingSpaceforBusiness@ukspaceagency.gov.uk.

Unlocking Space for Business by the UK Space Agency.

Other UK Space Agency initiatives

Business Applications and Space Solutions Programme (BASS) (ARTES) 

As part of the ARTES programme, the Business Applications and Space Solutions Programme (BASS), in partnership between the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency (ESA), is a commercially focussed space applications programme that delivers innovative uses of space assets and data. 

Earth Observation 

Find further details on open funding opportunities for earth observation projects. 

Apply for funding: space-related R&D, innovation and education 

Find further details on open funding opportunities from the UK Space Agency, the space sector, academic, education and community partners.