The FIERCE Project: up to €50,000 in EU funding for your Earth Observation idea
The EU FIERCE Project backs SMEs and startups using space data to build greener solutions. Here’s what the programme funds, who can apply, and how Astro42, a registered FIERCE External Service Provider, can help you build it.
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What is the FIERCE Project?
The FIERCE Project is a Horizon Europe programme running from 2024 to 2027. Its mission is to help European SMEs and startups harness downstream space technologies (Earth Observation, satellite navigation, and remote sensing) to develop greener products, services, and processes.
You don’t need to be a space company. FIERCE is designed for any European SME that sees an opportunity to use satellite data to reduce environmental impact, whether you’re in agriculture, construction, energy, logistics, urban planning, or natural resource management.
Advisory Services
Free expert guidance to help you explore how space data could fit your business model, refine your concept, and prepare a strong application.
Financial Support
Up to €50,000 in direct funding per project, which you can use to work with registered External Service Providers to design, develop, and pilot your space-tech solution.
Is FIERCE right for you?
FIERCE targets SMEs and startups developing “green solutions”: products, services, or processes that use space data to reduce ecological footprint. This can mean direct impact within your operations or indirect impact through new offerings for your customers.
You don’t need prior experience with satellite data or Earth Observation. That’s what the External Service Providers are for.
How to apply for FIERCE
The process is straightforward. Here’s a brief overview; full details are available on the official FIERCE website.
Explore the programme
Visit project-fierce.eu to understand the open calls, eligibility criteria, and timelines.
Self-assessment
Use the FIERCE Self-Assessment Tool to gauge whether your project idea is a good fit.
Find a Service Provider
Browse the Service Provider catalogue and request a proposal. This becomes part of your application.
Submit your application
Apply through the Onepass platform with your project concept and service provider proposals.
Open calls
There are no FIERCE open calls accepting applications right now. The most recent calls closed on 31 March 2026. New calls are announced on the FIERCE website, and the strongest applications start preparing well before a call opens, so it’s worth getting ready now.
Space data is already transforming how businesses operate
Earth Observation is the collection and analysis of data about our planet using satellite-mounted sensors. What used to require expensive field surveys can now be done continuously, at scale, from orbit, often using freely available data from programmes like Copernicus.
Agriculture & food
Monitor crop growth, predict pest risks, optimise irrigation, and plan harvesting using satellite-derived vegetation indices and soil moisture data.
Energy & buildings
Identify buildings with excessive heat loss using nighttime thermal imagery. Assess rooftop solar potential. Monitor energy infrastructure remotely.
Infrastructure & construction
Track structural deformation in bridges, dams, and tunnels with millimetre precision. Monitor construction progress and detect landslide risks.
Nature & ecosystems
Assess biodiversity, measure carbon storage in forests and wetlands, detect illegal logging, and monitor reforestation projects from space.
Climate & compliance
Verify carbon credits, automate ESG and CSRD reporting, identify supply chain deforestation risks, and evaluate nature-based restoration projects.
Urban planning
Map urban heat islands, analyse green canopy cover, model city climate scenarios, and plan for climate resilience with satellite-derived analytics.
We build the software that turns space data into working products
At Astro42, we specialise in custom software development for the space sector. As a registered FIERCE Project External Service Provider, we can be named in your FIERCE application, and your funding can be used to design and build your solution with us.
But more importantly, this is what we do every day. We build Earth Observation platforms, AI pipelines for satellite imagery, mission dashboards, and the user-facing applications that make EO data useful to real users.
What our projects look like in practice
MELT-B: Urban Energy Efficiency
Commissioned by ESA, we are developing a platform that uses nighttime infrared satellite imagery to map building-level heat loss across entire cities. Combining high-resolution SatVu data with AI analytics, MELT-B helps city planners and construction firms prioritise energy retrofitting, replacing costly manual surveys with scalable, satellite-driven intelligence.
SpaceCrop: Precision Irrigation from Space
We built a web application delivering AI-driven irrigation recommendations to farmers using satellite imagery, weather data, and machine learning. The platform helped SpaceCrop secure ESA grant funding and is now supporting farmers across multiple countries in optimising water usage and improving crop resilience.
Reef Restoration & Fisheries Compliance Intelligence
We engineered the geospatial platform that unifies satellite Earth Observation, live vessel tracking, biodiversity records, and marine protected-area boundaries in a single operational interface. Artificial-reef performance and fishing pressure, once scattered across separate tools and infrequent dive surveys, become continuous, map-based intelligence for restoration and compliance teams.
Seagrass Habitat Monitoring from Space
Seagrass meadows store carbon up to 35× faster than rainforests, yet the UK has lost an estimated 92% of them. We built satellite-driven habitat monitoring and an automated reporting pipeline that complements costly dive surveys with continuous, scalable evidence for coastal restoration and blue-carbon programmes.
Giza Pyramids: Stability Monitoring with SAR
Using Sentinel-1 satellite imagery and SAR interferometry, we monitored ground deformation around the Great Pyramids with millimetre-level precision. The pyramids showed remarkable stability, while surrounding urban areas revealed subsidence of over 60 mm per year. The findings now support Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism in developing long-term preservation strategies.
Trusted across the European space sector
The unique combination of their business experience with an excellent understanding of science, engineering and technology as well as their extensive knowledge of the space industry makes them exceptional experts in the sector.
They are efficient, effective, and collaborative to work with. We were able to deliver our software to the users on the desired timeline.
Nothing was ever a problem for them to do or figure out.
Curious whether FIERCE is right for your project?
Book a free 45-minute discovery call with Astro42’s Head of Space Solutions, Earth Observation specialist Ahmed Hamido. We’ll talk through your use case, whether FIERCE funding fits, and what the next steps look like.
Resources
Frequently asked questions
What is the FIERCE project?
FIERCE is a Horizon Europe programme running from 2024 to 2027. It helps European SMEs and startups harness downstream space technologies, such as Earth Observation, satellite navigation, and remote sensing, to develop greener products, services, and processes. Astro42 is a registered FIERCE External Service Provider.
How much funding can I get through FIERCE?
Eligible SMEs and startups can receive up to €50,000 in direct funding per project. That funding is used to work with registered External Service Providers, such as Astro42, to design, develop, and pilot a space-tech solution.
Who is eligible to apply for FIERCE?
FIERCE targets SMEs and startups developing green solutions: products, services, or processes that use space data to reduce ecological footprint, directly within their own operations or indirectly through new customer-facing offerings. You do not need to be a space company or have prior experience with satellite data.
What is a FIERCE Project External Service Provider?
A FIERCE Project External Service Provider is an organisation registered with the FIERCE programme that eligible SMEs can commission, using their FIERCE funding, to design, build, and pilot an Earth Observation or space-data solution. Astro42 is a registered FIERCE External Service Provider, so you can name Astro42 in your application and use your funding to build your solution with us.
How do I apply for FIERCE funding?
Start at project-fierce.eu to review the open calls and eligibility criteria, run your idea through the FIERCE Self-Assessment Tool, request a proposal from a registered Service Provider such as Astro42, and submit your application through the Onepass platform.
Are there any FIERCE open calls right now?
No FIERCE open calls are accepting applications at the moment. The 2nd Open Call for Advisory Services and the 1st Open Call for Financial Support both closed on 31 March 2026, and the 1st Advisory Services call closed on 30 November 2025. Further calls are expected during the programme (which runs to 2027) and are announced on project-fierce.eu, so it is worth preparing your project concept ahead of the next opening.