The Blue Economy project, funded by ESA, is being undertaken by a consortium consisting of three partners based in three European countries, and one regional partner in Argentina. Led by GMV, the consortium consists of experts in the fields of Earth Observation systems, cluster development, technology transfer, systemic innovation strategy development, and stakeholder outreach and engagement. As the funding body, the European Space Agency is also a key partner in this initiative, providing the fuel to develop these advances, and the experienced oversight to deliver them.
GMV is a privately owned technological business group with an international presence. Founded in 1984, GMV offers its solutions, services and products in very diverse sectors: Aeronautics, Banking and Finances, Space, Defense, Health, Cybersecurity, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Automotive, Telecommunications, and Information Technology for Public Administration and large corporations.
GMV leads the project consortium, bringing in its expertise in the development of pre-operational and operational services using satellite-derived information to specific domains, and in particular focusing on the extensive background in the maritime domain and energy.
The National Oceanographic Centre (NOC) is the U.K.’s centre of excellence for oceanographic sciences with a remit to provide national capability and leadership for big ocean science. Scientific research at the NOC uses a wide range of measurements from ships, moorings, gliders, autonomous vehicles and satellites and drives forward technology development. NOC’s observational scientists work very closely with computer modellers to develop a complete description of ocean processes in climate models, and thus provide better predictions of the impacts of climate change. By combining real-time observations with state-of-the-art models we also contribute to operational modelling systems for environmental monitoring and coastal flood forecasting. NOC activities in this project are delivered mainly by staff from the NOC Satellite Oceanography and the NOC Sea Level teams.
University College Cork (UCC) offers under-, and postgraduate studies to over 17,000 students, and attracts the highest peer-reviewed research income per head in Ireland. It includes the Environmental Research Institute, within which fundamental and applied research in Earth Observation and GIS are targeted towards 5 thematic areas dealing with technological, physical, biological and social aspects of the coastal and marine environment. The UCC-based team consist of Earth Observation and Business Development researchers, nested within the MaREI Governance-focused research group. This has proved essential in developing UCC’s demonstrated excellence in delivering actionable roadmaps for the maritime sector (e.g. CINMarS, and the #EOCaribbean2018 roadmaps), and providing UCC researchers and their collaborative partners with extensive access to key stakeholders in ports, industry, local and regional governments, and coastal communities. Their efforts are primarily focused on the Innovation Cluster element of the Blue Economy project.
SpaceSur specialises in software engineering and solutions applied to the entire aerospace cycle, from the development of satellites and complex systems, to the implementation of geospatial solutions with high added value for different industries. In addition they design, develop and implement comprehensive educational programs for public entities, educational institutions, and companies. These capacity building activities are implemented using their inhouse Geo.Platform, a web platform developed by SpaceSUR for analytics of satellite data, and integrating it with other sources such as drones, sensors in the field, business data. Through these activities, SpaceSur have developed an extensive network of contacts, stakeholders, and clients across the Atlantic’s South American seaboard, truely internationalising the Blue Economy project.
Overseeing and supporting the Blue Economy team is the European Space Agency. Operating under the remit of the Earth Observation Envelope Programme 5 (EOEP5), Blue Economy is one of a suite of projects advancing Earth Observation use in the Atlantic. ESA ensures the project stays on track for delivery, is critically evaluated, while also providing invaluable links to expertise, technology, experience and specialist networks around the world.
 Demonstrations |  Innovation Clusters |  The Team |