Space Hub Yorkshire is a key member of the UK Space Agency’s (UKSA) thriving network of regional space clusters, responsible for coordinating local space-related activity and driving investment and commercial opportunities across the whole of the Yorkshire region. Their goal is to unlock space for the people and businesses of Yorkshire, raising skills and aspiration, and delivering prosperity for all.
The UK is a top global financial centre and has world-class expertise in satellite data and applications – with the Yorkshire region a hub of activity for both sectors. Agriculture is also crucial to the Yorkshire and Humber economy – it generated £622 million in revenue in 2022 alone. To build upon these, Space Hub Yorkshire secured funding from the UKSA to lead a high-impact, market making project called GreenSpace.
There are many different space technologies that can be used for Earth-based applications, including communications, satellite data (also known as Earth Observation or EO data), and global positioning systems (GPS). The GreenSpace project specifically looks at applying the use of satellite data, including radar data to the green finance and agriculture sectors.
In agriculture, satellite imagery can precisely assess crops, improve yield predictions, and monitor disease outbreaks. EO data can also be used to support sustainable farming practices and can provide evidence of their use for national government subsidies. EO data in combination with GPS data can support precision farming – for example, restricting the application of fertiliser to specific areas in need, reducing both the financial and environmental burden of excess fertiliser use.
In finance, satellite data can be used as an unbiased, standardised source of near real-time data across a financial institution’s interests, and can support existing risk assessment and management strategies. EO data can also be used to assess the environmental impact of investments and assets, including, but not limited to, carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and land-use change.
GreenSpace is supporting an array of proof-of-concept and pilot projects to demonstrate and advance the wide-ranging applications of space technology in different sectors. The following projects are led by commercial organisations with GreenSpace in a supporting role, or led by GreenSpace and co-designed with public and private sector organisations.
In the UK, banks and other large commercial companies are expected to report on the environmental impacts of their activities and investments. The guidelines and recommended methods for the collection of these data are evolving and are an area where satellite data could have a supporting role. The legal reporting requirements are also likely to evolve with time, in line with the required pathway for Net Zero.
GreenSpace, in collaboration with commercial partners, is exploring large UK Banks’ environmental reporting-related activities and their future reporting plans to identify the most appropriate and timely opportunities where satellite data could be used to ease the burden or improve the accuracy of environmental reporting.
GreenSpace is also looking at the broader barriers to the use of space technology in other sectors, identifying actionable insights to reduce those barriers. This will assess the current state and use of satellite data and what is preventing stakeholders from using it more ubiquitously. It will also identify what interventions are required for a broad range of organisations to be able to make the most of the UK’s world-class expertise in satellite data.
Typically, monitoring biodiversity on farmland is an expensive and labour-intensive activity. Agtelligence, a company focused on promoting sustainable agriculture practices through the use of Earth Observation (EO) technology, collaborated with Airbus Space and Defence, with support from GreenSpace, to simplify this process.
By combining AI and high-resolution satellite data, they aimed to streamline the monitoring of biodiversity. The project focused on assessing the quality of biodiverse habitats, particularly woody features, natural on-farm areas, and woodland patches, which are significant for UK farmland. These assessments were integrated into Agtelligence’s existing FarmScore® system, enhancing sustainability monitoring capabilities.
Other areas we are exploring include investigating where satellite data may be used to support ground measurements and streamline farmland assessments for sustainability certification schemes and opportunities for satellite data to support insurance quote assessments.
GreenSpace aims to bring different sectors together to foster innovation and overcome obstacles to the broader adoption of satellite data, particularly for the purposes of sustainable agriculture and green finance.
GreenSpace hosts events to bring potential users together with data providers and technical experts to showcase the different uses of satellite data, raising awareness of its capabilities, and to ease the process of space technology adoption. GreenSpace also facilitates new partnerships and collaborations by arranging personalised one-on-one introductions where there are mutual interests and potential gains.
Image shows Earth Observation for Sustainable Finance Event
Space Hub Yorkshire, as the region’s local space cluster, is well connected to funding and investment opportunities within the region, across the UK, and internationally. As part of GreenSpace, they connect these opportunities to relevant companies and support their bids for grant and investment funding, as well as longer-term product development collaborations. So far, they have supported the submission of 10 grant proposal applications with a total value of over £482k secured.
They have hosted two in-person networking workshops and are launching a new webinar series, beginning in October 2024. Through these events, they have engaged with industry groups and corporate entities like Airbus, Verisk Maplecroft, Virgin Money, HSBC, and Lloyds Banking Group.
If you or your organisation would like to learn more about GreenSpace, visit their website. If you are interested in joining GreenSpace activities or exploring funding or project opportunities for GreenSpace-related initiatives with support from Space Hub Yorkshire, please email them.
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This article is the second part of our series with Space Hub Yorkshire. Read the first part, ‘Yorkshire’s Skyward Surge: How Space Hub Yorkshire is contributing to the UK’s space revolution‘ here and follow us on socials to find out when the next piece is out.