I3-SPACE

I3-SPACE is a European cooperation initiative designed to accelerate the uptake of Earth Observation (EO) and GNSS-based solutions across regions and sectors. Bringing together 15 partners from eight EU Member States, the project strengthens the competitiveness of the European space ecosystem by developing and connecting innovation pathways in AgriTech, water management, blue and coastal intelligence, urban resilience, climate adaptation, and environmental monitoring. Through coordinated investment cases and cross-regional collaboration, it supports the integration of less developed, transition, and more advanced regions into shared space-driven value chains, reinforcing innovation capacity and sustainable economic growth across Europe.

I3-SPACE is structured to support the development and scaling of EO/GNSS solutions from early-stage innovation to market uptake through coordinated interregional collaboration. It focuses on building European space value chains by validating mature applications with high market potential and supporting their deployment through pilot activities and SME cascade funding. A key element of the project is the integration of Less Developed and Transition Regions into the broader EU space ecosystem, ensuring balanced participation and access to innovation opportunities.

A central component of this approach is the implementation of nine interconnected investment cases covering agriculture, coastal resilience, climate intelligence, and environmental monitoring. In agriculture, partners such as AGENSO (Greece), Blue Dot Solutions (Poland), and Termodron (Slovenia) develop and validate EO-enabled solutions for precision irrigation, crop monitoring, and biological pest control, supporting more efficient and sustainable farming practices. In the blue and coastal economy, EyeCon and Thius Europe & AIR Centre (Portugal), together with SeaCras (Croatia), advance marine monitoring and pollution detection systems that enhance environmental resilience across Atlantic and Adriatic regions. In parallel, BlueMetrics (Portugal and Latvia), Latitudo 40 (Italy), and Baltic Satellite Service (Latvia) focus on climate resilience and infrastructure monitoring, developing predictive tools for flood risk, urban adaptation, and forest management based on AI-driven EO analytics.

These investment cases are designed as complementary and interoperable building blocks rather than isolated pilots, enabling benchmarking, shared methodologies, and cross-regional learning while respecting each partner’s proprietary developments. Together, they create an integrated pipeline that strengthens interregional value chains and supports scalable EO/GNSS market solutions across Europe.

A core enabling mechanism of the project is the Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP), implemented through open and competitive cascade funding calls coordinated by AIR Centre (Portugal). This instrument provides up to €60,000 per SME to support third parties in developing, integrating, and scaling EO/GNSS-based solutions aligned with the project’s business cases and emerging innovation needs. Selected SMEs will receive mentoring, technical support, and structured feedback loops with Business Case leaders, ensuring continuous refinement of solutions and stronger market readiness. The mechanism is designed to expand participation, strengthen interregional value chains, and accelerate innovation uptake, particularly in Less Developed, Transition, and outermost regions of the EU.

Within I3-SPACE, AGENSO leads the Business Case on Digital Twin Decision Support Systems for Smart Irrigation under the AgriTech & Water Management vertical. The system integrates Earth Observation data, IoT field sensors, and AI-driven analytics to optimise irrigation scheduling and improve water efficiency in Mediterranean agricultural systems. Through the combination of Copernicus datasets, in-situ monitoring, and predictive crop modelling, the solution enables zone-specific irrigation recommendations and supports precision water management at farm and cooperative level.

AGENSO also leads task on value chain mapping and interregional synergies, identifying key actors, technologies, and investment linkages across the project’s business cases. In parallel, it co-leads the implementation and validation activities under WP5, where the Digital Twin DSS is demonstrated in real-world conditions, progressing from TRL 6 to TRL 8–9. Pilot deployments across Mediterranean regions will assess performance, interoperability, and scalability, with the target of achieving significant improvements in irrigation efficiency and supporting more sustainable and climate-resilient water use.

EO & GNSS Innovation Uptake

EU project accelerating EO/GNSS adoption across key environmental and resilience sectors.

Decision Support & Digital Tools

DSS solutions for monitoring, forecasting, and data-driven decision-making.

Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP)

Funding up to €60k per SME with mentoring to scale EO/GNSS innovations.

Pilot Deployment & Market Uptake

Cross-regional pilots to validate solutions and support market uptake.

DIGITAL TWIN DSS

AGENSO contributes to the development and validation of an innovative Decision Support System (DSS) integrating Earth Observation (EO) data, IoT field sensors, and AI-driven forecasting to support data-driven agricultural management. The platform will provide predictive insights and tailored recommendations to improve resource efficiency, optimise agricultural practices, and promote sustainable farming. Within BC#1, the system will be validated for smart irrigation, targeting a 50% reduction in water consumption while maintaining crop yields.