Webinar EIC Pathfinder Challenge: EU Space infrastructure

Technology Centre Prague organized a webinar on the EIC Pathfinder Challenge 2024: Strengthening the sustainability and resilience of EU space infrastructure.

EIC Pathfinder is a research-oriented scheme of the Horizon Europe programme which supports activities to develop a scientific basis to underpin breakthrough technologies with an objective to disrupt a specific field or a market and to create new opportunities.

The Challenges represent specific areas of interest that have been identified as key for strengthening strategic autonomy and competitiveness of the EU. The EIC introduced a role of Programme Managers who are responsible for developing visions for the selected areas, participate to the project selection process and actively steer a project portfolio towards the Challenge objectives.

The call is open for monobeneficiary as well as multibeneficiary (consortium) applications. The EU contribution to selected projects will be up to €4 million.

The webinar covered:

An introduction to the European Innovation Council programmes, overview of principles and conditions of the Pathfinder Challenges call 2024 and support provided to the applicants (Michaela Vlková, National Contact Point EIC, TC Prague);

Specific objectives and expected impact of the "Strengthening the sustainability and resilience of EU space infrastructure" Challenge as well as project portfolio considerations (Stela Tkatchova, Programme Manager Space Systems & Technologies, European Commission);

An overview of Space debris related activities supported or planned under Horizon Europe Cluster 4 incl. participation of Czech entities, an overview of relevant strategic documents (Ondřej Mirovský, National Contact Point Cluster 4 - Space, TC Prague).