On Sept. 29, the European Space Agency opened a call developed with Slovenian grid operator ELES for operational services using Earth observation, satellite communications and navigation technologies. Slovenia’s electricity network is being opened to commercial services using satellite data, artificial intelligence and digital twins. The initiative also targets a potential shift in grid investment from physical equipment towards continuously purchased data and analytics.
ESA call timeline and funding terms
Applications for the ESA call run until Nov. 27. Projects can receive zero-equity ESA co-funding covering as much as 50-80% of costs, depending on company status and national approval. Slovenia has already pre-authorised funding for eligible domestic applicants.
The programme is not primarily a research exercise. ESA is seeking market-ready concepts with sustainable commercial business models and operational customers. The focus on operational delivery is intended to support market uptake rather than laboratory pilots.
Operational use cases for grid planning and operations
Planned use cases include renewable-generation and demand forecasting, congestion analysis and dynamic thermal ratings. The programme also covers infrastructure monitoring, predictive maintenance, vegetation management and integration of external data into grid digital twins. Many of these services are designed to be delivered without building another substation or transmission line.
Satellite-derived weather information can improve forecasts of solar irradiation, wind conditions and ambient temperature. Those inputs can then improve renewable forecasts and load-flow calculations used in grid operation. The same weather inputs can support dynamic thermal ratings for overhead lines.
Dynamic thermal rating varies the actual capacity of an overhead line according to temperature, wind and other real-time conditions rather than relying on a conservative static limit. This approach can release additional transmission capacity from existing infrastructure. Satellite imagery can also identify vegetation encroachment, landslides, wildfire exposure or other physical threats along long transmission corridors.
Grid intelligence as a service model
The commercial model differs from traditional utility procurement. Instead of purchasing a sensor or engineering project once, grid operators could subscribe to continuously updated datasets and analytics. A technology company could sell grid intelligence as a service by combining satellite information, terrestrial sensors and artificial intelligence into an operational product used by control-room engineers.
ELES provides a testing environment shaped by Slovenia’s heavily interconnected electricity system and significant renewable-development ambitions. Network constraints are increasingly influenced by weather-dependent generation and regional power flows. Success could also create export opportunities beyond Slovenia.
Regional relevance and links to resilience
Transmission and distribution networks across Southeast Europe face similar challenges including ageing infrastructure, renewable integration, vegetation risks and extreme weather. Operators also face pressure to extract more capacity from existing lines before expensive reinforcement is completed. A Slovenian-developed platform could be offered to operators elsewhere in the region.
The approach creates an opportunity for companies outside the traditional electricity-equipment supply chain. Satellite-data companies, AI developers, weather-analysis specialists, drone operators, digital-twin companies and grid-software providers could compete alongside conventional engineering firms. Better information may help utilities postpone or reduce physical expenditure if line capacity can be increased safely or vegetation risks identified before outages occur.
The economics are described as particularly attractive where permitting and construction of new transmission infrastructure take years. There is also a growing link with insurance and resilience through improved information about wildfire, flood, landslide and weather exposure. Digital twins can combine those datasets with actual grid topology and equipment condition.
ELES-ESA focus on scalable grid data products
The programme points toward a different type of electricity-market infrastructure company than one defined by manufacturing transformers or constructing transmission towers. Instead, it tests whether continuously updated information can help existing infrastructure carry more electricity, fail less often and require intervention earlier. The ELES-ESA initiative is designed to assess whether grid data itself can become a scalable energy-sector product.