This new strategic partnership will act as a pilot for the acceleration of Earth Observation for Blue Growth. The SpaceWave Project has been funded by the European programme for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (COSME).

Since January 2018 the SpaceWave project has been identifying the current and future commercial and technological potential of Earth Observation technologies to facilitate the growth of the Blue Economy sector. Through collaborative working with cluster partners and key technology providers, the project has identified the most promising EO technologies and the most appropriate European and International stakeholders, clusters and business networks to work with in targeted countries.

The project has created a joint internationalisation strategy in order to reach Europe's full potential in downstream Earth Observation in Blue Growth.

The SpaceWave project is targeting four countries: Australia, Canada, South Africa and United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is addressing markets with high-potential such as; aquaculture, fisheries, marine renewable energies, maritime surveillance, maritime traffic, coastal protection and hazards, port infrastructures and sea level rise.

The purpose of the SpaceWave Alliance is to actively cooperate trans-nationally and trans-sectoral in order to:

* Expand access by European businesses to international customers for maritime satellite applications and Earth Observation application activities
* Engage together in a long term agenda for international Cluster cooperation and develop a joint Internationalisation Strategy Plan and Implementation Roadmap fostering complementarities between them, promoting cooperation across related industries and sectoral boundaries in support of emerging industries.
* Facilitate the transnational transfer of knowledge and technologies between Earth Observation Clusters and Blue Growth Clusters.
* Promote cutting edge technologies inside and outside Europe and facilitate their application into international markets of other sectors.
* Explore and promote international market opportunities and enable international matchmaking.
* Facilitate SME members towards specific third countries to be identified in the Internationalisation Strategy Plan.
* Mobilise public and private financing for the development of the Internationalisation Strategy Plan.
* Participate in matchmaking events in order to be informed about various EU initiatives that could provide them with additional support in addressing third markets
* Stimulate exchange of information and to develop possible collaboration and synergies with other ESCPs targeting similar third markets.
* Foster the signature of cooperation agreements and business partnership agreements as well as the emergence of cooperation projects between Clusters as well as business partners
* Contribute to the increase in the percentage of the turnover from international activities, and employment in Europe of the SMEs benefiting from the SpaceWave Alliance actions compared to a similar group of SMEs not benefiting from them

For more information visit ECCP website https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/escp-profiles/spacewave or contact the project manager Maude Perier-Camby perier@aerospace-valley.com