Digital enablers and building-blocks for Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunication for Space solutions (Space Partnership)

Preparing demonstration missions for Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunication for Space solutions (Space Partnership) is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: The topic encompasses actions within the scope of the co-programmed European Partnership on Globally Competitive Space Systems (‘Space Partnership’) in the areas of satellite communication (SatCom), Earth Observation (EO) and New Commercial Space Transportation Solutions and is part of cohesive activities in the domain of digital developments under the grand heading of “digitalisation for commercial space solutions”. Digitalisation is a major enabler for enhancing the value of an End-to-End EO and SatCom system. Under the area of Using Space on Earth related to SatCom and EO, below this topic focusses on the Mid to High TRL level developments of key technologies [1] required to strengthen competitiveness in these domains, contributing to the preparation of EO and SatCom demonstration missions. Projects are expected to contribute to one or several of the following outcomes: Favouring a competitive and sustainable European Space Sector; Enable the European Space Industry to maintain a significant share of the global connectivity market; Advanced Earth observation and SatCom payloads, technologies and processing means (on ground and in space); Advanced EO and SatCom fostering AI across space system; Enhanced security of SatCom and EO services, supporting advanced technologies for both ground and space commercial applications; End-to-end demonstrator for collaborative Earth Observation and Satellite telecommunication for Space solutions. This will contribute to developing, deploying global, more flexible and reactive space-based services applications, to contribute to fostering the EU's space sector competitiveness, as stated in the expected impact of this destination. Scope: The areas of R&I, which needs to be addressed to tackle the above-mentioned expected outcomes are: R&I on End-to-End SatCom Mission capabilities, secure SatCom services and satellites as network nodes in a distributed system, radio-frequency payloads, flexible and modular testbed for complex satcom system architectures to assess performances, testbed for processing RF signal directly onboard the spacecraft, compatibility of the different elements and operations concepts; R&I on LEO or VLEO earth observation equipment, subsystems, applications and services enabling real time reaction (e.g. use cases requiring low latency), on on-board processing to optimize EO missions’ performance or timeliness, EO ground segment interfaces and data flow standardisation and adoption, smart multi-source EO intelligence information fusion also on ground; R&I on synergetic technologies, building blocks and processes with applicability across both EO and SatCom next generation operation systems such as operational optimisation for increasing lifetime, design optimisation for increasing efficiency and advanced techniques for large system of systems or multi-mission operation optimisation, as well as tip & cue demonstration combining RF and EO using inter-satellite links (including optical). Developments should aim at EO and Telecom technologies on-ground in relevant environment and in orbit software demonstration when flight is feasible and adding value focusing on software and digital tools (e.g. algorithms, functions). Proposals may contribute to one or more of the above R&I areas, however the main area addressed should be clearly and unambiguously identified in the proposal text. Proposals are expected to promote cooperation between different actors (industry, SMEs, research institutions and infrastructures and academia) and consider opportunities to quickly turn technological innovation into commercial use in space via e.g., on-ground relevant environment or in orbit demonstration. It is expected that projects make use of existing EU technologies and/or building blocks, including at component level, contributing to EU non-dependence and strengthen competitiveness, and this should be clearly presented in the proposal. Furthermore, propo Programme areas: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Digital, Industry and Space Keywords: STEP-Digital/deep tech

Space critical EEE components for EU non-dependence – GaN MMICs mm-Wave Foundations (Phase A): Development and Industrialization of Semi-insulating SiC Substrate Capabilities is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Reinforcing EU strategic autonomy by reducing non-EU dependencies on critical space EEE components and related technologies across their entire supply chain; Providing unrestricted access to critical space EEE components and related technologies relevant for EU space missions (Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, IRIS 2 and EU pilot missions on In-Orbit Space Operations and Quantum Gravimetry); Developing or regaining capacity to operate independently in space by developing resilient space EEE components and related technologies supply chains, relying on EU supply chains and/or trustable and reliable supply chains not affected by non-EU export restrictions; Enhancing competitiveness by developing products and capabilities reaching equivalent or superior performance level than those from outside the EU and compete at worldwide level. Scope: Unrestricted access to state-of-art space EEE components and related technologies is a pre-requisite for the EU space industry responding to EU space missions. However, especially for some families of components, the available solutions in EU do not meet the current high-performance space requirements. Currently, alternative products sourced from outside EU, are either affected by non-EU export control, that limits its use, or present challenges in terms of trustable supply chains for the implementation of EU space missions with a security dimension. Within the frame of this topic, it is expected to finance and implement a development project aiming at maturing critical space EEE components with the final goal of lowering the dependency from outside EU. This will be done by establishing a long-term sustainable supply chain for supporting EU strategic autonomy in the space sector. The selection of the supply chains shall reflect this objective. Therefore, the supply chain shall preferably be built fully based in EU and when this can only be achieved partially (i.e. because of lack of current EU capabilities for unrestricted advanced semiconductor processes or advanced materials that cannot be developed within the project), services procured from outside EU shall nevertheless ensure that the overall supply chain will remain trustable and not affected by non-EU export control. The latest scenario is subject to the approval of the granting authority. The space EEE component and related technologies relevant for this topic represent a direct implementation of the EU Observatory of Critical Technologies (OCT) Technology Roadmap, named GaN for RF and mm-wave Space and Defence Applications: industrial development of an EU-based source of semi-insulating SiC substrates addressing the 100/150mm . Further details will be provided at the latest at the opening of the Call, in a Guidance document published on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Space is a low volume market affected by a dynamic industrial landscape compared to the terrestrial market therefore, technological spin in and/or bilateral collaborations should be enhanced between European non-space and space industries. Furthermore, proposed activities should be complementary to relevant national or other activities at EU level. Complementary activities should be clearly identified, described and the proposal should report how the complementarity is ensured. To achieve the non-dependence objective, applicants are expected to include a dedicated proposal’s paragraph covering: The description of the technology and/or technology processes and high-level breakdown of the space EEE component supply chain to be used. Applicants should demonstrate that the supply chain and final product are free of any legal export restrictions or limitations, such as those established in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or equivalent instruments applicable in other non-EU jurisdictions. Applicants shall also report, in a dedicated subsection, if and which p Programme areas: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Digital, Industry and Space

Microelectronic – Front-End Module (FEM) is sponsored by European Commission — Horizon Europe. Expected Outcome: The targeted outcomes reflect the above challenges and cover a comprehensive Front End module design which: Covers the FR3 range as defined by the relevant Agenda Item of WRC 27 (7 to 15 GHz range) with possible extension up to 24 GHz if required by some regional implementations, with inherent tuning capabilities to accommodate potential regional variations. Mitigates interferences with incumbent FR3 band users and maximises sharing capabilities across the band in line with the European regulatory approach on spectrum sharing. Enables integration of a large number of antenna elements beyond the State of the Art and support massive MIMO implementation with compensation of increased path loss compared to 5G FR1 implementations. Enables at least an order-of-magnitude increase in RF processing compared to 5G FR1 implementations. Enables 5G cell site reuse and minimises deployment complexity on top of 5G sites deployment. Enables low-cost and low energy implementation of the elementary constituent modules, efficient packaging and is mainly based on the integration of microelectronics heterogeneous technologies where European industry has strong expertise and know-how. Addresses new 6G requirements for greater uplink capacity as required by new classes of traffic/use cases. Enables concurrent and efficient implementation of Sub Band Full Duplex (SBFD) and Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC), whilst minimising the waveform differences between the communication and the sensing function, with maximisation of common functional blocks as appropriate. Addresses ITU requirements for IMT 2030 especially for what concerns increased carrier rate, user rate and latency. Enables support of both cellular (FR1-like) and FWA (FR2-like) use case scenarios. It is based on a strong and lasting cooperation between European lead suppliers of telecom systems and technologies and lead suppliers of European microelectronics systems and technologies, in view of stimulating a telecom components ecosystem in Europe and to clearly increase European sovereignty in the domain. Is supported by advanced higher TRL design tools, e.g. EDA, PDK. Establishes a clear pathway towards downstream industrialisation in Europe and use of the relevant pilot lines from the Chips JU as a function of the eventual technology selection for implementation (to be covered in the Chips JU call) Contribute to the Apply AI Strategy policy of the Union Objective: Please refer to the "Specific Challenges and Objectives" section for Stream B-02 in the Work Programme, available under ‘Topic Conditions and Documents - Additional Documents’. Scope: The scope of this topic focuses on the following areas: A FEM design that covers the FR3 frequency range, also taking into account the upper part of the 6Ghz band, potentially usable for Mobile Services (6.425- 7.125 GHz). This does not preclude addressing higher sub-bands of the FR3 spectrum to cater for regional regulatory variations and to include ISAC capabilities. The design includes the characterisation and specification of the FEM constituent elements, such as the power amplifiers, LNB, filters, multiplexers/multipliers, ADC and DAC stages, beamformers, and antenna arrays. It also covers the specification of the digital functionalities to be implemented in the FEM, such as DPD, beam steering, channel selection and adaptation as typical examples. This detailed specification part is expected to be subject to tight links with the project selected under the Chips JU Work Programme 2026, as the two projects should complement each other. The design of a complete FEM, including a Digital Front End, a Radio Front End, antenna elements with the needed conversion stages and capable of handling at least 200 MHz channels and compatible with 400 MHz channels. It enables high-throughput/capacity fronthaul with performance capabilities close to those defined by the ITU 2030 Framework (ITU-R Recommendation M.2160-0) for peak data Programme areas: Digital, Industry and Space, Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness, Key Digital Technologies, Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Keywords: Communication engineering and systems telecommunications, 6G, smart networks and services, sns

NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program is a grant from NVIDIA providing up to $60,000 per award to PhD students conducting research that advances accelerated computing and its applications. Now in its 25th year, the program invites nominations from doctoral students pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and related fields. Recipients receive not only research funding but also access to NVIDIA technology, products, and engineering expertise, along with a mandatory in-person summer internship. Students are nominated by their faculty advisors and selected based on academic achievement and research area alignment.