UFO (Emerging Industries new value chains boosted by small flying objects), is a new European Project funded by Horizon 2020 INNOSUP-1. The project, which started in May 2020, is exploring business opportunities for small flying objects including drones, small satellites and high altitude platforms across a number of sectors including Blue Growth.

The project aims to create business opportunities for SMEs to develop innovative products and services by integrating new technologies such as nano and digital technologies, key enabling technologies (KETs), data analysis and exploitation solutions into Small Flying Objects (SFOs).

Six emerging industries will be targeted by the project including Blue Growth which is of particular interest to Marine South East, as well as mobility, climate, environment, digital creative and gaming and finance and innovation.  

The UFO project brings together the experience and expertise of 8 clusters including the ICT, Aerospace, Climate and Maritime sectors from France, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. The project will run for 30 months to improve the development and implementation of the Outer Space and Airspace applications in daily life. For more information visit https://www.ufoproject.eu/

To reach this objective, UFO will collect challenges and needs from end users and potential customers, it will enhance the collaboration of SMEs from the different sectors (SFO, Embedded systems, ICT and it will open application calls to fund up to 60 K€/SME for projects offering solutions to the challenges.  UFO will play a central role in the relations between SMEs offering innovative solutions for the need of the emerging industries.

With a budget of more than 4M €, the UFO project will redirect 3.6 M€ (85 %) of the budget directly to SMEs through the funding applications; the project hopes to support innovation solutions for 50 to 70 SMEs from across Europe.