Brussels, 12 June 2026
EXPANDEO 2026 Wrap-Up: Earth Observation Powering Europe’s Security and Environmental Resilience
Bringing together representatives from across the European Earth Observation ecosystem, EXPANDEO 2026 gathered 300 online & 155 in-person attendees from 40 countries on 10–11 June 2026. The event welcomed more than 30 speakers across 10 sessions, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, institutional actors, users, and innovators to discuss the future of Earth Observation in Europe.
The conference took place at a pivotal moment for the European EO sector, coinciding with discussions on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, the implementation of the European Vision for the Space Economy, the future evolution of Copernicus, and increasing political attention to security, defence, climate adaptation, and strategic autonomy.
EXPANDEO 2026 opened with EARSC Secretary General Emmanuel Pajot, who reflected on the continued growth of the European EO sector and its increasing role in addressing Europe’s most pressing societal challenges, noting positive performance in downstream industry employment and revenues while calling for stronger connections between service providers and user communities.
The opening keynote, delivered by the EU Covenant of Mayors, examined EO as a powerful yet underutilised tool for climate action at the local level. Key barriers identified included limited technical capacity, language constraints, affordability, and difficulties translating EO products into actionable policy, underlining the need for user-centred design, multilingual services, capacity building, and stronger intermediary organisations.
The high-level opening panel examined the future of the European EO ecosystem against the backdrop of the next MFF, the European Competitiveness Fund, the EU Space Act, and the evolution of Copernicus. Speakers from the European Commission, the European Space Agency, and the EU Agency for the Space Programme highlighted the growing strategic importance of EO for competitiveness, security, and climate resilience, calling for reduced fragmentation, improved procurement, and investment across the full EO value chain.
Defence and security emerged as a central theme of EXPANDEO 2026. Across two dedicated sessions, representatives from the European Commission, the European Defence Agency, the European Space Agency, the EU Satellite Centre, the Polish Space Agency, and the European Union Military Staff discussed EO’s growing role in situational awareness, surveillance, crisis response, and critical infrastructure monitoring. Discussions covered initiatives including EOGS, the EDF, SAFE, and ERS, emphasising the need for secure-by-design, interoperable architectures combining public and commercial assets.
The oceans session explored EO’s contribution to the EU Ocean Pact, OceanEye, and the future Ocean Act. Speakers from the European Commission’s DG MARE, EuroGOOS, and the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works highlighted the need to combine satellite observations with in-situ measurements and modelling, and identified significant opportunities for the private sector in ocean monitoring, digital twins, and EDITO developments.
The afternoon introduced a new format, featuring two lightning talks on key topics relevant to the sector.
The lightning talk on the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Certification Framework (CRCF) highlighted the shift from policy development to implementation, as upcoming carbon farming methodologies place greater emphasis on operational Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems. DG CLIMA emphasised Earth Observation as a key enabler for scalable, cost-effective certification, supporting baseline setting, monitoring, quantification, verification, transparency, and permanence tracking, while opening new opportunities for EO providers across carbon markets.
The discussion on the revision of the EU Arctic Policy underlined the Arctic’s growing strategic importance amid climate change, geopolitical change, and ecosystem transformation. The European External Action Service stressed the need for enhanced monitoring and situational awareness, identifying Earth Observation as essential for environmental monitoring, maritime safety, climate resilience, and policy support, and highlighting the policy revision as an opportunity to further integrate EO into EU and international Arctic action.
The data ecosystems session, organised in partnership with the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, examined how EO platforms, data spaces, and digital twins can evolve into a coherent, interoperable ecosystem. Experts from Mercator Ocean International, OpenGeoHub Foundation, Sinergise, and CloudFerro underlined the need to move beyond isolated infrastructures towards federated environments built on open standards and FAIR data principles.
Day 1 concluded with the Start-Up Live Pitching session and the EARSC Awards Ceremony. Five finalists, Envira, AlongRoute, DecenSpace, Koordinat, and NobracTech, showcased innovative approaches in Earth Observation and space technologies. EXPANDEO online and in-person audience elected AlongRoute Start-Up of the year.Â
The EARSC Awards Ceremony recognised outstanding contributions across three categories. For the Product Award, Open Cosmos’ HYPER-500 claimed 1st place, Disaitek’s 3D Tracker took 2nd, and Earthpulse’s SPAI earned 3rd. For the Company Award, Satlantis secured 1st place, Latitudo 40 took 2nd, and Brockmann Consult earned 3rd.
On the morning of Day 2, EARSC members convened for the Annual General Meeting. The newly elected Board of Directors was announced, with directors from AIRBUS, ALSO Space, CloudFerro, e-geos, EOmap, GAF, GeoVille, GEOSAT, Geosystems Hellas, ICEYE, and Novaspace.
Day 2 continued with sessions on emergency management, sustainable land use, and international cooperation.Â
The emergency management session brought together representatives from DG ECHO, the Spanish Technological Platform for Industrial Safety (PESI), and the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Greece, who highlighted the increasing frequency and severity of climate-driven hazards and the need for more timely, interoperable EO tools. Speakers pointed to Copernicus emergency mapping as valuable but still maturing, and converged on the need for EO products to be developed in close collaboration with end users across the full emergency value chain.
The sustainable land use session explored how EO and Nature-based Solutions can address competing pressures on land management across Europe and beyond. Speakers from the European Landowners’ Organisation, the Region of Basilicata in Italy, and the Land Management Institute NAAS of Ukraine highlighted the gap between environmental ambition and economic feasibility. The LandShift project was presented as a practical response, offering decision support tools and EO-integrated scenario modelling to help regional authorities translate policy into operational action.
The international collaboration session examined the expanding global footprint of European EO, with ESA and DG INTPA outlining funding instruments and partnership frameworks ( including ESA’s Global Partnership programme and the EU Global Gateway strategy) designed to open markets in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Speakers called on European EO companies to engage more with international partners, identifying climate finance and long-term market access as significant and underutilised opportunities.
The High-Level Closing Panel identified the transition from project-based to recurring commercial services as the central business model challenge for the sector, and called for greater user education in sectors such as energy, insurance, and regional governance. DG DEFIS presented the European Space Economy Vision as a framework for commercialisation and economic diplomacy, while EARSC reaffirmed the sector’s climate mandate and its role in structuring industry engagement with institutional stakeholders.
In his closing remarks, EARSC Secretary General Emmanuel Pajot thanked all participants, speakers, sponsors, and partners for their commitment to advancing the Earth Observation sector. Â
A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors and partners: AIRBUS, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, EUSI, Geosystems Hellas, PlanetekItalia, ALSO Space, the LandShift Project, the HARMONY Project, and Groundstation.Space.
