Notice

AI Hub ITT Guidance

Updated 1 April 2026

1. Background 

At CMIN25, the UK subscribed a total of £141.4m to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) programme, reflecting our continued commitment to strengthening the UK’s satellite communications sector and supporting national priorities. to support the UK satellite telecommunications industry.  

This targeted allocation is designed to create new opportunities for UK-led innovation, growth, and collaboration in satellite communications and related technologies, working alongside our international partners.   

At Mobile World Congress 2026, the European Space Agency announced a new European Space Agency facility that will use artificial intelligence to advance satellite-enabled connectivity. Backed by the UK Space Agency, ESA’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub will offer a unique environment where European industry can test, validate and scale AI-driven innovations for satellite and converged communications, transforming how networks are designed, integrated and managed. ESA - New AI Hub to empower space-enabled connectivity 

To help support the development of the hub and develop UK capabilities in this emerging area, the UK Space Agency is inviting UK organisations to bid on two European Space Agency Invitations to Tender (ITTs).

2. Supported Activities

Activity Reference	Activity Title	Approximate Budget (£)	ESA-STAR Activity Link
3F.062	Beyond 5G Hub over-the-air vertical segment validations	1300	esa-star Publication
3F.063	Beyond 5G Hub over-the-air technology validations	1300	esa-star Publication

Please note, you will need to log-in to ESA-Star to view the ITT details. If you are not logged in to ESA-Star when accessing the links, you will be directed to the log-on page. 

Registering with ESA 

New applicants who have not worked with the European Space Agency will need to register their organisation on ESA-STAR (ESA’s System for Tendering and Registration) to view and bid for the activity. Further information on the registration process can be found here: ESA-Star Registration Process.

2026 ARTES ITT Request for Information

To note that this list is independent of the 2026 ARTES RFI - ARTES 2026 ESA initiated ITTs — Applicant Guidance - GOV.UK. With the selected list of activities due to be announced in April 2026.

3. What is National Delegate support

Applicants must demonstrate national support prior to applying to ESA (European Space Agency). This is called ‘National Delegate support’, as the UK delegates its national support to a named member of staff within the UK Space Agency. This guidance is designed to set out the process for applying for National Delegate support for the two selected activities.

4. How to apply

There are 3 steps to applying for National Delegate support: 

1. complete the online form to register interest in ITT activities 
2. complete and submit full proposal to the UK Space Agency 
3. receive authorisation of funding letter from the UK Space Agency and submit the full proposal to ESA

5.1 Step 1: Complete the online form to register interest in the ITT activities

Once you have confirmed the ITT is supported by the UK Space Agency, to apply for National Delegate support, you must complete the online UK Registration form for ARTES Invitations to Tender. 

In order to ensure you have time to submit a proposal to ESA, we advise completing this form well in advance of the ITT deadline.  

If your online application is accepted, you may then proceed to submit a completed full proposal to the UK Space Agency. If you are not successful, you will receive feedback on the reasons why.  

Please note, you must register your interest via the online form. We will not consider applications that are sent directly to the UK Space Agency.

5.2 Step 2: Complete and submit full proposal to UK Space Agency

If you are invited to apply for National Delegate support, you must submit the ESA full proposal by email to telecoms@ukspaceagency.gov.uk by the date outlined in your UK Space Agency EOI response. Full proposals not sent to this address will not be considered.

5.3 Step 3: Receive authorisation of funding letter from the UK Space Agency and submit full proposal to ESA

Once any outstanding questions relating to your full proposal have been addressed, we will confirm our support and provide an ‘authorisation of funding letter’ from the UK National Delegate. At this stage you can begin the process of submitting directly to ESA, who will begin its formal consideration.  

Please note, if you do not provide the required information by the date agreed, you may not receive your letter in time.  

If successful through the ESA competition, we expect you to stay in touch throughout the life of the programme, from contracting to completion. We expect to publicise most funding awards in coordination with winning companies and to be kept informed of any changes or developments for the duration of the project. This ensures we can support you if any adjustments are needed.

6. Eligibility and assessment criteria

6.1 Eligibility

Please check the ESA guidance on eligibility criteria under the ARTES Programme. In addition to this, the UK Space Agency will apply the following eligibility criteria:  

UK-based organisations  

To be considered for UK National Delegate support, organisations must be UK-based and, for commercial companies, must have a UK registration at Companies House. If you are considering moving to the UK, or you do not have a UK registration, you can seek further guidance from the team by email at telecoms@ukspaceagency.gov.uk.   

Essential non-UK spend requests  

Products and services from non-UK suppliers that are considered essential to deliver successful projects, may be included in proposals. However, all proposals must demonstrate their value to the UK and non-UK spend requests are unlikely to score highly against other, UK-based activities. Any non-UK spend requests should be clearly stated in your initial application. Late requests will not be considered if they have not been declared and approved at the applications stage.  

Match-funding  

In line with ESA rules governing invitations to tender, companies can seek funding of up to 100% for individual project activities. Moreover, SMEs, universities, and research institutions can prime proposals and are eligible to apply for complete funding coverage of up to 100%.

Regulation, licensing and spectrum use and filing

The UK Space Agency will not fund licensing or regulatory compliance activities, either in the UK or overseas.   

We expect to see a viable approach to spectrum use in projects and we will not fund activities that are not supported by current UK government policy. Where activities involve the novel use of spectrum, we will expect to see evidence of engagement with relevant regulators which demonstrates programmes are viable and are not dependent on a single high-risk or novel use of spectrum.

Travel and Subsistence  

UK will only support reasonable travel and subsistence costs. No claims for alcohol or entertainment will be accepted.  

All projected expenditure must be recorded in the relevant ESA proposal. The UK Space Agency reserves the right not to support projects where costs appear excessive, and any challenges may delay your application to ESA.  

If you are in any doubt about what is reasonable you should contact the team.

7. Complaints  

If you are unhappy with either the outcome of your application or how the process was managed, or for any other reason, you can make a complaint by contacting the team at telecoms@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. Please set out the nature of your complaint in detail. The team will try to resolve a complaint in the first instance but, if a resolution is not possible, we will refer it to the UK Space Agency central complaints process, where it will be independently assessed.  

8. Further information  

If you would like any further information, or have any questions or feedback about this guidance, please contact the team by email at telecoms@ukspaceagency.gov.uk.