Thales Alenia Space Leads ESA’s SaveCrops4EU Initiative to Revolutionize Sustainable Agriculture

Destination Earth © ESA

(IN BRIEF) Thales Alenia Space has been chosen by the European Space Agency to lead the SaveCrops4EU project, part of ESA’s Digital Twin Earth programme. The initiative will leverage advanced Earth observation and data processing techniques to create a digital twin that supports sustainable agriculture across Europe, in alignment with the European Green Deal and the Common Agricultural Policy. Structured around advanced monitoring, yield forecasting, and scenario testing, the system will undergo validation in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, and Spain before a pre-operational solution is delivered by 2026. A consortium of European research and agricultural organizations will collaborate to ensure the platform meets the diverse needs of the sector.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 27-Mar-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), today announced that it has been awarded the lead role for the SaveCrops4EU project by the European Space Agency (ESA). As part of ESA’s Digital Twin Earth programme, SaveCrops4EU aims to transform agricultural practices by harnessing the power of Earth observation and sophisticated data analytics to enhance the resilience of Europe’s farming sector in the face of climate change.

SaveCrops4EU will serve as a pre-operational digital twin dedicated to providing actionable insights for sustainable crop management. The system is built on three core scientific pillars. First, it will employ satellite data and key agronomic indicators to offer continuous, real-time monitoring of crop health. Second, a hybrid modeling approach that combines Earth observation data with crop growth simulations will enable accurate regional yield forecasts. Finally, the platform will support scenario testing by simulating various abiotic stresses—such as drought and extreme heat—and evaluating the effectiveness of different management strategies like optimized irrigation and fertilization.

Thales Alenia Space will oversee the integration of diverse scientific models with vital Earth observation inputs, ensuring that the digital twin’s outputs are user-friendly and applicable across a range of agricultural use cases. The modular design of the system guarantees flexibility, allowing for the addition of new crop types and models as the platform evolves.

SaveCrops4EU is set to undergo rigorous testing across four real-world scenarios in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, and Spain. These pilot cases will validate the system’s ability to predict climate-induced stresses and inform local decision-making, ensuring that the solution is finely tuned to the needs of the agricultural community.

The project builds on the success of previous initiatives like Destination Earth (DestinE) and ESA Digital Twin Earth (DTE), which aim to create comprehensive digital replicas of our planet to monitor environmental changes and inform policy decisions. By aligning with the European Green Deal and the Common Agricultural Policy, SaveCrops4EU strives to contribute to an economically and environmentally sustainable future for European agriculture.

“Thales Alenia Space has a long history of delivering cutting-edge digital solutions for Earth observation. With SaveCrops4EU, we are excited to further empower the agricultural sector by providing decision-makers with the tools they need to manage natural resources more efficiently and combat the challenges posed by climate change,” said Étienne Barritault, Managing Director of Thales Alenia Space in Luxembourg.

To implement the SaveCrops4EU initiative, Thales Alenia Space has assembled a consortium of European experts. This team includes the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology and the University of Valencia for remote sensing, Forschungszentrum Jülich for bioscience and geoscience simulations, as well as the Walloon Agricultural Research Center and CropOM, specialists in agricultural practices.

Further details on the SaveCrops4EU project will be provided as the initiative moves closer to a pre-operational phase, expected to be realized by the end of 2026.

About Thales Alenia Space

Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers innovative solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design and build satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately €2.2 billion in 2023 and has around 8,600 employees in 8 countries, with 16 sites in Europe.

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SOURCE: Thales