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Smart Tanks for Space

Objective

Satellites constitute a major element of critical infrastructure for most industrialised countries. Virtually all commercial, infrastructure, and scientific satellites carry one or more tanks, for fuel, oxidiser, or coolant. There is no in-orbit method of accurate establishing fluid reserve mass in a tank. Book-keeping methods are employed to track fuel usage, with ever- increasing error, and conservative margins are applied to ensure reserves for end-of-life disposal compliance. Further, fluid slosh presents a challenging control problem - reducing pointing accuracy and introducing potential resonances that threaten platform safety.

Atout Process Ltd. (‘Atout’) is a European SME founded in 2010 to develop innovative products based on non-intrusive electromagnetic imaging and measurement techniques. Atout has commercialised a novel monitoring system for the oil and gas, power generation, food and drink and other industries.

This project will establish the commercial potential for spin-in to the space sector of Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) for accurate real-time measurement of fuel mass and slosh torque vector. A proof-of-concept demonstrator project has already been completed, and a further refinement to TRL6 is nearing completion.

Our industry discussions and analysis to date suggest a strong potential for the technology to extend mission lifetime and improve attitude and orbit control efficiency, yielding a major impact on spacecraft performance. For a geostationary communications platform, this directly translates into substantial commercial benefit to the operator/owner, extending lifetime by up to six months and reducing risk. This proposal explains the business opportunity, technology status and development roadmap, and the specific impacts that H2020 funding can enable to ensure that this technology reaches its commercial potential.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017

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Coordinator

ATOUT PROCESS LIMITED
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 50 000,00
Address
26-28 WEST STREET BRIDPORT
DT6 3QP DORSET
United Kingdom

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
South West (England) Dorset and Somerset Dorset
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 71 429,00
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