Project description
Unlike Icarus, this drone welcomes the sun's powerful rays
Observing our Earth's surface and its atmosphere from above enables us to get a much broader view than is possible on the ground. While satellites and aerial platforms have been providing this possibility for a long time, drones have been generating growing interest in recent times. However, existing regulations and a low payload capacity are some of the challenges impeding their widespread use. The EU-funded SX1.3 project is developing a disruptive completely autonomous drone, SolarXOne, to address the current gap in the market. The drone has large payload capacity and, thanks to solar power optimisation, is completely energy independent and able to fly long distances at a much lower cost than the competition. Although the team is starting off with a few target applications including fire detection and precision agriculture, the sky is the limit for this incredibly versatile technology.
Objective
XSUN develops an innovative autonomous solar drone dedicated to earth observation. Inspired from satellite earth
observation, XSUN aims to offer affordable earth data acquisition performed by unmmaned autonomous vehicules to a
range of end users which have all express their support to the SolarXOne project : Linear infrastructure observation (such as
railway, pipeline or electrical grid), environmental & security surveillance issues (forest fire detection, traffic surveillance),
Maritime observation (traffic surveillance, fishing surveillance), precision agriculture (monitoring of the health of crops and
livestock). A first autonomous prototype is ready (TRL6). Thanks to a patented double-wing innovative design, the
performances of SolarXOne are disruptive compared to existing solutions: large payload capacity (7kg) enabling to carry a
wide range of data acquisition sensors, very stable flight enabling precise data acquisition, long flight (>600 km / Day),
cheaper price for end user compared to competitors. A world record of autonomous solar flight will be tempted in the next
months. SolarXOne project objectives are to industrialise the drone production with enhance performances. Adaptability to
Hydrogen energy source will be added as well as vertical take-off capability. Market demonstration will be done during the
project for linear infrastructure, fire detection, maritime surveillance and precision agriculture. Two operating centres will be
opened in France and Germany. XSun is based on 2 complementary business models: earth data service commercialization
operated from the control centres and complete system commercialization. Market analysis have been performed for each
segment and the business plan shows promising revenue reaching 30 M€ in 2025. XSUN has been created in 2016, its team (12 people) is composed of experienced managers and business developers in the aerospace industry as well as young passionate engineers.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electrical engineering power engineering electric power distribution
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering aerospace engineering satellite technology
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture agronomy
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering robotics autonomous robots drones
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy hydrogen energy
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
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.
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-2 - SME instrument phase 2
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
44350 Guerande
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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.