The third edition of Tech Needs Discovery gave participants the floor to put forward their most pressing challenges in food, high-tech, space, and energy. Instead of stage pitches, the participants worked in multidisciplinary & cross-sectoral groups to exchange ideas and sketch onsets for possible solutions. The format, inspired by the ESA Concurrent Design Facility concept, supported teams to come up with multi-faceted feedback on directions for moving towards solutions. Call it the ‘outsider view’.
Organised by ESA Technology Broker Netherlands, powered by NL Space Campus and SBIC Noordwijk, and supported by Holland High Tech and Hi Delta, the event built on the earlier editions but shifted focus from one-to-one (B to B) matching towards cross-sectoral, multi-party and hands-on collaboration. For solutions to larger, typical societal challenges, the involvement of a multitude of stakeholders is required to arrive at properly balanced and thus ‘winning solutions’.
About Technology Needs Discovery
Launched in 2025 by ESA Technology Broker Netherlands, Tech Needs Discovery is an open series of events connecting space and non-space parties, public and private, around real industry or societal needs. Each edition invites participants from different sectors to put challenges on the table and explore solutions together. Rather than one-off discussions, the sessions are designed to spark concrete matches — with the broker team following up through workshops, pilots, and networking opportunities.
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The challenges on the table
Each edition of Tech Needs Discovery explores how technologies can move across industries to solve concrete problems. In this third session, the participants themselves put challenges from their respective fields of expertise (Agriculture, Food, Energy, High tech and Logistics) on the table. These challenges reflected global and European trends, from sustainable food production to orbital safety. The discussions were not about finding a single answer but about testing assumptions, comparing approaches, and sketching directions that could be developed further.
Food security and sustainable production
Participants highlighted that global food demand is rising by about 30 per cent while growth in agriculture and fisheries is closer to 10 per cent. High costs of sustainable production and unequal capacity across Europe add to the gap. Ideas discussed included automation, agri-robotics, and aquaponics systems (combining, for instance, fish and vegetables in a closed loop, saving up to 90% water). Ideas inspired by space research, such as bioreactors in microgravity and using organic waste streams as feedstock, were also considered.
High-tech industry agility and cooperation
The question here was how smaller companies can help larger high-tech firms adapt faster to global needs. Barriers include strict regulations, liability fears, and fragmented European development. The group pointed to good examples like SpaceX’s elevated higher risk appetite (learn by doing) approach and Airbus’s cooperative model to show that agility and smarter collaboration are possible when risk is shared and managed differently.
Space debris and satellite safety
With around 12,000 active satellites in orbit, congestion is becoming a serious risk. Participants noted the lack of global regulation and the difficulty of tracing debris origins. Solutions discussed included assigning orbital “layers” to countries, creating non-profit clean-up services, introducing satellite “fingerprints” for accountability, and using materials that reduce fragmentation.
Energy system shift and sustainability
The energy group looked at the shift from centralised fossil plants to distributed renewables and storage. The challenge is redesigning grids while balancing responsibility between consumers, companies, and governments. Discussion pointed to the role of citizen initiatives, startups working on storage technologies, and regulation to ensure fair adoption for all households/companies
Shared insights
The conversations showed that progress often depends as much on coordination and accountability as on technology itself. Smaller companies can bring agility and new perspectives, but they need frameworks that lower barriers to work with larger players. Space technologies can add value far beyond their original domain, while lessons from other industries can support safer and more sustainable and affordable space projects. Long-term visions are important, but participants stressed that they must be translated into practical steps that can be tested locally and across sectors.
Next steps
The ESA Technology Broker NL team captured the potential matches and solution directions raised during the session. These will be followed up with participants to explore concrete collaborations, from joint workshops to pilot projects. Updates on future editions will be shared through the NL Space Campus Community Updates — sign up to hear about upcoming sessions and opportunities to contribute your own challenges.
