ESA Technology Harmonisation
European Space Agency (ESA) Technology Harmonisation produces ESA's technology roadmaps.
ESA Technology Harmonisation is a continuous annual process. Of the 50 technology areas defined by ESA (European Space Agency) experts 10 are ‘harmonised’ each year. It is designed to achieve European strategic non-dependence across all space technologies required for ESA’s objectives.
Each member state has a delegate who feeds in the companies, products, capabilities, and strategic interests of their national sector across over 50 technology areas.
Via the delegate you can access completed roadmaps from previous years, participate in championing the UK space sector, identify collaboration opportunities, get your activity and capability recognised Europe-wide, and access the space sector if you’re not already involved.
The process of Harmonisation involves ESA and national delegates reaching out to the communities of interest to understand the state of the art in Europe. Delegates, along with consultants Eurospace and SME4Space, feed this information into ESA at the mapping meeting.
From this information ESA experts produce a draft roadmap which then comes back to delegates for discussion at the roadmapping meeting. Once the roadmap is agreed it is presented to the Industrial Policy Committee (IPC) for approval.
As a member of the space sector in the UK your input is most valued in advance of the mapping meeting for each cycle. Two cycles occur each year with their respective mapping meetings in January and June.
The UK delegate (and ESA’s industry consultants mentioned above) will be keen to hear about any company active in a topic area for that cycle, along with information about their products, capabilities, and strategic interests. You can contact the UK delegate for ESA Harmonisation, at [email protected].
The list of Technologies for the 2025 Harmonisation Work Plan are:
Cycle 1 2025
- On-Board Radio Navigation Receivers
- Enabling Artificial Intelligence for Space System Applications (new topic)
- TT&C Transponders and Payload Data Transmitters
- Critical Active RF Technologies
- Functional Verification and Mission Operations Systems
Cycle 2 2025
- Power RF Measurements and Modelling
- Power Management and Distribution
- Solar Generators and Solar Cells
- Solar Array Drive Mechanisms
And the list of Technologies for the 2026 Harmonisation Work Plan are:
- Avionics Embedded Systems
- Actuators Building Blocks for Mechanisms
- Additive Manufacturing
- On-Board Computers, Data Handling Systems and Microelectronics
- Ground Station Technology
- Pyrotechnic Devices (within release mechanisms)
- Radiation Environment and Effects
- On-Board Software
- Micro and Nano Technologies – MEMS Pressure Sensors, MOEMS and RF-MEMS
- Printed Circuit Boards and Electronic Assembly Technologies
The current full list of Harmonisation topics is:
- Optical Detectors, Visible Range
- Optical Detectors, IR Range
- Micro-Nano Technologies – MEMS
- Photonics
- Electrical Motors
- Deployable Booms & Inflatable Structures
- Solar Array Drive Mechanisms
- Electric Propulsion Pointing Mechanisms (EPPMs)
- Position Sensors
- Technologies for Hold Down, Release, Separation and Deployment Systems
- Pyrotechnic Devices
- Two-Phase Heat Transport Systems
- Cryogenics and Focal Plane Cooling
- Composite Materials
- Additive Manufacturing
- Coatings
- Avionics Embedded Systems
- On-Board Payload Data Processing
- Data Systems and On Board Computers
- Microelectronics – ASIC & FPGA
- On-Board Software
- AOCS Sensors and Actuators (Part 1 & Part II)
- On-Board Radio Navigation Receivers
- RF & Optical Metrology
- TT&C Transponders and Payload Data Transmitters
- Solar Generators and Solar Cells
- Electrochemical Energy Storage
- Power Management and Distribution
- Power RF Measurements & Modelling
- Critical Active RF Technologies
- Frequency and Time Generation and Distribution (Space & Ground)
- Technologies for Passive Millimetre & Submillimetre Wave Instruments
- Array Antennas
- RF Metamaterials and Metasurfaces
- Microwave Passive Hardware
- Technologies for Optical Passive Instruments (Stable & Lightweight Structures)
- Technologies for Optical Passive Instruments (Mirrors)
- Optical Communication for Space
- Lidar Critical Subsystems
- Ground Station Technology
- Automation and Robotics
- Life Support Technologies
- Fluid Mechanic and Aerothermodynamic Tools
- Chemical Propulsion – Micropropulsion (UNDER REVIEW)
- Chemical Propulsion – Components (including Tanks) (UNDER REVIEW)
- Electric Propulsion Technologies
- Functional Verification and Missions Operations Systems
- System Modelling and Simulation Tools
- System Engineering Digital Infrastructure
- Multibody Dynamic Simulation
- Thermal & Space Environment S/W Tools and Interfaces
- Big Data From Space
- Radiation Environments & Effects
- De-Orbiting Technologies
Updates to this page
Published 23 September 2019Last updated 18 December 2024 + show all updates
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Updated with 2025/26 information.
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Updates have been added to Cycle 2 and the list of Technologies for the 2025 Harmonisation Work Plan to reflect changes to topics.
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There is a new Harmonisation cycle for 2025, and new topics have replaced the old ones. The topics listed under 'Cycle 1', 'Cycle 2' and 'list of Potential Technologies for the 2025 Harmonisation Work Plan' have been updated.
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Changed topics to 2023 and 2024.
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Updated with 2022 topics
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First published.