How much of my project does NAVISP Element 2 actually fund?

ESA's co-funding is capped at 50% of activity cost for a general tenderer, rising to 80% for SMEs, and up to 100% for a university or research centre acting as a subcontractor with no further commercial interest. Reported funding per activity runs roughly €60,000 to €2 million, ESA takes no equity, and the remaining cost comes from the tenderer or partners, in cash or in kind.

What is NAVISP?

Q: Why do I need my national delegation for a NAVISP Element 2 proposal?

Your Outline Proposal goes to ESA and your national delegation in parallel, and ESA cannot start evaluating your Full Proposal until it receives a Letter of Support signed by the national delegation of the prime contractor's (and any subcontractor's) home state. Checking that your state still has funding allocated to NAVISP is explicitly your own responsibility, not ESA's.

NAVISP (Navigation Innovation and Support Programme) is ESA's programme for developing positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) technology and products, run through three elements: Element 1 (fully ESA-funded early R&D), Element 2 (co-funded, industry-driven product development) and Element 3 (support for Member States' national PNT strategies). Since 2017 it has backed more than 350 projects with over 300 companies and research organisations, and entered a fourth phase after ESA's Ministerial Council in November 2025.

Element 1, 2, 3 — three different deals

Element 1 (Innovation) — ESA-driven and fully ESA-funded. ESA approves an annual work plan of PNT concepts to explore — 2026's was approved in November 2025 — and runs competitive Invitations To Tender against it: feasibility studies, technology building blocks, proof-of-concept demonstrations.
Element 2 (Competitiveness) — industry-driven and co-funded. A company can submit a proposal at any time for a close-to-market product across the Satellite Navigation and PNT value chain — the element built for companies, not ESA-defined studies.
Element 3 (Support to Member States) — fully ESA-funded and ad hoc, aimed at a participating state's national PNT strategy rather than a single company's product.

Element 2: the co-funding rule and the national-delegation gate

ESA's Element 2 co-funding tops out at 50% of cost for a general or large-enterprise tenderer, 80% for SMEs, and up to 100% for a university or research centre subcontracting with no further commercial interest — the remainder comes from the tenderer or partners, in cash or in kind. Reported funding runs roughly €60,000–€2 million per activity, with no equity taken.

The process runs in two steps: an Outline Proposal to ESA's Open Space Innovation Platform and, in parallel, to your national delegation (ESA targets 10 working days to respond), then a Full Proposal via the esa-star system within 30 working days — which ESA cannot start evaluating until a Letter of Support signed by the national delegation of the prime contractor's (and any subcontractor's) home state arrives. Confirming your state still has NAVISP budget allocated is explicitly the tenderer's own responsibility.

Why it matters for a founder

If you're building a GNSS receiver, PNT sensor fusion, or a ground- or user-segment product, Element 2 is non-dilutive funding sized like a seed round without the cap-table cost. The real gate isn't technical merit but administrative: roughly twenty states currently subscribe to Element 2, and your national delegation's support letter — not ESA's evaluation — decides whether a Full Proposal even gets read. Talk to your delegation before drafting the Outline Proposal, the same rule that applies under GSTP. NAVISP is run by ESA's Directorate of Navigation; check current calls in live tenders.

Official sources: ESA — About NAVISP, NAVISP Element 2 — Standard Call for Proposals.

Written by Tymofiy Badikov, founder of VIRA.space (Virtual Innovation Research Assistant) — operated by Space Tech Gateway Sp. z o.o., Kraków Technology Park. VIRA tracks live European space funding calls and checks your eligibility free: see live tenders.