From 24 to 26 April 2026, the 11th CASSINI Hackathon: Space for Water took place simultaneously across ten countries — Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Spain — bringing together 722 participants creating 145 teams to apply EU Space Programme technologies to one of the most pressing challenges of our time: water.
Over the course of an intensive weekend, innovators worked to develop solutions addressing three interconnected challenges: securing equitable and efficient access to water; tracking and preventing water pollution; and disaster risk monitoring. All solutions were built on EU Space Programme data and services, including Copernicus, Galileo, and EGNOS.
Ten local winning teams advanced to the European Demo Day on 29 April, where they pitched before an international jury, including representatives from the European Commission and EUSPA. After a thorough deliberation, the final ranking was announced:
1st Viadrus AI – Poland
2nd Blue Pixel – Spain
3rd BasinPulse – Austria
4th FieldCheck – Bulgaria
5th Sheer Sea – Italy
6th Solum – Netherlands
7th ApaRahova – Romania
8th Waterstellar – Hungary
9th CodeLeap – North Macedonia
10th FieldLens – Norway
The three podium winners demonstrated how satellite data can drive practical, scalable solutions to real-world water challenges. Viadrus AI developed a predictive tool for utilities providers that uses satellite imagery to detect pipeline leaks weeks before they surface, enabling early intervention and preventing significant water losses. Blue Pixel built a real-time water monitoring visor that classifies water health across five categories — from algae blooms to healthy water — delivering timely alerts to farmers and public authorities. BasinPulse introduced an auditable “Basin Health Score,” providing companies with objective, satellite-verified evidence to assess whether their environmental restoration projects are genuinely improving water availability and quality.
The three winning teams received monetary prizes of €5,000, €3,000, and €1,000 respectively, along with six months of dedicated mentoring to help them develop their solutions further and connect with key actors across the European space ecosystem.
The CASSINI Hackathons & Mentoring programme is held twice a year since 2021 on various themes. It is designed for university students, researchers, and innovators to open EU space technologies, data and services to the next generation of space entrepreneurs, lowering barriers to entry and accelerating the development of upstream and downstream applications across Europe. The CASSINI Hackathons thus represent for participants just the beginning of their journey in the space sector.
The 11th edition once again demonstrated that EU space infrastructure is a powerful tool for addressing the world’s most urgent sustainability challenges, from leak detection and pollution monitoring to ecosystem accountability.
