Awareness, adoption readiness and barriers to the uptake of downstream space technologies among European SMEs: Findings from a cross-sectoral survey

<ns5:p>Downstream space technologies, including Earth Observation, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), and Satellite Communications, have considerable potential to support environmental monitoring, resource efficiency, and the green transition of European industry. However, evidence on the awareness, readiness, and adoption of these technologies among European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains limited. To address this gap, a cross-sectional survey was conducted on 503 respondents representing organisations across the 14 European industrial ecosystems. The survey examined sustainability practices, awareness and use of downstream space technologies, organisational readiness, perceived relevance, and barriers to adoption. The results show that sustainability is becoming an important strategic priority, with many organisations already implementing sustainability-focused solutions or planning to do so. In contrast, awareness and uptake of downstream space technologies remain low. Only a small proportion of respondents actively use space-based data and services, while many organisations report limited familiarity, insufficient technical expertise, and uncertainty regarding their business value. The most frequently identified barriers are unclear return on investment, implementation costs, lack of awareness of available solutions, and limited internal capabilities. Differences are also observed across company types and industrial ecosystems, with medium-sized enterprises generally demonstrating higher levels of awareness and readiness than smaller firms. These findings provide cross-sectoral assessments of awareness, adoption readiness, and barriers to the uptake of downstream space technologies among European SMEs, offering an evidence base to inform future research and innovation support activities.</ns5:p>