ENAIRE recognises two start-ups innovating in real-time precision meteorology and maintenance technician training

ENAIRE, the state air navigation manager, has presented the awards for the second edition of its Business Challenge Competition, run through CRIDA’s Open Innovation programme—CRIDA being its research, development and innovation (R&D&I) subsidiary—with the support of AD-SILO, the corporate innovation specialist working with ENAIRE and CRIDA to manage the Open Innovation Programme.

In this second edition of the competition, there was not a single winner: two start-ups were selected. One was the Polish proposal submitted by Panka Sp, whose idea is called Citymet; and the other was from the Spanish company La Isla Ingeniería y Sistemas S.L., which presented a platform called Gemelo Digital Ans. Both were chosen from among 44 participating companies.

José Luis Meler, ENAIRE’s Director of Air Navigation Services: “With these initiatives, we want innovation to stop being exceptional and become something routine, more common and more accessible"

The two winning proposals

‘Citymet’, developed by Panka Sp, proposes a network of micro urban weather stations capable of providing highly localised, real-time data. This solution enhances safety and sustainability in the integration of drones, air taxis and other unmanned operations in the airspace, supporting strategic and tactical decision-making in urban and peri-urban environments. Its innovation lies in offering a highly localised, distributed real-time weather service for very low-altitude operations, with modular integration into U-space systems and/or conventional Air Traffic Management systems.

Javier Diana,  Panka SP,  receives the award  from José Luis Meler of ENAIRE

‘Gemelo Digital Ans’, the second winning project, developed by La Isla Ingeniería y Sistemas S.L., has created a cloud-based digital platform for gamified training and proof-of-concept testing for air navigation system maintenance technicians. The solution enables the automation and optimisation of technical information delivery through immersive 3D environments, integrating operational and technical data for simulation and predictive analysis. It also incorporates artificial intelligence modules for training support and integrates external sources such as weather and obstacle data, all to provide a far more innovative training mechanism that is also more intuitive, modern and accessible.

Andrés Portillo, La Isla S.L., receives the award from José Luis Meler of ENAIRE

The awards for these two winning solutions were presented by José Luis Meler, Director of Air Navigation Services, who also highlighted ENAIRE's strong commitment to talent and innovation: “This competition demonstrates and reinforces our vision of making innovation something routine rather than exceptional—more common and more accessible—both within ENAIRE and in collaboration with the universities, start-ups and technology centres we have been working with for several years".

José Miguel de Pablo, Director of CRIDA, also spoke, emphasising the aim pursued by the subsidiary through these competitions: “Every day at CRIDA we work to turn research into tangible results—real improvements that strengthen the system’s safety, efficiency and sustainability”.

Each winning proposal has been awarded €40,000. In addition, as part of the prize, the winning start-ups will take part in a six-month acceleration phase carried out by ENAIRE and CRIDA.

During this acceleration phase, a programme will be implemented which, among other possible elements, will include mentoring sessions, workshops and guidance for the selected proposal on various aspects of its development.

Once the acceleration phase is complete, ENAIRE may decide, depending on the results, to commission the accelerated proposal for the development and deployment of its idea.

About CRIDA

CRIDA is a non-profit economic interest group established by ENAIRE, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and Ingeniería y Economía del Transporte, S.A. (INECO) to improve the efficiency of the air traffic management system in Spain through R&D projects.

In collaboration with ENAIRE, CRIDA identifies problems, proposes innovative solutions and facilitates their implementation, contributing to the advancement of air navigation on a global scale.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.

As a company of the Ministry of Sustainable Transport and Mobility, it provides air traffic control services during the en route and approach phases of all flights to and from Spain and overflights. In addition, it manages communications, navigation and surveillance services from ENAIRE in the airspace and the entire AENA airport network in Spain, and provides aerodrome air traffic control services in 21 airports, including the busiest.

ENAIRE is the fourth largest European air navigation service provider, and it is a member of international partnerships A6 Alliance, SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation) and collaborates closely with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization).

ENAIRE has received the highest score in Europe on the aviation safety key performance indicator for five years in a row. It has also been awarded the EFQM 600 seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.