Another satellite built by “Kongsberg NanoAvionics” has reached space – to monitor forest health and support the development of green credits
A “Kongsberg NanoAvionics” small satellite, “IHI-SAT2”, designed for global forest monitoring and the advancement of green credit initiatives, has successfully reached Earth’s orbit. The satellite was launched into space on 28 November from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, as part of the SpaceX “Transporter-15” mission. Shortly after separating from the rocket’s second stage, the “NanoAvionics” mission control centre in Vilnius established a stable two-way communication link with “IHI-SAT2”, confirming its successful operation.
The satellite was manufactured on behalf of Japan’s “IHI Corporation” and “IHI Aerospace Co., Ltd.” and is part of the “NeXT FOREST” programme, undertaken by “IHI” in collaboration with “Sumitomo Forestry Company Limited”. Its onboard hyperspectral camera captures imagery across an exceptionally wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing precise identification of plant species, analysis of forest condition changes, and detection of stress or disease indicators. Such data provide invaluable insights for sustainable forestry practices and the development of environmental financial mechanisms.
It is particularly encouraging that “IHI-SAT2” was fully assembled and tested in Lithuania – at the “NanoAvionics” facility in Vilnius, from which the entire mission is also being coordinated. This marks the eleventh satellite launched by the company into space this year. Since commencing operations in 2014, “NanoAvionics” has already deployed more than fifty satellites into orbit, supporting climate monitoring, science, communications, and industrial projects worldwide.
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Originally published on 3 Dec
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In response to growing cybersecurity challenges, Latvia has accredited its first professional continuing education programme in cybersecurity—the Cybersecurity Technician programme, which is available at the European Distance Learning Centre. The programme seeks to train qualified cybersecurity technicians capable of ensuring the security of an organisation’s IT systems and data, identifying and responding to cybersecurity threats, and implementing preventive measures to protect IT environments.
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Originally published on 5 Mar
Tallinn’s story of a zero-waste Song and Dance Celebration has won the ITB Earth Award 2025 at the Green Destinations Top 100 Story Awards competition, one of the world’s largest tourism fairs held in Berlin. The award highlights Tallinn’s innovation and commitment to sustainability as a tourism destination.
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Originally published on 5 Mar
Stargate Hydrogen, an Estonian manufacturer of innovative electrolyser stacks and systems, announces the successful completion of its series A funding round, raising 11 million euros in equity investments from strategic customers and financial investors.
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Originally published on 4 Mar
For the fourth time, Työn Taitajat (Talents for the future programme in the city of Oulu) is organizing the World’s Biggest Virtual Company Visit in collaboration with companies promoting the circular economy in Oulu, along with the University of Oulu, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, and Educational consortium OSAO. The event is also supported by the Oulu Circular Economy Cluster, Oulu Innovation Alliance, International House Oulu, and Taikasatukulma.
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Originally published on 4 Mar
Until March 16, the Riga City Municipality is accepting applications for the Riga Startup Accelerator and Incubator Support Programme. The programme aims to foster the growth of the startup sector in Riga by providing co-financing for business incubation and acceleration programmes. The budget for this programme in 2025 is EUR 170,000, with up to EUR 40,000 in co-financing available per applicant.
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Originally published on 4 Mar
GRAZ, MARCH 3, 2025. International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order for the authority engineering of a 100 MW green hydrogen plant in Rostock, Germany. The order was placed by REPCO (rostock EnergyPort cooperation GmbH), a joint venture of RWE Generation SE, EnBW Neue Energien GmbH, RheinEnergie AG and Rostock Port GmbH. Subject to the investment decision planned for mid-2025, REPCO intends to give ANDRITZ the notice to proceed with the supply of the plant. It will be one of the first plants in Germany to supply the German “Hydrogen Core Network” and the future European Hydrogen Backbone infrastructure, thus representing a key step in advancing Europe’s green energy transition.
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Originally published on 4 Mar
GaltTec, an Estonian deep-tech startup developing micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cells (mSOFCs) for portable and off-grid energy solutions, has successfully closed its pre-seed funding round, raising a total of €1 million from private investors and grants. The investment will accelerate the company’s mission to provide lightweight, long-lasting power solutions for drones and IoT devices, reducing reliance on conventional batteries. GaltTec was the only Estonian startup in the NATO DIANA Accelerator’s first batch.
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Originally published on 3 Mar
Last week, kood/Jõhvi JobFair brought together over 200 participants—young software developers, startup enthusiasts, film professionals, and technology sector leaders. One of the event’s highlights was the Film and Multimedia Accelerator panel, organized by the Tehnopol Startup Incubator, where experts discussed how IDA Hub is not just a film studio but a launchpad for technological innovation and startup growth.
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Originally published on 3 Mar
PAYSTRAX, a payment processing solutions provider, has announced further expansion of its Lithuanian operations. The company, which has successfully grown its presence in both Vilnius and Klaipėda, plans to strengthen its team across multiple departments in 2025, including Commercial, IT, and Finance.
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Originally published on 3 Mar
Tehnopol is part of the joint Northbound Scaleups (NBSCALE) project, which helps companies expand into new markets. The Estonian startup Phishbite went to visit Poland to look at possible target markets.
The goal was to meet at least five possible partners. “Making contacts was quite time-consuming and it was quite difficult to get through to the right people by telephone from here. The meetings we held went well, and we also managed to organise a couple of extra ones on the spot as well as those we had agreed in advance”, said co-founder of Phishbite Urmo Keskel.
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Originally published on 28 Feb