Estonia secures strong position in NATO DIANA defence innovation programme
Today, as part of the second year of the NATO DIANA innovation accelerator, the companies selected for the programme’s next phase were announced. A total of 2613 companies applied to join the second cohort of NATO DIANA, of which 73 were chosen for the first phase – including two Estonian startups. Each team selected for phase two will receive up to €300 000 from NATO DIANA, in addition to the €100 000 grant funding awarded in the first phase.
Seven companies took part in the programme at the NATO DIANA Estonian accelerator, including two Estonian firms – Wayren and Telearmy. Now, as only 15 companies from across the alliance move forward to the second phase, three of them are teams accelerated their growth in Estonia’s accelerator, including both Estonian startups. Alongside the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, Estonia is one of the only countries represented by two or more firms, giving Estonia one of the strongest showings among NATO nations in the second phase.
“I am very pleased to see Estonia’s contribution to NATO DIANA stand out so strongly. The fact that three teams accelerated here – including two of our own defence industry companies – have advanced to the next stage shows how quickly Estonian entrepreneurs can adapt, act and seize opportunities. The same applies to our Defence Forces, who have been on board with testing new solutions. I dare say that Digital Nation 2.0 will gain momentum thanks to the successes of our defence industry,” said Hanno Pevkur, Minister of Defence.
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Originally published on 4 Sep
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To ensure operational reliability and sufficient capacity, ESL Shipping has acquired a geared ice-class 1A second-hand vessel. This strategic acquisition follows the sale of Kallio and bridges the gap in capacity until the first Green Handy vessels join the fleet in about two years.
The vessel, which has a deadweight of 16,600 tons, was handed over on 12 January in Tallinn, Estonia. The vessel was renamed Nordis and sails under the Finnish flag.
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Originally published on 15 Jan
British aerospace and defence firm Babcock and Estonian defence company Frankenburg Technologies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore the creation of a new and affordable air‑defence solution, prompted by the growing threat posed by one‑way attack drones.
As part of the MoU, Babcock will develop a cost-effective, containerised platform for launching Frankenburg’s new low-cost missiles, which it is manufacturing at pace, specifically to defend against one-way attack drones.
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Originally published on 15 Jan
The Artificial Intelligence Association of Latvia (MILA) has joined the Standardization Technical Committee LVS/STK 59 “Artificial Intelligence,” strengthening professional industry representation in the development and implementation of AI standards in Latvia. MILA is represented on the committee by its co-founder and board member, Gatis Romanovskis.
The Standardization Technical Committee LVS/STK 59 was established in November 2025 to ensure Latvia’s regular and active participation in the development of European and international standards in the field of artificial intelligence. The committee’s scope covers AI terminology, fundamental principles, systems, conformity assessment, as well as the management of ethical and societal aspects, promoting the adoption and practical implementation of these standards in Latvia.
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Originally published on 14 Jan
The Finnish Hydrogen Cluster has today published a hydrogen economy roadmap, which provides the guidelines and measures to elevate Finland into Europe’s most competitive hydrogen economy by 2035.
The measures presented in the hydrogen economy roadmap focus on areas such as initiatives to boost the hydrogen market, the increased availability of clean energy and biogenic carbon dioxide, project financing, and safety. Industry, the government, European Union institutions all need to do their part to enable investments in the hydrogen ecosystem.
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Originally published on 14 Jan
Ellex in Estonia advised SmartCap Green Fund on its investment into Taaleri SolarWind III, a renewable energy infrastructure fund managed by Taaleri Energia.
SmartCap committed €25 million to accelerate the development and operation of onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage assets across the Baltics, Nordics, Poland and select markets in Europe and the U.S.
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Originally published on 14 Jan
On 22 January 2026, the Rail Baltica Forum on European Connectivity, Security, and Cooperation will take place in Madrid, Spain, continuing the series of high-level Rail Baltica seminars launched last year. The forum marks the first Rail Baltica high-level event of 2026 and highlights Spain’s important role in advancing Europe’s cross-border transport connectivity.
Organised by Rail Baltica together with ICEX Spain Trade and Investment, MAFEX, and the Embassies of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in Spain, the forum will convene senior policymakers, representatives of European institutions, members of the diplomatic and defence communities, rail infrastructure managers, operators, and industry leaders.
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Originally published on 14 Jan
AI offers new opportunities that free up social and health care professionals’ time from administrative and repetitive tasks for more important duties, such as seeing people face-to-face. AI has been helping to automate patient data entry and interpret meetings. Moreover, AI can be used to assist in guiding clients to the right services.
In 2024, Sitra funded several AI pilots implemented in cooperation between wellbeing services counties and businesses. The pilots produced good results: for instance, AI-assisted logging of patient data helped to speed up professionals’ work and freed time for interaction with the patient.
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Originally published on 13 Jan
Homie, a Helsinki-based startup building a platform for relationship-driven B2B sales, has raised €1 million in pre-seed funding to support its market launch and international expansion.
The round was led by Superhero Capital, with participation from Antler. The funding coincides with Homie’s public launch, making its network-based sales platform available to teams across Europe and North America.
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Originally published on 13 Jan
The Latvian airline airBaltic announces that it has been named among the world’s top 50 safest airlines for the second year in a row by Airline Ratings, a global authority on airline news, passenger reviews, and safety evaluations. In its category, airBaltic improved its ranking, rising from 25th place in 2025 to 7th place in 2026.
Pauls Cālītis, Chief Operations Officer of airBaltic: “Safety is the foundation of every decision we make at airBaltic. This recognition by Airline Ratings reflects our safety culture, the professionalism of our teams, and our continued investment in training, modern aircraft, and operational discipline. Operating reliably in demanding winter conditions further demonstrate the robustness of our procedures. Being recognized among the world’s safest airlines for the second year in a row reflects our ongoing commitment to operational excellence and to earning our customers’ trust. We thank Airline Ratings for this recognition.”
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Originally published on 13 Jan
Project financing from Interreg Øresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak will support the establishment of a cross-border collaboration platform aimed at accelerating the use of renewable energy through CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) in the Øresund region, paving the way for the production of sustainable fuels.
Building on a successful pre-project focused on mapping specific areas of action, the initiative now moves from analysis to implementation with a three-year project, bringing together Danish and Swedish strengths in a Center of Excellence. The ambition is to make CCUS an integrated, cross-border element of the energy system, where captured biogenic CO₂ is combined with green hydrogen and renewable energy to produce fuels for shipping and aviation.
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Originally published on 13 Jan