PHILIPPINE energy-efficiency expertise stood this week inside the Big Hall of the European Space Agency’s Centre for Earth Observation (ESA-Esrin) in Frascati, outside Rome, applied to Space Data & Intelligence applications of Earth Observation for Earth Action, as the winner of the ESA Global Development Assistance (GDA) Impact Stories from Space Challenge, 2025 Edition.
The Big Hall at ESA-Esrin, Frascati, during the opening of ‘GDA goes Earth Action’ on Sept. 22, 2026, as ESA set out its Earth Action priorities: Earth system and climate science, and enabling policies. PHOTO FROM IONTEK POWER SOLUTIONS CORP.
iONTEK Power Solutions Corp. of Marikina City, a Filipino-owned manufacturer and distributor of automatic voltage regulators and uninterruptible power supply systems and a member company of the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance or PE2, was represented by its co-founder and chief innovation officer, Milagrosa Russelle “Miles” Ballestar, at “GDA goes Earth Action” on Sept. 22 to 23, 2026. The two-day event gathered ESA’s development-assistance partners and international finance institutions to review lessons learned and chart how satellite Earth Observation (EO) can be scaled across the development value chain, from project design to implementation and monitoring. iONTEK’s homegrown Filipino engineering skillset, built on two decades of power-quality and energy-efficiency work, is what the company now applies to “Space Data & Intelligence: turning Earth Observation into Earth Action” for the grid.
ESA announced the Challenge result on March 3, 2026. According to the ESA GDA announcement authored by Thomas Willems and Mathilde Poncelet, iONTEK’s GridShield submission traces its origin to Tropical Depression Winnie in 2004, when flash flooding in the Philippines caused significant loss of life in the absence of an early warning system. The platform uses Copernicus Sentinel data to generate early-warning information for communities and local decision-makers, and pairs satellite imagery with ground sensors to provide live updates on power-grid safety and carbon tracking. ESA described the approach as positioning EO not only for preparedness but also for monitoring and verification. Two honorable mentions were awarded: to AfriScout (Hoefsloot Spatial Solutions and Global Communities) and to an EO solution for environmental justice led by Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.
The invitation to Frascati was issued on Sept. 7, 2026 by Dr. Christoph Aubrecht, ESA’s program coordinator for Global Development Assistance (Ref. ESA-EOP-SCI-LE-2026-8). Participants attend at their own cost. This travel and business engagement is sponsored by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ICCPI), with ICCPI airline-partner sponsorship by Cathay Pacific; visa and travel arrangements were handled by Galamore Global Travel and Events Management (Galamore Travel & Tours) and RSEY Quadro Travel and Tours.
Sistema Italia Prologue in Manila
Before departing, Ballestar, who also serves as vice president for Luzon of the ICCPI, completed a series of institutional engagements under the Sistema Italia banner. On Sept. 15, 2026 she paid a courtesy call on Davide Giglio, ambassador of Italy to the Philippines, at the Chancery in Taguig, accompanied by ICCPI President Sergio Boero and iONTEK’s Head of Engineering Department Dante Ballestar. Ambassador Giglio had earlier presented iONTEK with the 2025 ICCPI Leadership Award for Innovation in Energy.
On Sept. 18, 2026, the delegation was received at the EU Delegation to the Philippines in Makati by Marco Gemmer, head of the Cooperation Section, and Maria Terron-Puig, program manager, under the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy. iONTEK is one of five Philippine companies to have completed the EU-funded “Innovate with EU Space Data” mentoring programme (Copernicus component), implemented by Expertise France with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA).
“Carbon is the new gold, but only if it can be measured from orbit and verified on the ground,” Ballestar said. “What we bring back from Frascati is not a trophy. It is a working method: European satellite data, Filipino engineering, and a grid that can be protected before the typhoon arrives.”
From orbit to operation
GridShield has been presented at the 5th ECMWF–ESA Machine Learning Workshop in Bologna (April 2026, Abstract #29) and as a late-breaking abstract at the International Astronautical Federation’s GLOC-2026 (paper code GLOC-2026,LBA,T,3,x105242). Ballestar is a Recognized ESA Copernicus Ambassador for the Energy Sector (Philippines), as a graduate of Innovate with EU Space Data and of the 2025 Space Innovation training and mentorship conducted by the PhilSA, and a SelectUSA (Women in Tech) alumna.
iONTEK has committed to deliver a written Esrin debrief within 10 working days of its return and to convene a Manila briefing in October 2026 for ICCPI members, the Embassy of Italy’s Commercial Office and the EU Delegation, with the Asian Development Bank’s Energy Sector Office invited to present. Ballestar returns to Manila for Philippines Clean Energy Week, where she speaks on Oct. 9.
On the Esrin stage (from left): Peter Hoefsloot of AfriScout (Hoefsloot Spatial Solutions and Global Communities), honorable mention in the Challenge; Milagrosa Russelle ‘Miles’ Ballestar, iONTEK Power Solutions Corp., Project GridShield Division, winner; and Dr. Christoph Aubrecht, program coordinator, Global Development Assistance, European Space Agency; at ‘GDA goes Earth Action,’ ESA-Esrin, Frascati, on Sept. 22 to 23, 2026. PHOTO FROM IONTEK POWER SOLUTIONS CORP.
Winner and honorable mention together at ESA-Esrin (from left): Peter Hoefsloot, AfriScout; Milagrosa Russelle ‘Miles’ Ballestar, iONTEK Power Solutions Corp., Project GridShield Division; and Dr. Christoph Aubrecht, ESA GDA program coordinator, beneath the ‘GDA goes Earth Action’ banner, on Sept. 22 to 23, 2026. PHOTO FROM IONTEK POWER SOLUTIONS CORP.
FROM MANILA TO FRASCATI The Sistema Italia prologue: courtesy calls at the Embassy of Italy (September 15) and the EU Delegation to the Philippines under Global Gateway (September 18), with ICCPI. COLLAGE FROM IONTEK POWER SOLUTIONS CORP.
