Europe Drone Services Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The European drone services market is expected to witness a CAGR of over 10% during the forecast period (2022 - 2027).

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the drone services market in Europe significantly. The demand for drones from several commercial sectors decreased significantly in 2020. However, the pandemic accelerated the deployment of drones in applications such as monitoring streets as well as delivery of medications and COVID-19 test kits, among others. The market recovered significantly in 2021 with a rebound in the commercial sector demand.

The growing demand for drone service for a broad range of commercial applications from agriculture for efficient field planning to urban mobility is propelling the growth of the market in the European region.

Also, several drone operators are working on receiving approvals from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and other local and regional bodies for the introduction of Beyond-visual-line-of-sight Flights (BVLOS) operations. These approvals will allow the operators to expand their long-range operations, which is anticipated to boost the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Key Market Trends

Demand from the Construction Segment is Expected to Increase

The utilization of drones for various applications in the construction industry, such as construction sites and drones such as land surveying, topographic mapping, remote monitoring, and structure inspection, among others, has been increasing. Deploying drones in the construction industry enables automation and digitization of the whole construction project life cycle, from streamlining data collection from the project site to consistent digital project documentation. The implementation of aerial drone photography provides remote teams on the construction site and managers visibility for identifying construction errors and monitoring progress. The utilization of drones in topographic mapping and land surveys improves the accuracy of the overall construction project. Due to such advantages, construction companies are adopting the use of drones in their operations. PORR Group is one of the largest construction companies in Europe. The company has operations in the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Switzerland. It utilizes drones for surveying and building 3D models, which will support construction operations. The introduction of such drone technologies by companies is expected to aid the growth of this segment in the forecast period.

The United Kingdom had the Highest Share in 2021

The United Kingdom accounted for the highest share in 2021, primarily due to the presence of the highest number of drone service providers in the European region. The number of drone operators in the country has proliferated in the past five years. In 2014, there were about 400 commercial drone operators in the country. However, as of 2021, there were more than 5,000 operators. The companies are robustly working on introducing drone services to support their operations in the country. For instance, Royal Mail began testing autonomous cargo drones in May 2021 in the Isles of Scilly in the UK. The company tested Windracer’s Ultra UAV for long-range BVLOS routes. The tests also included inter-island drone flights using smaller vertical take-off and landing drones. To further strengthen the country’s commercial drone services, the UK government launched an initiative called the Drones Pathfinder Catalyst Program, which aims to increase the adoption of drones in public and private sectors over 10 years. The focus of the program was reviewed and refreshed by the governance of the Department for Transport (DfT), the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the Connected Places Catapult. One of the critical areas of focus of the program is to explore solutions for safe, routine BVLOS drone operations across a range of applications. The drone operators are collaborating with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to test BVLOS operations.

Competitive Landscape

The European drone services market is highly fragmented due to the presence of many drone services start-ups in various countries of Europe. Terra Drone Corporation, DroneDeploy Inc., Cyberhawk Innovations, Sulzer & Schmid Laboratories AG, and senseFly are some of the prominent players in the Europe drone services market. The partnerships of the drone service providers with major players in commercial sectors are anticipated to support the companies in increasing their share in the market in the coming years. For instance, in April 2021, Cyberhawk entered into a major service agreement with SP Energy Networks to deliver drone-based inspection services for its power distribution and transmission structures in Central Scotland, North Wales, and North England. The contract is scheduled to run till the end of 2022. The drone inspections will allow SP Energy to manage and maintain the aging network and reduce the overall number of power cuts. The drone service providers are currently emphasizing integrating data processing and advanced data analytics solutions onboard the UAVs further to enhance the efficiency of operations for the end-users. The competitive rivalry in the market is high and is expected to surge during the forecast period due to the entry of new players into the market.

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