Airmo combines space and climate tech with emissions-monitoring satellites - TechCrunch
Airmo combines space and climate tech with emissions-monitoring satellites | TechCrunch
German startup Airmo is taking aim at climate change, with plans to launch a 12-satellite constellation to monitor greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the planet.
To fuel its ambitions, the company announced today that it closed €5.2 million ($5.7 million) in pre-seed funding, which includes €1.5 million from venture investors and a €3.7 million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).
Airmo, founded in 2022, says it will use the funding to launch its first satellite equipped with spectrometer and light detection and ranging (lidar) technology to detect and measure GHGs in real time. The company says its “micro-lidar” solution, combined with the spectrometer, improves the accuracy of its measurements by correcting for atmospheric winds and aerosols.
The company’s co-founder, Harriet von Kügelgen, told TechCrunch that Airmo plans to launch its first satellite at the end of 2024, though she declined to name the launch provider. Airmo’s revenue will be generated from companies paying for their emissions data, she added.
The startup is an official partner of the “Aiming for Zero” program of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, an industry group composed of 12 of the world’s largest energy companies, including Aramco, BP and Chevron. That partnership will no doubt give Airmo key insights into the needs of a core customer sector.
The round was led by Findus Venture, with additional participation from Ananda Impact Ventures, Pi Labs, E2MC, Antler and several angel investors. The ESA contract was awarded as part of the agency’s InCubed program, which aims to fund commercial initiatives in the Earth observation space.
“We see a growing interest from the society and the investors on climate and sustainability,” Michele Castorina, an ESA investment officer, said in a statement. “Earth Observation will play a key role in this landscape.”
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”