Austin-based Percepto develops AI drone for greenhouse gas emissions - Austin American-Statesman

Austin-based Percepto develops AI drone for greenhouse gas emissions

From toy to tool, can this AI-powered drone by Austin-based Percepto slow climate change?

Launched in a small city equidistant between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and straddling the border of the West Bank, Israeli start-up Percepto has both rewritten the rulebook and revolutionized the capabilities of autonomous drones in heavy industries.

In 2021, Percepto moved their main headquarters to Austin, while still maintaining a research and development base in Israel, coinciding with a trend of Israeli startups opening offices in Austin. According to the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, there are now over 100 Israeli startups based in Austin, with more establishing their presence in the capital city every month.

Ariel Avitan, co-founder and chief commercial officer at Percepto, believes their product and end-to-end service, which includes the use of both their drones and their proprietary software, sets Percepto apart from their competitors.

“All our clients are billion-dollar companies that need support from the lease of the drone to the actual data insights. And I think that is where the market is going to evolve,” Avitan said.

Percepto’s product, an industrial grade drone-in-a-box, combines an Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) camera with approval in category five hurricanes, for use in heavy industries such as oil and gas, energy, mining, and petrochemicals.

The OGI lens allows the drone to detect 15 types of hydrocarbon gases, such as methane, playing a vital role in recognition of gas leaks in the oil and gas sector.

The lens uses a specific wavelength to look for vapors. Once leaks are identified, the drone’s internal software quantifies the severity of the leak, allowing individuals on the ground to make quick decisions on how to repair leaks.

Before this advanced aerial technology, leaks could take days or months to identify and locate, leading to extensive environmental and human health damage as well as steep regulatory fines.

In Texas, Percepto says they’ve already gained the trust of Fortune 500 companies, whose use of their drones has decreased natural gas leaks, improved safety, and saved millions of dollars.

Beginning Next year, the company may play an even larger role, when the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest piece of federal legislation addressing climate change, enforces the Methane Emissions Reduction Program.

Second largest cause of global warming

Methane, a major greenhouse gas and both product and byproduct of the oil and gas industry, is currently the second largest cause of global warming. Colorless, odorless, and invisible to the naked human eye, methane is 25 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. The oil and gas industry releases natural gas into the atmosphere via flaring (the ignition of excess gas), venting (the direct release of unignited gas), and refinery leaks.

The EPA’s annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks found that in 2020, the most recent year of state-level estimates, of the 90 million metric tons CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) total methane emissions in Texas, over half of these emissions, 48.7 million metric tons CO2e, came from natural gas, petroleum systems, and abandoned oil and gas wells. CO2e is a unit of measurement employed by the EPA to calculate the measurement of the total greenhouse gasses emitted, expressed in terms of the equivalent measurement of carbon dioxide.

Consequently, industry-wide regulation could lead to a reduction in atmospheric pollution, by holding major methane emitters accountable. Known as methane abatement, products and technology such as drones and helicopters can be used to target and reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change.

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Findings presented at a June 2022 Congressional committee meeting concluded that “accurate, comprehensive data about oil and gas methane sources would strengthen the ability of both the industry and the Federal government to respond in an informed manner,” especially when taking into account that “methane emissions could be significantly larger than previously known.”

The Methane Emissions Reduction Program will dually target methane emissions by distributing $1.55 billion to reduce emissions from the petroleum and natural gas sector, as well as establish a system to fine facilities that report the equivalent of over 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, equivalent to the emissions produced by five cars in a year, subjecting most corporations to fines.

Fines will begin at $900 per metric ton in 2024, increasing to $1,200 in 2025, and $1,500 from 2026 onward.

According to Professor Arvind Ravikumar, Co-Director of the Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, methane abatement is one of the key principles to bring about a transition to cleaner energy, while also being beneficial to oil and gas producers.

“These companies figured out that reducing methane emissions is one of the most cost-effective things they could do now to reduce emissions, while also providing good PR, by showing that they are actually doing something to address climate change, in a way that is also beneficial to their bottom line,” he said.

Percepto’s founders believe their products could play an increasingly important role in helping oil and gas companies target and reduce emissions.

Avitan estimates that, starting in 2024, “Percepto clients could be fined billions.”

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A plausible transition to cleaner energy and more jobs

Despite many hurdles, the future of methane regulation has multiple silver linings.

In recent decades, as technology improved, employment numbers in the oil and gas industry have dropped, though a study from the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Climate Jobs Project, found that the Inflation Reduction Act’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program could help create up to 35,000 high quality union jobs in Texas alone.

Additionally, Professor Ravikumar believes the new regulations are a chance for Texas to be a globally-recognized leader in the transition to clean energy, with clean energy investments totaling $11.2 billion in investment so far.

“The methane fee presents a significant opportunity to demonstrate that Texas can be the leader in national gas production, (as well as) the leader in the energy transition. If done correctly, we can demonstrate how to move forward with an energy transition while reducing emissions.”

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Enforced correctly, and in conjunction with products like Percepto’s drones, Professor Ravikumar believes the Methane Emissions Reduction Program could revolutionize American energy sources while also curtailing environmental damage.

Avitan believes the oil and gas industry will soon catch up to the technologies available to them, and as drones evolve from toys into tools, they will soon have a wide-reaching impact, as it could on climate change mitigation.

“I think (oil and gas executives) don't really understand the Methane Emissions Program right now, in terms of how it will impact them, but in the next couple of months when they start preparing for it, they'll understand the impact and that will drive interest in our products,” Avitan said.