Ranking: Top UK Companies & Startups in Weather Observation and Climate Monitoring
19th Aug 2024
The global climate crisis has reached unprecedented levels, with alarming new records being set at an alarming pace. This stark reminder of our planet’s rapidly changing climate underscores the critical importance of accurate weather observation and climate monitoring.
In the United Kingdom, the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent. The Met Office’s annual “State of the UK Climate” report reveals that recent decades have been significantly warmer, wetter, and sunnier than the 20th century, with a notable increase in temperature extremes.
With all the attention focused on the climatic trends and meteorological events below the satellites, we thought we’d turn the sensors around and see what companies in the UK are doing all the looking.
Criteria Used to Rank UK Companies & Startups
When ranking UK companies and startups in the weather observation and climate monitoring sector, several criteria are considered:
- Innovation and Technology: The evaluation focuses on the use of advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, IoT, and satellite data. This criterion assesses how companies leverage cutting-edge technology to enhance their services and products.
- Impact on Climate Change: Companies are assessed based on their contributions to mitigating climate change. This includes their focus on clean energy solutions and efforts to reduce carbon footprints, as well as their role in combating global warming.
- Industry Applications and Partnerships: The ranking considers the diversity of industries served by the company and the strategic partnerships they have formed. Companies that provide weather data services across multiple sectors, such as renewable energy, agriculture, and emergency services, are seen as having a broader impact.
- Funding and Financial Performance: The financial health of the company is analyzed, including funding rounds and revenue growth. This criterion helps to understand the company’s stability and potential for future growth.
The UK Perspective on Climate Change
As the UK and the rest of the world grapple with these challenges, a number of innovative companies have emerged that specialize in weather observation and climate monitoring. With a remarkable 60% growth in the number of UK climate tech startups since 2021, the UK is leading the charge in this critical field. Reports indicate that the UK is currently at the forefront of Europe in climate technology, with 519 companies dedicated to innovative environmental solutions.
While they cannot predict the future with absolute certainty, their work is instrumental in improving our ability to forecast weather events and model long-term climate scenarios. So, what are these Top companies in the UK? What are their impacts? Let’s dive into the ranking, because who doesn’t love a good competition in the race to save the planet?
TOP 6 UK Companies in Weather Observation and Climate Monitoring
1. Satellite Vu
Revenue: £6.6M per year
This London-based startup founded in 2016 by Anthony Baker, Simon Tucker, and Tobias Reinicke, is at the forefront of leveraging space technology to address global sustainability challenges. Specializing in high-resolution thermal imaging, Satellite Vu uses infrared intelligence to monitor the temperature of buildings and other structures in real-time. This innovative approach provides valuable insights into energy efficiency, economic activity, and carbon footprints, making it an essential player in the climate tech sector. Satellite Vu’s first thermal monitoring satellite, known as “The World’s Thermometer,” was launched in June 2023, marking a significant milestone in their mission to deliver world-class thermal satellite data.
Satellite Vu’s technology offers the ability to monitor thermal emissions both day and night, unlike traditional satellite-powered software that only captures daytime data. For example, the thermal imaging can reveal whether a warehouse or a battery is operational and even count the number of shifts being worked, providing a granular level of detail that is invaluable for optimizing energy consumption and improving operational efficiency.
The company have partnered with Viasat for the rapid commanding, reception, and dissemination of thermal imagery, making Viasat their exclusive ground service provider. Additionally, Japan Space Imaging Corporation (JSI) has engaged with Satellite Vu through their Early Access Option Program, gaining preferred access to satellite imagery and services.
In 2022, the company launched commercial operations deploying a constellation of satellites that can image the thermal footprint of each building on the planet every 1-2 hours. This project was supported by £3.6 million in funding for constructing and launching the constellation. This initiative not only aims to enhance our understanding of global energy usage but also accelerates the journey towards net-zero emissions by providing actionable data to businesses, governments, and individuals.
2. Alba Orbital
Revenue: £3.2M per year
Alba Orbital stands out as a pioneering UK company in the field of weather observation and climate monitoring. Based in Glasgow, Alba Orbital is building the world’s largest Earth observation constellation, and they aim to image the entire planet every 15 minutes. Doing so would enable real-time monitoring of critical events such as wildfires, thus providing invaluable data for disaster response and environmental management.
The company is noted for its Unicorn picosatellites, which are among the most advanced in the satellite industry. It has launched 41 satellites into orbit to date, more than any other seed-stage company in history.
In the past few months alone, Alba Orbital have signed $41 million worth of Letters of Intent (LOIs) with customers (both gov’t and commercial) regarding imagery pre-orders. In December 2023, the company successfully launched three PocketQubes – Unicorn-2L, -2M, and -2N – onboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Korea 425 mission. This launch marked the completion of their Alba Cluster 8 mission, further expanding their constellation and enhancing imaging capabilities.
Regarding new partnerships, it’s worth mentioning a multi-launch contract with Hello Space to deploy four ‘3p’ PocketQubes in late 2024 and early 2025. These satellites will enhance global connectivity through IoT applications.
3. i-EM SAT
Revenue: < £3.9M per year
Based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, this company has emerged as a leader in providing cutting-edge solutions for energy management and renewable energy optimization.
i-EM SAT’s core strength lies in its ability to exploit satellite data and other plant information to offer a fast, human-centric Support Decision System in the energy field. Their mission is to enable all players in the market to make optimal decisions by providing real-time data and assessments about elements of the energy grid. This approach is particularly valuable for renewable energy assets, where accurate forecasting and predictive maintenance are crucial for maximizing efficiency and output.
The company’s impact is evident in its statistics. i-EM SAT’s solutions are currently applied to renewable plants totaling over 20 GW of installed power across 20 nations. Their Predictive Maintenance service can predict up to 90% of system failures before they occur, while their Forecasting service achieves remarkable accuracy, varying by less than 4% from real data (2.5 – 4% Normalized Mean Absolute Error).
4. Satsense
Revenue: < £3.9M per year
SatSense specializes in using InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology to monitor ground movements. Their key products include a web-based portal through which users view updated movement data, set custom thresholds for alerts, and receive notifications via email or text if excessive movement is detected. This service helps in determining the stability of sites or structures and highlights locations requiring further investigation or maintenance. Users can filter movements by magnitude and type, covering areas from the size of a house to nationwide, with data available from 2015 to the present.
SatSense has collaborated with several organizations to apply their technology in a variety of sectors. They have worked with the Coal Authority and the Welsh Government on the Coal Tips Monitoring Pilot to track environmental changes using InSAR data. The European Space Agency (ESA) has funded multiple projects where SatSense has developed industry-specific solutions. Network Rail has partnered with SatSense to explore network-wide InSAR monitoring for hazardous movements. Additionally, Severn Trent Water and Northumbrian Water have engaged with SatSense to identify potential pipeline failures and assist with operational responses. SatSense’s data has also been utilized by Groundsure for environmental risk reports, and by United Utilities for asset monitoring.
5. Weather Trade Net
Revenue: < £3.9M per year
Founded in 2019, Weather Trade Net provides the first self-service platform for physical climate risk data and reporting, enabling corporations to instantly evaluate their climate risk profiles. The company is based in London and Paris.
The company’s mission is to bridge the climate risk knowledge gap by offering tailored climate and financial impact assessments for businesses, financial institutions, insurance companies, and government agencies. Their proprietary Climate Risk Indices are designed to meet regulatory requirements such as TCFD, IFRS S2, and CSRD that are becoming mandatory in various countries including the UK and New Zealand.
Weather Trade Net’s platform stands out for its ability to deliver high-resolution, forward-looking scenario analyses using top-tier CMIP6 climate models. This allows users to obtain detailed, quantitative risk scores and analytics for various geographic levels, from local to global. The company’s recent activities include participating in the JASPERS conference in Florence, where they showcased their technology solutions for urban climate resilience and informed investment strategies. Additionally, Weather Trade Net has been actively engaging with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to provide in-depth explanations and support for the implementation of new climate-related financial disclosure standard.
6. Trade In Space
Revenue: £530.9k per year
We’ve included Trade in Space in the list of Top UK Companies & Startups in Weather Observation and Climate Monitoring for its innovative approach to combining satellite data with artificial intelligence to provide valuable insights for agriculture and commodity trading.
Founded in 2017 and based in Edinburgh, the company leverages EO data and ML algorithms to deliver accurate crop yield forecasts and market intelligence. Their platform combines the EO data with weather data and historical crop information to precisely predict agricultural output. This capability helps those across the food production chain to optimize their operations and manage risk in an increasingly volatile climate.
Their key products include Sustainimaps and Digitrak. Sustainimaps is a visualization and reporting tool that provides access to blockchain-ready, sustainability-relevant data so users can improve asset management and monitor progress toward sustainability commitments. Digitrak uses mobile technology to collect and integrate new data from remote farms, enabling real-time tracking of commodities from their origin.
One of Trade in Space’s notable achievements is facilitating the world’s first satellite-brokered trade of coffee. This involved using satellite imagery to tokenize coffee as an NFT while it was still in the field, allowing for seamless tracking from Colombia to the UK. The company has also developed a traceability tool in collaboration with Colombia’s largest cacao producer, enabling end-to-end traceability from farm to factory, known as the “bean to bar” traceability function. Trade in Space has been instrumental in helping companies maintain deforestation-free supply chains, particularly in the coffee and cacao sectors. Their technology has supported major coffee trading organizations in securing significant green finance to bolster sustainable initiatives.
The significance of this accomplishment was recognized by the Royal Bank of Scotland and The Times newspaper, who awarded Trade in Space the prestigious Blue Sky Thinking Fintech Award.
What’s Behind This Ranking?
This ranking isn’t just about who’s top dog in UK climate tech. It’s a snapshot of a pivotal moment in our relationship with the environment – a moment where we’re finally bringing our full technological might to bear on the greatest challenge of our time. And if these companies are any indication, we might just have a fighting chance.
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