As we face the escalating crisis of climate change, it becomes more crucial than ever to closely monitor our greenhouse gas emissions and urgently act to reduce them. The landmark Paris Agreement on climate change set a goal to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. Achieving this goal requires precise and reliable data on emissions, especially of potent greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane.
In this context in which AIRMO, a startup at the crossroads of climate tech and space tech, has announced a Pre-Seed round of €5.2 Million from leading space and impact investors as well as a large contract by the European Space Agency. This fresh capital will enable AIRMO to launch its first out of 12 satellites into orbit to revolutionize transparency on the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane.
Christian Federspiel represented by Findus Venture, a well-known space investors in Europe, is the lead investor in the round, alongside Ananda Impact Ventures, Pi-Labs, E2MC, Antler and several powerful business angels as Anna Alex, founder of Planetly and well known in climate tech circles or Rainer Horn, a familiar name in german space tech. Next to the VCs and Angel Investors, ESA (European Space Agency) has decided to fundamentally support AIRMO with 3.7 Million in contract value and being a close partner to the startup.
“Since the last founding round, we have made significant strides in our mission. We are proud to be an official partner of the Aiming for net zero initiative of OGCI (Oil and Gas Climate Initiative), a testament to our commitment and progress in the fight against climate change“, says Daria Stepanova, Co-Founder of Airmo.
Alan Poensgen, Partner at Antler, comments, “Airmo has an experienced and impressive founding team building world-class technology that addresses the single biggest challenge facing the world – climate change. Airmo could transform the way we track and reduce carbon emissions globally and this funding round is testament to their growth potential. We are delighted to have supported Airmo from day zero and look forward to working with them as they scale.”
One of the greenhouse gases that AIRMO is monitoring, methane, accounts for more than 25 per cent of the global warming we are experiencing today. Due to its structure, methane traps more heat in the atmosphere per molecule than carbon dioxide (CO2), making it 80 times more harmful than CO2 for 20 years after it is released. This makes large methane leaks that go undetected for weeks or even months particularly harmful for the climate. One such super emitter event produced 427 tonnes of methane an hour last summer in August near Turkmenistan; this single leak is equal to the hourly national emissions of France.
The bird’s eye view provided by AIRMO’s satellites will make it much easier for companies to monitor GHG emissions in various and often remote locations. AIRMO satellites will detect even the smallest leaks, enabling the timely detection and therefore repair of the leakages. This will provide a resolution down to the facility level, enabling exact and reliable allocation of emissions to its source. With the innovative space technology from AIRMO, spectrometer-based measurements will be complemented with LiDAR technology, delivering highly accurate, near real-time and reliable data.
In addition to regular monitoring, AIRMO, founded in 2022, aims to detect every super emitter, particularly in the Oil & Gas industry, by 2030. For close collaboration and product alignment with key players in the industry, AIRMO is an official partner of the Aiming for net zero methane emissions initiative of OGCI (Oil & Gas Climate Initiative), the leading CEO-led initiative to tackle emissions in the oil and gas industry.
The diverse European founding team, consisting of two women and two men, brings together a unique combination of space and climate experience to succeed in their mission. The company was founded by Daria Stepanova, Pavels Razmajevs, Dr. Errico Armandillo, and Harriet von Kügelgen. With decades of combined experience at some of the world’s leading space organizations, such as the European Space Agency, and expertise in ESG and carbon management, the co-founders are well-equipped to disrupt the industry. With this exceptional team, AIRMO is poised to transform the way we monitor and understand GHG emissions, ultimately driving more effective climate solutions and contributing to a more sustainable future.
