Satellite data services are set to tackle water pollution, carbon emissions and biodiversity threats

Businesses and other organisations are set to be provided with information about environmental risks and how to mitigate them through innovative climate services.

Ten new projects will use Earth observation tools, satellite tracking and data on population demographics, supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI), to produce forecasts and models that can be used by sectors ranging from agriculture and energy, to finance and insurance.

The project is funded by the UK Space Agency, these applications will not only allow businesses, governments and others to understand and mitigate risks, but they will also help identify opportunities for green financing that could support sustainable business growth.

Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology George Freeman MP, said: “By backing UK innovators to make the most of modern technology including satellite data, AI, and Earth observation, we are also supporting businesses up and down our country to grow our economy while driving forward our ambition to make the UK a major player in space.”

Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said: “This targeted funding for early-stage innovations is all about supporting fresh ideas and accelerating the rollout of powerful new tools that have the potential to bring benefits to a wide range of users both within and beyond the space sector”

Each project will receive a funding injection of up to £55,000 to begin development in September on services to produce the most up to date view of environmental contexts possible with available Earth observation data, including methane and nitrous oxide emissions, watercourse resilience, biodiversity changes and the infrastructure of decarbonising technologies.

One of the applications by EOLAS Insight Ltd will develop a mapping and reporting service focused on watercourse resilience, helping businesses understand the effects of global temperatures on crucial local watercourses and the benefits of investing in mitigation strategies, such as riverside woodland schemes.

The total £530,000 funding represents the second tranche of investment by the UK Space Agency directly into climate services development. It follows an £85,000 pot awarded earlier this year, which was split between nine UK organisations, including some of these projects in their earlier stages of idea development, which used UK Space Agency funding to demonstrate the potential of their business ideas.

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