Proveye, an Irish remote sensing startup, has signed a second contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), valued at nearly €900k.
This new contract, under the ARTES Business Applications and Space Solutions Programme, will allow Proveye to advance its platform that integrates satellite and drone imagery with AI for precise measurement and monitoring of carbon sequestration and biodiversity in global grasslands.
By utilising remote sensing technology, Proveye’s platform delivers accurate, metric-based data to stakeholders involved in regenerative grassland management and carbon capture projects. This includes farmers, carbon credit purchasers, food processors, investors in natural capital, and insurance companies. The technology enables these stakeholders to verify activities and achievements – generating reliable nature-based credits.
Founded by Jerome O’Connell and Professor Nick Holden as a spin-out from University College Dublin, this latest contract will further enhance Proveye’s capabilities to support sustainable agriculture and monitor carbon removal, contributing to global climate resilience efforts.
“This contract with ESA marks a significant milestone in our mission to help deliver nature-based solutions that drive climate resilience and sustainable food production,” said Jerome O’Connell, CEO. “We are excited to build on our previous success with ESA and continue advancing our technology to support the pressing need to produce more food in a more sustainable manner. Grassland ecosystems are under significant pressure from climate change and intensive agriculture. Our platform empowers farmers to manage grasslands more efficiently, give actionable insights to project owners and provide investors and corporates with empirical evidence on the impact of their nature capital investments.”
He added, “Frequent and accurate metrics are critical to the widespread adoption of nature-based solutions and given the lack of significant financial commitments being secured at COP29 highlights even more the pressing need for platforms such as ours to give investors the assurance of impact on their investments.”
Grasslands, which cover 54% of the Earth’s land according to the UN Rangeland Atlas, play a crucial role in carbon storage and food production. According to Proveye, these landscapes hold over 20% of the planet’s soil carbon, yet are often undervalued due to the difficulty of monitoring them on a large scale. Proveye’s platform aims to change this by providing high-precision data, making it easier to manage grasslands and ensure climate resilience.
Paul Kennedy, Chief Commercial Officer at Proveye, highlighted the potential impact of the project: “Proveye’s second collaboration with ESA highlights the company’s pivotal role in shaping the future of sustainable food production and climate resilience. This contract is expected to have far-reaching impacts, not only in Europe but globally, by driving efficiencies in habitat and grassland management and contributing to broader sustainability targets for all stakeholders in food production, natural capital and biodiversity restoration.“
