UCD-based remote sensing company Proveye has been awarded a second contract with the European Space Agency worth €900,000 under the ARTES Business Applications and Space Solutions Programme.

The contract will allow Proveyes to further develop its platform, which integrates satellite and drone image processing and AI technologies to measure and monitor land use, carbon sequestration and biodiversity in the world’s grasslands.

The platform can measure performance and risk in nature-based solutions projects that look to increase biodiversity and carbon sequestration through regenerative management of grassland ecosystems.

According to the Rangeland Atlas, 54% of the world's land surface is covered by grass, shrubs or sparse, hardy vegetation storing over 20% of the Earth’s soil carbon, in addition to playing a key role in global food production.

The company said that grasslands are seen by many to be an undervalued source of climate resilience and food production primarily, due to difficulty of measuring and monitoring at vast scales.

The Proveye platform gives farmers, project owners, buyers of carbon credits, natural capital investors, food processors and insurance firms the trusted data to deliver on claimed activities and targets to create high-integrity nature-based credits.

The NovaUCD-headquartered company was founded by by Jerome O’Connell and Prof Nick Holden as spin-out from University College Dublin.

“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 O’Connell, CEO of Proveye.

“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.”

“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," he added.

Paul Kennedy, CCO of Proveye, commented that the deal “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."

Accounts for Proveye Ltd show the company had net assets of €203,900 at the end of 2023.

Photo: Jerome O'Connell. (Pic: Nick Bradshaw / Fotonic)