Metaspectral Secures Capital from Canadian Space Agency to Detect Gas Emissions on Earth

Metaspectral has received funding from the Canadian Space Agency.

The Vancouver startup, software company delivering the next generation of computer vision, secured the capital through smartEarth, a funding initiative related to Earth observation applications development.

Metaspectral says it will use the funding to build a method to systematically and methodically quantify carbon dioxide levels present at ground-elevation using hyperspectral data.

“Our technology makes it possible to track and measure carbon emissions and carbon sequestration levels at Earth’s surface,” said Metaspectral CTO Migel Tissera.

Tissera and his team achieve this by analyzing hyperspectral satellite imagery, which contains data from across the electromagnetic spectrum, making it possible to identify and quantify the gasses present.

Accurate, real-time data on GHG levels on the Earth’s surface has multiple potential applications including environmental monitoring of soils, forests, etc., measuring of emissions from oil and gas pipelines, and monitoring of leaks from deepwater drilling activity, according to the company.

“Many governments, including the Canadian government, have introduced pricing mechanisms for carbon emissions,” said Tissera. “This technology will make it possible to provide both the public and private sectors with the insights needed to adjust their environmental and climate change policies and plans, as well as reap the potential economic benefits of carbon credits.”

In 2021, Metaspectral received capital from the funding component of the Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security to develop a prototype for the Navy’s Better Than Meets the Eye challenge.

That same year, Metaspectral received a $300,000 grant from CleanBC to develop computer vision and robotics designed to sort post-consumer recycled plastic.

Clients of Metaspectral include Terramerra, which is developing advanced soil-sensing technology and software to give farmers and investors a more detailed understanding of soil health. The fellow Vancouverite received $1 million in funding for the technology from the BC Innovative Clean Energy Fund in April.