Hunting Invisible Climate Gas from Orbit – with Daria Stepanova, Airmo | DeepDive SpaceTech #3

In this DeepDive SpaceTech episode, David Wortmann speaks with
Daria Stepanova, CEO and co-founder of AIRMO, about a climate gas
that has long stayed out of sight: methane. It is responsible for
around 30 percent of current global warming, yet roughly 70 percent
of leaks go undetected, costing the energy industry billions in
lost gas every year. The tricky part is not the fix. A leak can be
sealed and an open vent closed quickly. The real challenge is
finding it, because methane is invisible. This is where AIRMO comes
in, with a proprietary sensor suite that measures the gas through
its absorption lines in the shortwave infrared and pairs a
spectrometer with a micro-LiDAR system for higher accuracy. Daria
explains how the company combines drones, aircraft and satellites
into a monitoring approach that spans from a few metres to 500
kilometres from the source, why it still relies on public satellite
data today, and how a first proprietary mission with partner
EnduroSat is set to grow into a constellation of more than twelve
satellites for global, near real-time monitoring. The conversation
covers AIRMO's customers, from energy companies such as Uniper to
gas storage and pipeline operators across Europe, Central Asia and
the Middle East, the role of the EU Methane Regulation as a driver,
and the question of how a view from space can reveal one of the
fastest levers in climate action.