Victoria-based remote sensing startup Esper secured $1 million from a Northern Territory-based venture capital fund for winning the local Croc Pitch event with its hyperspectral imaging technology.
Mounted on a satellite, Esper’s sensors can reveal the detailed chemical composition of the earth from space for a fraction of the usual cost, potentially transforming Australia’s resource management and environmental monitoring sectors.
The earth observation startup beat 35 other applicants, including eight other finalists on the day of the pitch event, to win the Darwin Innovation Hub’s sixth annual Croc Pitch event last month.
Multispectral imaging is especially useful in the energy and mining sectors because it can be used to create extremely detailed scans of an area of land, or a manufacturing facility, or body of water.
Esper uses a proprietary sensor capable of hyperspectral imaging at a much broader range and higher resolution than was previously affordable. The data can be used to very accurately monitor pollution levels, search for minerals, or efficiently gauge the environmental health of vast areas.
Using traditional technologies, a hyperspectral map of Australia (7.6m sq km) would cost $307 million, but Esper is now offering it for $11.5 million.
“Our competitors charge around $40 to $50 for a 1 (sq km) hyperspectral map, whereas we charge $1.50 for the same service,” says Shoaib Iqbal, chief executive and founder of Esper. “That’s the key to our product — affordable hyperspectral imaging that creates a wealth of new possibilities for our customers.”
Slashing the cost of hyperspectral imaging was a big goal for Esper. The company invested significant resources and worked with partners to develop the new imaging sensor. Its success in this endeavour is now paying rewards as the company is growing quickly and planning numerous launches in the coming years.
Esper’s infrared hyperspectral sensor is based on silicon, which is more durable, more flexible and far cheaper to manufacture than traditional sensors. Infrared sensors are generally made from exotic materials that can only operate effectively when cooled to near absolute zero. This is difficult and expensive to achieve when the sensor is mounted on a satellite orbiting the earth and switching between cycles of extreme cold and bright sunlight every 90 minutes.
“We worked closely with partners to develop a manufacturing process that would substantially cut the cost of producing a silicon-based sensor with a much wider frequency range, including infrared,” Mr Iqbal said. “This means we can capture data of at least the same quality, for a much lower cost. Our margins are healthy and we’re able to slash the cost of this data for our customers.”
Esper adds more value by working with other imaging and observation partners to provide comprehensive reports.
“Spectral data is useful, but our customers gain more value when we partner with other companies — for example in 3D imaging — and then package these products together,” Mr Iqbal said. “We are becoming more of a full stack analytics company where we collect the relevant data and then use our own engines to process that into extremely valuable and insightful models.”
Emerging earth observation industry booming
Esper plays in the emerging earth observation (EO) industry, which according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) generated $266 billion last year, and will increase to $700 billion by 2030. In a report published in May 2024, WEF said “the global potential of EO is immense, but the extent of this potential has not yet been realised.” The report predicts most value will be derived from industries including agriculture, mining, oil and gas.
The WEF goes as far as to claim that because of EO, an extra US$3.8 trillion will be added to the global GDP between now and 2030. At the same time, using EO technology will help industry reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 2 gigatonnes annually — about 3.6 per cent of annual global daily emissions.
Esper’s cutting-edge EO solution impressed the Croc Pitch 2024 panel, and Mr Iqbal says winning the event has firmly established the company in NT. “We’re excited to realise our vision of working in NT and we’re already in the process of opening an office and making our first hire.”
The $1 million investment which comes from the Paspalis Innovation Investment Fund managed by the Paspalis Corporation, will help Esper fuel its already ambitious expansion plans. The company will be launching its third sensor in early 2025 and has two more launches planned in 2026.
Mr Iqbal explains that the more sensors Esper has in orbit, the quicker it can expand its services. “With just two sensors, if a customer places an order, it could take a few weeks before the satellite flies over their land, and then it takes a few days to collate all the data,” he said.
More satellites will mean orders can be fulfilled faster, regardless of geographic location, and the company is investigating how to use edge-processing to further reduce delivery times.
“We have been putting a lot of work in Australia and the whole southern hemisphere — over the next 18 months we are rolling out a host of new exploration projects in countries including Peru and Chile,” Mr Iqbal said.
Esper’s ambitions continue off-world, into the solar system and beyond. Mr Iqbal says the sensors are ideal for scanning the moon for water and other minerals, or even going further out into the solar system scanning potential astro-mining targets.
“Reconnaissance uses are being investigated, our hyperspectral sensing can be used for off-world activities, and when the rest of the infrastructure for astro-mining has been established, we will be a good fit.”
This article was produced by InnovationAus.com in partnership with Paspalis.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.