The funding was announced as 10 Enterprise Ireland-supported companies visited the ESA’s Centre for Earth Observation.

Davra and Treemetrics have received a combined €3m in funding under the European Space Agency (ESA) Earth Observation programme.

The companies secured co-funding through Ireland’s investment in the InCubed programme, which supports industry to develop new, commercially viable products that utilise Earth observation imagery and datasets.

The funding was announced during a visit to the ESA’s Centre for Earth Observation by 10 companies supported by Enterprise Ireland.

Davra is a Dublin-based IoT company developing applications for industry. It secured a contract through the ESA to demonstrate the feasibility combining data captured through its IoT platform with Earth observation datasets to be used as a basis for monitoring mine tailings.

The company previously received funding from the ESA in 2019.

Cork tech firm Treemetrics was awarded a two-year ESA contract to utilise satellite imaging, data analytics and its own forest measurement technology to provide more accurate forest carbon credit estimates.

In 2017, the company signed a €1.2m deal with the ESA to roll out a tree growth analytics system, including a unique tree sensor device.

Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English, TD, congratulated the two Irish companies as well as the InCubed programme for the work it does “nurturing private sector research and development in Earth observation”.

“It is enabling Irish companies to realise their potential by accelerating the commercialisation of their products and services, which is a key deliverable highlighted in Ireland’s National Space Strategy for Enterprise,” he said.

“I encourage relevant companies in Ireland to identify potential opportunities for collaboration with public sector partners, and moreover, to work together to show that satellite-derived data can provide timely information, important for supporting the delivery of many public service monitoring and control activities.”

Niall Bolger, Enterprise Ireland’s programme manager for Earth observation programmes, said a growing number of Irish companies are now “actively involved in space-related activities”.

“Enterprise Ireland’s client companies have huge potential to support this, providing expertise in advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence and advanced sensor technologies. There is a growing opportunity for Irish innovators and researchers to play a significant role in this vibrant and exciting sector.”

Reporting: Silicon Republic