Hydrosat Wins Additional NOAA Grant for Climate Monitoring.
New funding underscores the company’s innovative capabilities and significant progress in supporting NOAA’s mission to advance climate and environmental monitoring.
Hydrosat, the climate tech company leveraging thermal imagery to measure water stress in agriculture and mitigate the effects of climate change, today announced its selection from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a $650,000 SBIR II contract for climate monitoring insights. This new funding is an expansion upon the success of Hydrosat’s past work with NOAA, validating the technical and commercial potential of its innovative technology and marking a significant milestone in the company’s mission to enhance climate and environmental monitoring.
“NOAA is a central pillar of both weather information and research to support climate adaptation in the US and around the world. We are pleased to expand our work with NOAA under this new grant as we bring commercial satellite based insights and actionable intelligence to the climate threat.”
The award is significant for Hydrosat, not only because it marks the entrance of the company into the weather market, but also because NOAA has become an increasingly important customer for commercial satellite data. Hydrosat’s innovative use of thermal infrared satellite imagery allows for the early detection of water stress, offering vital tools for optimizing irrigation and water management. Hydrosat’s IrriWatch platform, which delivers daily, high-resolution field intelligence, is already supporting farmers across 43 countries, covering 4 million acres of farmland. Hydrosat has enabled growers to increase crop yields by up to 50% and reduce water usage by up to 30%., and is making a significant impact on global agriculture.
“The success we achieved in our previous NOAA work laid a strong foundation for the continued expansion of our technology into operational applications. This grant allows us to further support NOAA’s priorities in understanding the impact of climate change and extreme weather, ultimately helping to safeguard ecosystems and human communities.”
The NOAA award represents the latest milestone for Hydrosat, which recently launched its first satellite, VanZyl-1, featuring proprietary thermal imaging technology. This satellite, part of SpaceX’s Transporter-11 mission, is the first commercial platform to provide global high-resolution thermal imaging, enhancing both agricultural and climate models. Hydrosat’s growing portfolio of projects includes collaborations with the National Reconnaissance Office and the U.S. Air Force’s National Air and Space Intelligence Center.
