World’s first CO2 sensor in orbit to help pinpoint emissions from individual industrial facilities

14 / 11 / 2023

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GHGSat has successfully launched the first CO₂ sensor in orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California to be able to pinpoint emissions from individual industrial facilities, such as cement or power plants.

GHGSat C10, known as Vanguard, is the precursor to a new generation of space instruments that will build on GHGSat’s extensive experience with methane emissions to provide frequent, accurate and independent high-resolution CO₂ data from individual sites. This will transform the way carbon dioxide emissions are monitored, reported and traded.

GHGSat pioneered industrial greenhouse gas emissions monitoring from space in 2016, with the launch of Claire, a demonstrator satellite. Its patented high-resolution technology, able to image down to 25m on the ground, revolutionized the understanding of man-made methane emissions.

GHGSat is the global leader in greenhouse gas emissions intelligence, currently making over two million facility measurements per year, on and offshore, with a constellation of nine satellites. The company also provides data to NASA, ESA and the United Nations.

The company is now using the same space-proven technology to change the way of monitoring carbon dioxide.

Thanks to its high spatial resolution, Vanguard can hone in on individual targets and accurately attribute emissions. Public CO₂ satellites already in orbit are not designed to do this. For the first time, operators of steel mills, power plants and petrochemical complexes will have access to independent, accurate and globally standardized emissions monitoring and data. Although many will have Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS) in place, independent verification can help them optimize day-to-day operations to reduce emissions. It will also improve the quality of Environmental Social and Governance reporting.

At the national and international level, high resolution CO₂ data will add to the accuracy of emissions inventories, the Global Stocktake and scientific modelling of emissions. It will also help build confidence in the c.$1 trillion global carbon trading market.

Stephane Germain, CEO at GHGSat, said, “Our high-resolution satellites helped put methane – a greenhouse gas that was out of sight and out of mind – at the top of the climate agenda. Now our goal is to harness this experience and change the conversation around CO₂. With regulators, investors and the public increasingly holding companies to account, for both their direct and indirect emissions, there is little doubt that better CO₂ data is needed. Trusted, independent data will help incentivize industry to manage its emissions effectively. It will ensure that climate policies are well-founded. Above all, it will help all of us stay on track to achieve Net Zero by 2050.”