AIRMO

AIRMO measures methane leaks, and its instrument is the argument. A shortwave infrared spectrometer reads the gas, and a small LiDAR alongside it corrects for the wind, aerosols and atmospheric effects that make spectrometer-only measurements uncertain. The goal is a per-site emissions number solid enough for regulatory reporting, not just a plume on a map. The same sensor flies on drones and aircraft today and is being built into a satellite payload on an EnduroSat bus.

Daria Stepanova ran engineering at a Berlin smallsat builder before founding AIRMO in Munich, and her cofounder Errico Armandillo spent 28 years at ESA running optoelectronics, LiDAR his specialty. The plan is deliberately staged: the aircraft business earns revenue and validates the instrument now, and the satellites extend the same measurement globally once EU methane rules begin to bite.

The satellite is late and the field has moved. A first launch promised for 2025 is now aimed at early 2027, and in the gap GHGSat kept operating, Carbon Mapper reached orbit, Sentinel-5P stayed free, and EDF's MethaneSAT launched and died. The miniaturised LiDAR that sets AIRMO apart has never flown on a satellite this small, and AIRMO publishes no detection thresholds, which for a measurement business is a conspicuous gap. The drone work sells today, but it is a services business, and the constellation the company is valued on remains on the ground.