Fuelled by €24M, UK startup gears up to put more thermal satellites in orbit

British startup SatVu has secured £20mn (€24mn) to fuel the development of its hyper-accurate thermal imaging satellites that act like a thermometer for the whole planet. 

The cash injection includes £10mn (€12mn) in equity from Spanish VC Adara Ventures and British tech-focused fund Molten Ventures. The remainder comes from an insurance payout, the startup said. 

The funding will propel the launch of two new satellites in its HotSat constellation, which are scheduled to liftoff next year. The probes — HotSat-2 and HotSat-3 — will replace HotSat-1, SatVu’s first satellite, launched in 2023. 

When HotSat-1 launched it was fitted with the world’s highest-resolution, commercial thermal sensor. The camera, developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), could deliver thermal data at a 3.5-meter resolution.

However, HotSat-1 suffered a major setback just six months into its mission when its sensor stopped functioning. 

“The satellite was working fantastically, the data was great and the customers were super-excited. To trip up now is deeply frustrating but we’ve proved the principle and that puts us in a really strong position for the future,” Anthony Baker, SatVu’s founder and CEO, told BBC News at the time. 

With HotSat-2 and HotSat-3 — and a fresh pot of funding — SatVu looks to stage a comeback. 

Baker said the investment would help the startup accelerate its mission to deliver “unparalleled thermal insights” that empower industries and governments to take “decisive climate action.”  The company eventually plans to deploy a constellation of at least eight thermal imaging probes.

SatVu’s technology has been dubbed “the world’s thermometer.” It provides near real-time heat maps of the Earth’s surface. With applications spanning national security, infrastructure monitoring, and climate resilience, the startup claims its technology could guide more targeted climate action and policy decisions.

Baker, a satellite expert, founded SatVu in 2016. Headquartered in London, the company mainly comprises a tight-knit team of Earth observation and aerospace specialists. SatVu has raised a total of £64mn (€78mn) in funding to date.  

The latest investment is the first from Adara Ventures’ Energy Fund. The Madrid-based VC set up the fund this year to invest in cutting-edge technologies that accelerate the energy transition in Europe. The fund has a target size of €120mn.