GHGSat plans to nearly double its methane-hunting satellites from 12 to 21 in the next two years, launching nine more satellites by the end of 2026.
The fleet expansion will allow the Montreal-based company to examine industrial sites every day for its customers around the world, officials said in an online press briefing held Oct. 31. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, with the company saying that for every methane ton removed from emissions the resulting effect in five years is as strong as taking away 100 tons of carbon dioxide.
GHGSat had previously announced in August that the Space Flight Laboratory, who had already built nine satellites for the company, was under contract to build two more. With respect to who will build the other seven satellites, GHGSat told SpaceQ that the details will be released in the coming months. The nine satellites will be launched in 2025 and 2026.
“These expansion plans will play a critical role, improving our understanding of methane emissions worldwide, and supporting industry and regulators to mitigate those emissions,” CEO Stephane Germain told journalists.
GHGSat’s strategy includes “renowned and world-class space and manufacturing companies” for satellite development and delivery, Germain said, although the company did not yet disclose those partners or the financial details.
GHGSat’s 2023 performance saw three million observations in 85 countries, including 16,000 emissions at 100 kilograms of methane an hour – a threshold the company deems a “super-emitter.”
North America, Europe and Asia make up about 70% of detected emissions since the last U.N. conference, COP28, in January 2022, but increases are being seen around the world. Within Canada, landfill emissions are most prevalent in Ontario, Quebec and the eastern provinces; oil and gas where it is geologically located, in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan; and coal mining principally in eastern Canada. (Germain also emphasized the number of companies taking actions once emissions are found, no matter what the source.)
The company’s satellites – independently validated by NASA and the European Space Agency, among others – scrutinize greenhouse gas emissions from industrial facilities including oil, landfills, coal mines, agricultural feedlots and wells, Germain explained. He acknowledged two other methane satellites launched in 2024 – the Environmental Defense Fund’s MethaneSAT and the non-profit Carbon Mapper satellite – but nonetheless emphasized GHGSat’s trust and collaborations with space agencies, along with its ability to pinpoint small plumes.
Methane plumes can be detected to an area of about 25 square meters, or half the size of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, using GHGSat technology. “That is our key differentiator: finding exactly where the sources are. And with that ability to look at more of the Earth, more frequently, thanks to the size of our satellite constellation,” Germain said.
“It’s clear that both industry and governments need better data and increased monitoring capabilities to detect and mitigate these emissions,” he added. “Without better data, emissions will likely continue to rise because finding methane emissions is like – for many operators – is like looking for needles in a haystack.”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recommended taking actions that will restrict global warning to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Sources vary as to how much methane contributes to that impact, but the impact remains outsized no matter who you consult; for example, GHGSat says it is responsible for 0.5 degrees of that warming. (As other examples of the data: The Environmental Defense Fund notes at least 25% of global warming seen today is from methane, while the International Energy Agency says it is roughly 30%; discrepancies are likely due to different models being used.)
Editor’s note: We updated our story adding information regarding identifying the suppliers for the seven additional satellites.