MethaneSAT
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
MethaneSAT firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MethaneSAT
- Legal name
- MethaneSAT, LLC
- Website
- https://methanesat.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MethaneSAT industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Earth Observation Services
- NAICS
- Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Satellite/Aerial/Remote Sensing MRV (Methane plumes, land-use change) (EUAHADAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Remote Sensing & Geospatial MRV (Satellite, Aerial, LiDAR, SAR) (EUABACAF), Fugitive Emissions & Leak Detection (LDAR, OGI, Methane) (EUAHADAB)
Keywords
Where MethaneSAT is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
MethaneSAT business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Grant Funding and Donations: MethaneSAT is a nonprofit subsidiary of Environmental Defense Fund. It is funded through grants and donations from foundations and individuals. Major funders include the Bezos Earth Fund ($100M announced in 2020 + $10M announced in 2024), The Audacious Project, Valhalla Foundation, and numerous other philanthropic donors. No commercial revenue is generated from data sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free public data access via web portal, Google Earth Engine, and Google Cloud Platform |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
MethaneSAT product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MethaneSAT operates a custom-built satellite and aircraft system (MethaneAIR) to measure and quantify global methane emissions from oil and gas operations with industry-leading 3 parts per billion precision. It delivers this data as a free, publicly accessible resource through three primary channels: a web data portal, Google Earth Engine, and Google Cloud Platform. The offering covers 41 oil and gas basins across 25 countries and provides emissions data at three scales (total regional, dispersed area, and distinct point source) that enables operators, regulators, researchers, investors, and NGOs to identify, quantify, benchmark, and track methane emissions over time.
Product overview
MethaneSAT is an environmental nonprofit technology organization that provides a satellite and aircraft-based methane detection and measurement system. The core offering consists of the MethaneSAT Data Portal (interactive web platform), direct data access via Google Earth Engine and Google Cloud Platform, and MethaneAIR aircraft measurements. The system delivers methane emissions data at three spatial scales: total regional emissions (200km x 200km areas), dispersed area emissions (4km x 4km grid heatmaps), and distinct point sources (~500 kg/hr detection threshold). Data from over 41 oil and gas basins across 25 countries is freely available. The satellite was lost in June 2025 after ~12 months of operation, but aircraft monitoring continues and existing data continues to be processed and released.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MethaneAIR: A specially equipped jet aircraft using similar technology to MethaneSAT for measuring methane emissions from oil and gas operations across North America.
Products and services
- MethaneSAT Data Portal Web-based interactive platform for exploring, visualizing, and analyzing methane emissions data collected by the MethaneSAT satellite and MethaneAIR aircraft. Users can view total emissions, dispersed source heatmaps, distinct point sources, and filter by operator across global oil and gas basins.
- MethaneSAT via Google Earth Engine Geospatial analysis distribution of MethaneSAT data on Google Earth Engine enabling technical users to analyze emissions alongside other datasets. Available for free to researchers, nonprofits, and academic institutions; commercial entities require a paid Google subscription.
- MethaneSAT via Google Cloud Platform Direct data download option from Google Cloud Storage for users preferring offline access or ingestion onto their own cloud infrastructure. Subject to Google egress fees.
- MethaneAIR Aircraft-based methane detection system using a modified Lear 35 jet equipped with similar spectrometers to the MethaneSAT satellite. Flights map and quantify emissions from oil and gas basins across North America as a complement to satellite observations.
- MethaneSAT Scenes Pre-processed datasets and visualizations for specific regions over specific time periods showing precise emission levels, sources, and changes over time. Over 180 scenes have been published covering 45 different oil and gas-producing regions globally.
- Level 3 and Level 4 Data Products Processed satellite data products. Level 3 provides gridded emissions data and Level 4 provides flux products quantifying emission rates. Nearly 800 researchers, analysts, and technical users across industry, government, academia, and NGOs have been granted access.
- Oil and Gas Infrastructure Mapping (OGIM)
Quantifiable outcome
- Oil and gas methane emissions found to be 50% higher than reported in EDGAR and EPA inventories
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use MethaneSAT
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
MethaneSAT technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability6 records
Feature7 records
MethaneSAT partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.
- Carbon Mapper CoalitionsupportingCarbon Mapper and MethaneSAT announced a complementary partnership in June 2024. While Carbon Mapper focuses on individual facility-level methane detections (30m resolution, >100 kg/hr), MethaneSAT covers regional/basin-scale total emissions. Together they provide a fuller picture for stakeholders. Both organizations make data publicly available.
- Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)coreMethaneSAT was conceived and developed by EDF and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global environmental nonprofit. EDF's team of experts, advocates, and advisors helps turn MethaneSAT data into concrete action worldwide. EDF's address is 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1700, Austin, TX 78701.
- BAE Systems (Ball Aerospace)coreBall Aerospace designed and built the primary scientific instrument for MethaneSAT — two advanced Littrow spectrometers — in addition to leading spacecraft integration and environmental testing. Ball also provided launch support and commissioning services.
- Harvard University (School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)coreHarvard scientists led key algorithm development, calibration activities, and scientific research for the mission. Dr. Jonathan Franklin serves as Deputy Science Principal Investigator and Instrument Principal Investigator. Dr. Steven Wofsy leads atmospheric science contributions.
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for AstrophysicscoreScientists at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory contributed to instrument development, calibration, and science algorithm development for MethaneSAT. Dr. Jonathan Franklin and Dr. Xiong Liu serve as key investigators from this institution.
- GooglecoreGoogle provides cloud computing to process MethaneSAT's massive data stream, hosts the data on Google Earth Engine for advanced geospatial analysis, provides Google Cloud Storage for direct downloads, and helps improve the global database of oil and gas infrastructure used for emission attribution.
- Blue Canyon TechnologiessupportingBlue Canyon Technologies built the satellite bus for MethaneSAT, contributing the spacecraft platform that hosts the scientific instrument.
- IO AerospacesupportingIO Aerospace adapted and operates the MethaneAIR aircraft (a specially equipped Lear 35 jet) that collects methane data prior to and alongside the satellite mission. Also contributed to satellite development.
- New Zealand Space AgencysupportingThe New Zealand Space Agency contributed to the MethaneSAT mission as an international partner, supporting the satellite development and operations. New Zealand-based scientists also contribute to agricultural methane research.
- Rocket LabsupportingRocket Lab provided launch services for the MethaneSAT satellite, contributing to the mission's deployment to orbit.
- SpaceXsupportingSpaceX provided launch services for the MethaneSAT satellite, launching it aboard a SpaceX rocket to its operational orbit.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MethaneSAT competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- CarbonClear: Carbon credit verification platform that combines remote sensing and field data to validate climate projects. Adjacent to MethaneSAT in using satellite and geospatial data for emissions verification in voluntary carbon markets.
- Sphera: Environmental, health, safety, and sustainability data and software provider for industrial operators. Comparable as an enterprise-focused platform that ingests emissions data to support compliance and ESG reporting for O&G and other industrial sectors.
Others
- Global Methane Hub: Philanthropic platform funding methane reduction efforts globally. Comparable as a fellow grant-making supporter of methane measurement and a likely coordination counterpart for any successor satellite mission.
Direct peers
- GHGSat: Commercial satellite operator providing facility- and asset-level methane detection via a constellation of satellites. Directly comparable to MethaneSAT because both deliver orbital methane measurements used by O&G operators, regulators, and investors for emissions accountability.
- Carbon Mapper: Nonprofit coalition (Planet Labs + RMI + others) developing satellite-based methane and CO2 point-source detection. Directly comparable as a publicly available methane data platform and confirmed complementary partner of MethaneSAT.
- Kayrros: Environmental and energy intelligence firm combining satellite-derived methane and activity data with proprietary analytics to quantify O&G emissions. Comparable in being a data-driven methane analytics layer serving operators, investors, and regulators.
- Climate TRACE: Global emissions inventory coalition combining satellite and ground data to track facility- and country-level greenhouse gas emissions. Comparable in its mission to make independently observed, satellite-derived climate emissions data universally accessible.
Broad incumbents
- Sentinel-5P / TROPOMI (ESA): European Space Agency's atmospheric monitoring satellite carrying the TROPOMI instrument for global methane and other trace-gas measurement. Provides broader-coverage but lower-precision methane retrievals that MethaneSAT's 3 ppb dataset is benchmarked against.
- Planet Labs: Earth observation company operating a large commercial imaging satellite constellation with some methane-related analytics. Comparable as a satellite-data infrastructure provider serving climate and O&G customers at scale.
- Spire Global: Space-to-cloud data company with a nanosatellite constellation focused on weather, maritime, and aviation analytics. Comparable as a privately funded operator deploying LEO constellations for environmental and energy-relevant Earth intelligence.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MethaneSAT social profiles
Digital presenceMethaneSAT financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MethaneSAT leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
MethaneSAT funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MethaneSAT M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MethaneSAT
What does MethaneSAT do?
MethaneSAT operates a custom-built satellite and aircraft system (MethaneAIR) to measure and quantify global methane emissions from oil and gas operations with industry-leading 3 parts per billion precision. It delivers this data as a free, publicly accessible resource through three primary channels: a web data portal, Google Earth Engine, and Google Cloud Platform. The offering covers 41 oil and gas basins across 25 countries and provides emissions data at three scales (total regional, dispersed area, and distinct point source) that enables operators, regulators, researchers, investors, and NGOs to identify, quantify, benchmark, and track methane emissions over time.
Is MethaneSAT a public or private company?
MethaneSAT is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was MethaneSAT founded?
MethaneSAT was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MethaneSAT based?
MethaneSAT is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does MethaneSAT make money?
One revenue line is on record: grant Funding and Donations.
Who are MethaneSAT's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are CarbonClear and Sphera. Global Methane Hub is listed as an others. Direct peers are GHGSat, Carbon Mapper, Kayrros and Climate TRACE. Broad incumbents are Sentinel-5P / TROPOMI (ESA), Planet Labs and Spire Global.
Does MethaneSAT have an API?
Yes. MethaneSAT data is accessible through Google Earth Engine API. Users can analyze data on Google Earth Engine or download directly from Google Cloud Platform. Commercial entities need a paid GEE subscription; researchers, nonprofits, and academic institutions can access GEE for free. Users can also ingest data onto their own cloud platforms via the GEE API. Google egress fees apply for data transfer. Developer documentation is at developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/publisher/edf-methanesat-ee.
What industry is MethaneSAT in?
MethaneSAT's product category is Earth Observation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAHADAL, Satellite/Aerial/Remote Sensing MRV (Methane plumes, land-use change), with a secondary code of EUABACAF, Remote Sensing & Geospatial MRV (Satellite, Aerial, LiDAR, SAR). Its NAICS code is 541360 and its SIC code is 3812.