What HALO Photonics does

HALO Photonics designs, manufactures, and supplies pulsed coherent Doppler wind LiDAR systems used for atmospheric remote sensing. Founded in the UK in 2005 by Guy Pearson and Justin Eacock, the company builds hardware based on coherent fiber-optic technology operating at a 1.5 μm eye-safe (Class 1M) wavelength, delivering autonomous, low-power (130–150 W) wind profiling with high range resolution (down to 3 m via gate-overlapping) and reach up to 12–15 km. Its product portfolio comprises the BEAM 6X series (compact six-beam wind profilers for MET mast replacement and wind sciences, with the BEAM6x WindPower variant IEC61400-50-2 classified by DNV), the StreamLine VS+ vertical profiler, and the StreamLine Allsky series of hemispherical scanning LiDARs. Notable technical features include an all-sky scanner with 360° azimuth slip-ring, gate-overlapping acquisition, and master-controller network synchronization enabling multi-LiDAR dual/triple Doppler operation.

The company sells primarily into wind energy (site prospection, power performance verification, wake analysis, IEC-compliant resource assessment), national meteorological services, aviation safety (wind shear and wake vortex monitoring), environmental and climate monitoring (volcanic ash, wildfire smoke, pollution dispersion), and university and government atmospheric research. Sales follow a high-touch enterprise field motion with technical consultation and customization, supplemented by presence at wind-energy and meteorological conferences and a body of peer-reviewed publications that function as scientific marketing. More than 300 long-range systems have been deployed in remote and harsh environments worldwide and the products are distributed in 30+ countries.

Since December 2019 HALO Photonics has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lumibird SA, a French public limited company (Société Anonyme) headquartered in Lannion, France. The Lumibird acquisition provided increased manufacturing capacity, access to world-class photonics technology, and a worldwide customer-service infrastructure; HALO now operates locations in France and the United States under the 'HALO Photonics by LUMIBIRD' brand. In December 2024 Lumibird announced two product releases for the wind energy market — the BEAM6x WindPower and the StreamLine Allsky LR (up to 11.5 km) — signaling continued investment in the wind LiDAR product line.

Name

HALO Photonics

Legal name

LUMIBIRD SA

Website

https://halo-photonics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

HALO Photonics designs and manufactures coherent Doppler wind LiDAR systems for atmospheric remote sensing, serving wind energy operators, national meteorological agencies, aviation authorities, and atmospheric research institutions across more than 30 countries as a subsidiary of Lumibird SA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Atmospheric Remote Sensing LiDAR Systems

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Wind Resource Assessment & Energy Yield Analytics (Met Masts, LiDAR, Modeling) (EUAMACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

LiDAR & 3D Sensing Modules (HDAHALAG), Satellite/Aerial/Remote Sensing MRV (Methane plumes, land-use change) (EUAHADAL)

Keywords

• Coherent doppler lidar
• Wind profiling lidar
• Atmospheric remote sensing
• Wind energy metrology
• Meteorological lidar systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Lannion

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Doppler LiDAR hardware sales: HALO Photonics generates revenue primarily from manufacturing and selling coherent wind LiDAR systems. Products include the BEAM 6x series (for wind energy MET mast replacement and wind sciences), StreamLine vertical profiler series, and StreamLine Allsky scanning LiDAR series. These are turn-key autonomous instruments sold to wind energy operators, meteorological agencies, research institutions, and aviation authorities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

HALO Photonics designs, manufactures, and supplies pulsed coherent Doppler LiDAR instruments for atmospheric remote sensing. Its portfolio includes the BEAM6x WindPower and BEAM6x Wind Sciences multi-beam fixed LiDARs, the StreamLine VS+ vertically profiling LiDAR, and the StreamLine Allsky series of scanner-based LiDARs, all of which measure wind speed, wind direction, and atmospheric parameters for wind energy, meteorological, aviation safety, and research customers worldwide.

Product overview

HALO Photonics offers a portfolio of pulsed coherent Doppler wind LiDAR systems for atmospheric remote sensing. The product line includes the BEAM 6X series (compact wind profilers for MET mast replacement and wind sciences research), the StreamLine VS+ vertical profiler for boundary layer and low-level wind profiling, and the StreamLine Allsky series for all-sky scanning applications. All systems are designed for autonomous operation in harsh and remote environments with low power consumption and minimal maintenance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BEAM 6X series: Doppler LiDAR systems for MET mast replacement applications with no moving parts, providing high-resolution wind profiles over a 500m range.
• StreamLine vertical profiler series
• StreamLine Scanning LiDAR series

Products and services

• BEAM6x WindPower Compact, six-beam coherent Doppler LiDAR designed for wind energy applications, providing three-dimensional wind profiling for wind resource assessment, turbine power performance verification, and wake studies. It uses fixed multi-beam geometry and is intended as a self-contained, easily deployable wind measurement instrument for wind farm operators and developers.
• BEAM6x Wind Sciences Six-beam fixed coherent Doppler LiDAR configured for scientific and research applications, offering simultaneous multi-beam wind profiling and networked LiDAR synchronization across multiple instruments. It is targeted at universities, atmospheric research institutes, and meteorological agencies conducting 3D wind field studies.
• StreamLine VS+ Vertical profiling coherent Doppler LiDAR using a rotating prism scanner to deliver conical field-of-regard (FOR) wind profiling and velocity-azimuth display (VAD) scans. It is engineered for boundary-layer wind measurement, wind energy site assessment, and operational meteorological use.
• StreamLine Allsky Series Family of coherent Doppler LiDAR systems featuring a patented scanner-less all-sky pointing system for flexible scanning of wind and aerosol backscatter in any direction. The series covers multiple variants including a long-range (LR) configuration, supporting applications such as meteorology, aviation safety, atmospheric research, and environmental monitoring.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ systems installed globally in remote and harsh environments
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lumibird GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2019HALO Photonics was acquired by the Lumibird group at the end of December 2019. The acquisition aimed to utilize Lumibird's manufacturing and photonics experience combined with HALO's leading wind LiDAR products to expand markets, increase customer service and application support capacity, and develop further HALO's best-in-class product range. Lumibird is a public company (LUMIBIRD SA) headquartered in Lannion, France, with €22.4M+ share capital.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Leosphere (Vaisala): Leosphere was the original French pioneer of coherent wind LiDAR and is now part of Vaisala following its 2018 acquisition. It is the closest direct competitor to HALO Photonics, offering the WindCube line of pulsed Doppler wind LiDAR systems for wind resource assessment, meteorology, and aviation applications, and competes head-to-head for the same wind energy and met agency customers.
• ZX Lidars: UK-based specialist manufacturer of continuous-wave and pulsed coherent Doppler wind LiDAR systems, founded out of the University of Manchester. Directly comparable to HALO in technology approach (coherent detection, eye-safe fiber laser) and target markets (wind energy, research, aviation), and a regular head-to-head bidder for IEC-class wind measurement tenders.
• METEK (formerly GWU-Group): German manufacturer of atmospheric remote sensing instruments including ultrasonic anemometers and Doppler wind LiDAR systems (via the former GWU-Group). Competes with HALO in the European wind energy measurement market, offering both LiDAR and complementary in-situ sensors for wind resource assessment campaigns.
• NRG Systems: US-based supplier of wind measurement equipment including meteorological masts, sonic anemometers, and (through partnerships and acquisitions) wind LiDAR systems. Targets the same wind resource assessment and met mast replacement use cases as HALO, with stronger presence in the North American wind energy market.
• Ammonit Measurement: German supplier of wind measurement data acquisition systems, sensors, and turnkey wind resource assessment campaigns. While primarily an integrator and sensor distributor rather than a LiDAR OEM, it competes with HALO at the project level by offering competitor LiDAR products (ZX, METEK) bundled with dataloggers, masts, and field services.

Broad incumbents

• Vaisala: Finnish public company (€500M+ revenue) and global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements. Through its ownership of Leosphere, Vaisala competes directly with HALO in wind LiDAR while also offering a much broader portfolio (ceilometers, weather stations, road weather, aviation systems), giving it cross-sell leverage and scale advantages no specialist can match.

Emerging players

• Windar Photonics: Danish-listed company developing nacelle-mounted and turbine-based LiDAR systems for wind turbine control and power performance optimization. A more niche, emerging competitor focused on in-turbine applications rather than ground-based wind resource assessment, but increasingly relevant as turbine OEMs look to integrate LiDAR-based feed-forward control.

Others

• SgurrEnergy (DNV): Wind energy consultancy now operating within DNV (which also performs HALO's IEC classification). Not a product competitor, but a key ecosystem participant as the leading independent wind resource assessment and bankability advisor; influences which LiDAR brands get specified on utility-scale wind projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/halo-photonics-by-lumibird

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HALO Photonics