SkyTEM Surveys

What SkyTEM Surveys does

SkyTEM Surveys ApS is a Denmark-based geophysical solutions company founded in 2004 as a spin-out from Aarhus University. It designs, manufactures and operates airborne transient electromagnetic (TEM) survey systems used to map subsurface electrical conductivity from the near surface down to verified depths of 700 meters. The firm serves enterprise and government clients — primarily water utilities, national geological surveys, and mining/exploration companies — on a project basis for groundwater characterization, mineral exploration, and geotechnical site investigations.

The technology stack comprises five proprietary helicopter- and drone-borne TEM platforms — SkyTEM304 (200 m), SkyTEM312/FAST (500 m), SkyTEM306HP (500 m), SkyTEM312HP (700 m), and SkyTEM Diamond (1 m to 150 m, helicopter- or drone-mountable). All systems are built around the patented Diamond carbon-fiber frame that maintains exact transmitter-receiver geometry in flight and leverage multi-moment capture to deliver calibrated, inversion-ready data correlated with borehole datasets. End-to-end service includes survey design, acquisition, processing, inversion and 3D subsurface modelling.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services contracts — multi-year in the case of major government clients — priced per survey (scope, depth, platform, geography). SkyTEM operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, South Africa and Australia, supported by headquarters in Aarhus, a 51-100 employee global team, ISO 45001-certified safety operations, and a Børsen Gazelle 2024 / Danish Industry Business Oscars recognized trajectory.

Name

SkyTEM Surveys

Legal name

SkyTEM Surveys ApS

Website

https://skytem.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SkyTEM Surveys is a Danish geophysical firm that designs and operates proprietary helicopter- and drone-borne airborne electromagnetic (TEM) systems for high-resolution subsurface mapping in groundwater, mineral exploration, and geotechnical applications, serving government and enterprise clients globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Airborne Geophysical Survey Services

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Autonomous Flight Control & Guidance Systems (UAS/Urban Air Mobility) (IMABAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Radar Systems & Subsystems (Airborne, Ground, Naval) (IMABAGAA)

Keywords

• Airborne electromagnetic surveys
• Groundwater mapping services
• Mineral exploration surveys
• Geophysical survey services
• Subsurface mapping systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Aarhus

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Airborne Electromagnetic Survey Services: SkyTEM provides project-based airborne geophysical surveying services using proprietary helicopter and drone-based TEM systems. Clients engage SkyTEM for specific survey projects covering groundwater mapping, mineral exploration, or geotechnical investigations. Revenue is generated through survey contracts with governments, water companies, mining companies, and research institutions worldwide. Projects vary in scale from regional surveys (thousands of line kilometers) to national-scale mapping initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SkyTEM develops and manufactures proprietary helicopter and drone-based Time-Domain Electromagnetic (TEM) systems and operates them to deliver airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey services for groundwater mapping, mineral exploration, and geotechnical characterization worldwide. The company designs, builds, and calibrates all systems in-house and provides end-to-end data acquisition, processing, inversion, and 3D subsurface modeling for governments, water utilities, mining companies, and research institutions.

Product overview

SkyTEM offers a portfolio of five specialized airborne transient electromagnetic (TEM) systems for subsurface mapping: SkyTEM304 (200m depth), SkyTEM312/FAST (500m), SkyTEM306HP (500m), SkyTEM312HP (700m), and SkyTEM Diamond (150m). These helicopter and drone-mounted systems deliver calibrated electromagnetic survey data for groundwater management, mineral exploration, and geotechnical applications. The patented SkyTEM Diamond frame technology is the foundation of all systems, featuring carbon-fiber construction with exact transmitter-receiver geometry. The company also provides end-to-end survey services including data acquisition, processing, inversion, and 3D subsurface modeling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SkyTEM304

Quantifiable outcome

• Cover large regions quickly without ground disturbance, providing continuous picture of aquifer systems that would otherwise require years of investigation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• ARGASflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2025Three-year lease agreement for SkyTEM's state-of-the-art airborne electromagnetic system deployment in Saudi Arabia. Partnership includes knowledge transfer with local teams and technology know-how sharing. ARGAS is the oldest geoscience data acquisition company in the world with deep-rooted presence in the Middle East. The collaboration aims to provide comprehensive subsurface knowledge supporting informed decision-making across groundwater management, mineral exploration, environmental assessments, and geotechnical projects in Saudi Arabia.
• EMergocoreTechnology or IntegrationEMergo from Italy handles advanced processing and inversion of ultra-high-resolution geophysical data for the FRESHEM-NL project. Ensures data is interpreted with highest level of accuracy for effective groundwater management.
• TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in FRESHEM-NL project consortium working with Dutch provinces, water boards, and drinking water companies to map fresh groundwater reserves across the Netherlands. TNO- Geological Survey of the Netherlands contributes to understanding groundwater salinity and geological mapping.
• DeltarescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in FRESHEM-NL project consortium. Independent Dutch institute specializing in applied research for water, subsurface, and infrastructure. Contributes expertise in understanding groundwater flow, clay layer locations, and sustainable water management.
• EMerald GeomodellingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration in AGAVE Project (AI-based Geo-models from UAV Geoscanning). EMerald contributes technological prowess in drone-based geoscanning systems and 3D geomodelling. Partner leading the transition of drone-generated data technology to commercialization with new products and interpretation workflows.
• SDU (University of Southern Denmark)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in AGAVE Project contributing research expertise in geophysics and geotechnical engineering. Led successful approval for Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) for drone operations in Europe. Contributed to winter flight tests in Denmark validating drone system data quality.
• NGI (Norwegian Geotechnical Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in AGAVE Project contributing geotechnical research expertise. Conducted geotechnical assessments in Norway validating drone-based system performance. Testing confirmed improved resolution and accuracy from smaller systems, lower flight altitudes, and new machine learning workflows.
• Innovation Fund DenmarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding provider for ReDoCO2 project focused on CO2 reduction and sustainable land management through advanced sensor technology and geophysical mapping solutions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sander Geophysics: Sander Geophysics is one of the largest independent airborne geophysical survey companies in the world, operating fixed-wing and helicopter magnetic, electromagnetic, and radiometric surveys globally. It directly competes with SkyTEM in AEM and mineral exploration survey contracts for mining companies and governments.
• New Resolution Geophysics (NRG): NRG is a South African airborne geophysical survey company specializing in helicopter-borne EM, magnetic, and radiometric surveys for mining exploration across Africa. It is a direct peer to SkyTEM in the African and global mineral exploration AEM market.
• Geotech Airborne Geophysical Surveys: Geotech is a Canadian provider of helicopter-borne airborne geophysical surveys (VTEM, ZTEM, AeroTEM) for mineral exploration globally. Its VTEM system is a direct technical competitor to SkyTEM's helicopter TEM systems for deep mineral exploration.
• Sky Research Ltd: Sky Research provides airborne electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical surveys for environmental, geothermal, and mineral exploration applications globally. Its service-only AEM offering and target markets overlap directly with SkyTEM's water, mineral, and geotechnical segments.

Emerging players

• XP Geophysics: XP Geophysics is an emerging provider of airborne and ground EM/magnetic surveys with a focus on mineral exploration and ground engineering applications. It competes for similar helicopter EM survey contracts and represents a smaller-scale emerging player in adjacent workflows.
• Phoenix Geophysics: Phoenix Geophysics manufactures and operates land-based and airborne time-domain EM systems (including the airborne GEOTEM family), competing in mineral exploration EM surveys. It is comparable as an EM-focused survey technology provider, though predominantly ground-based, overlapping with SkyTEM in mineral exploration workflows.
• EMerald Geomodelling: EMerald Geomodelling is a Danish drone-based geoscanning and 3D geomodelling startup collaborating with SkyTEM in the AGAVE Project. It is an emerging player in the same drone-based AEM/3D modelling space, with technology overlap in airborne TEM and AI-based inversion workflows.

Broad incumbents

• CGG (Viridien): Viridien (formerly CGG) is a global geoscience heavyweight offering airborne, marine, and land-based geophysical acquisition and data services, including multi-physics surveys relevant to mining and environmental applications. It is a broad incumbent competing for large mineral and groundwater survey contracts that overlap with SkyTEM's market.
• TGS: TGS is a global energy and minerals data and intelligence company that has expanded into multi-client subsurface data libraries and active acquisition campaigns. Its growing minerals and subsurface data business overlaps with SkyTEM's geophysical survey services for resource exploration.
• Fugro: Fugro is a global geotechnical and survey services company offering airborne geophysical, site characterization, and asset integrity services. Overlap with SkyTEM in mineral exploration and geotechnical subsurface mapping for large enterprise and government clients makes it a broad incumbent peer with a much wider portfolio.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWrLar7gwe1bGpCVPEfw0kg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/skytem
• Xx.com/SkyTEMsurveys
• Facebookfacebook.com/SkyTEMsurveys

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries3 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 SkyTEM Surveys