National Centre For Atmospheric Science

What National Centre For Atmospheric Science does

The National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) is a UK non-profit national research centre established in 2002 to coordinate atmospheric science for the United Kingdom, funded primarily by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and operating as a collaboration between NERC and a consortium of UK universities led by the University of Leeds. The organisation employs 270 staff embedded across 13 universities and research institutes, with headquarters in Leeds, and operates a distributed national capability under a single Management Board. Its core product portfolio comprises four national facilities: the FAAM Airborne Laboratory (the only UK-owned atmospheric research aircraft, based at Cranfield), the Atmospheric Measurement and Observation Facility (AMOF, ground-based measurements including Team X radar and BT Tower observatory), the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA, environmental data archives and the JASMIN computing cluster), and Computational Modelling Services (CMS, climate, weather and earth-system simulations). These facilities underpin five interlinked science programmes — Climate and Global Change, Weather Science, Air Pollution, Digital Atmosphere, and Scientific Training — addressing atmospheric processes, extreme-weather prediction, air-pollution impacts and net-zero transition challenges. NCAS's business model is grant-funded rather than commercial: approximately £18 million of annual revenue is provided directly by NERC under a Strategic Relationship Agreement to deliver national capability, with an additional £15 million sourced annually from government departments, other research councils and commercial organisations. Services are delivered at no direct charge to the UK research community, government and industry partners through direct facility access, training programmes and advisory relationships. The organisation plays a formal role in international assessments (notably IPCC) and operates as part of the UK National Climate Science Partnership alongside the Met Office.

Name

National Centre For Atmospheric Science

Legal name

National Centre for Atmospheric Science

Website

https://ncas.ac.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Short description

NCAS is a UK non-profit national atmospheric science research centre, established in 2002 and funded primarily by NERC. It operates across 13 universities with 270 staff, delivering atmospheric measurement facilities, data archives, climate modelling and airborne research to UK government, academia and industry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Atmospheric Research Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (Criteria Pollutants & Air Toxics) (EUAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Remote Sensing & Geospatial MRV (Satellite, Aerial, LiDAR, SAR) (EUABACAF), GHG Monitoring Plans & Sampling Design (Field Protocols, QA/QC) (EUABACAE)

Keywords

• Atmospheric research
• Climate science
• Environmental data analysis
• Weather forecasting
• Atmospheric measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. NERC Core Funding: Annual direct funding of £18 million from the Natural Environment Research Council to deliver national capability in atmospheric science, supporting fundamental research, large-scale research services, and government advisory services.
2. External Partnership Funding: Additional £15 million annually from government, research councils, and commercial organisations for research and consultancy services in atmospheric science.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

NCAS is a UK national research centre that conducts atmospheric research and operates specialised research facilities including the FAAM Airborne Laboratory (atmospheric research aircraft), the Atmospheric Measurement and Observation Facility (AMOF), the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA), and Computational Modelling Services (CMS). It provides scientific expertise, long-term environmental data archives, next-generation Earth System modelling, and doctoral/scientific training to support climate change resilience, clean air solutions, and early-warning systems for high-risk weather.

Product overview

NCAS is a UK national research centre (not a commercial software product) offering an integrated suite of atmospheric science research facilities, services, and science programmes. Its core product portfolio consists of four principal service lines: the Atmospheric Measurement and Observation Facility (AMOF) for ground-based atmospheric measurements, the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) for data archival and analysis, Computational Modelling Services (CMS) for climate and weather simulations, and the FAAM Airborne Laboratory for airborne atmospheric research. These service facilities are underpinned by five interlinked science programmes — Climate and Global Change, Weather Science, Air Pollution, Digital Atmosphere, and Scientific Training — that harness expertise to address atmospheric challenges. Supporting tools include NCAS-branded Google Slides presentation templates and an NCAS Learning Management System (TalentLMS) for staff training. Together these form a distributed national capability rather than a unified commercial software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FAAM Airborne Laboratory: The Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) provides a specially adapted aircraft equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation for atmospheric research.
• Atmospheric Measurement and Observation Facility (AMOF)
• Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA)
• Computational Modelling Services (CMS)

Products and services

• FAAM Airborne Laboratory A specially adapted aircraft equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation for atmospheric research, enabling unprecedented observations of the chemical composition of the atmosphere during field campaigns including radicals, organic compounds, and extremely low concentration measurements at pristine and remote locations. Provided to UK and international research users.
• Atmospheric Measurement and Observation Facility (AMOF) A UK research facility enabling advanced measurements of the atmosphere through ground-based observational capabilities, mobile and fixed-site observing facilities, and bespoke measurement solutions operated by NCAS scientists. Used by the UK and international atmospheric research community.
• Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) Provides data storage, archival, and analysis capabilities for the environmental research community. CEDA supports the management of large environmental datasets generated by simulations and instrumentation, offering extensive data archives and innovative technologies for data access, interpretation and visualisation.
• Computational Modelling Services (CMS) Supports computer simulations for climate, weather, and earth-system research through access to high-performance computing and next-generation modelling software, including next generation Earth System and high-resolution atmosphere and ocean models. Used by UK researchers and partner organisations.
• Scientific Training Programme Research-led courses and doctoral training in atmospheric science delivered by NCAS experts, covering radar remote sensing, aerosol science, atmospheric science, computational models, climate modelling, and data science techniques. Provided to academia and industry across the UK.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20 years of continuous atmospheric observations and climate data records
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• National Research Organisations GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 July 2026NCAS is a proud founding member of this group bringing together NCAS and more than 40 national research organisations.
• UK Met OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey national partnership for weather prediction and climate science collaboration. NCAS works with the Met Office on joint research activities addressing global challenges and is part of the UK National Climate Science Partnership.
• European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration on medium-range weather forecasting research and development.
• World Health Organisation (WHO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on health impacts of air pollution and atmospheric conditions, working across disciplines to understand effects on human health.
• US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose ties especially in climate modelling, with ongoing collaborative research programmes.
• Integrated Carbon Observing SystemmajorTechnology or IntegrationParticipation in global monitoring network for carbon observations, contributing to international climate understanding.
• Global Atmospheric Watch programmemajorTechnology or IntegrationParticipation in global atmospheric monitoring network, driving innovation in observations and data standards.
• UK National Climate Science PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture between NERC research centres and the Met Office, providing national leadership in climate science.
• Environment AgencymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for environmental monitoring and advisory services in the UK.
• World Climate Research ProgrammemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading role in international research programmes addressing climate science challenges.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributing to international climate assessments that inform the Paris Agreement and global climate policy.
• Coupled Model Intercomparison ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributing to and shaping the direction of international climate model comparison exercises.
• Total (oil company)minorOthersEmissions monitoring consultancy services provided to Total oil company.
• University of LeedscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead University for NCAS Collaborative Research Agreement. Currently the formal lead institution for the NCAS Research Consortium.
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organisation within NCAS Research Consortium, particularly through Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, contributing to computational modelling and data services.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• UK Met Office: UK's national meteorological service and primary operational weather and climate prediction body. NCAS has formal partnership with the Met Office under the UK National Climate Science Partnership and operates as its research counterpart.
• NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory: US federal climate modelling laboratory within NOAA, developing Earth system models used in IPCC assessments. Comparable in its national capability mandate for atmospheric modelling and contributing to international climate science.
• Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD): German national meteorological service combining operational forecasting with research activities. Comparable as a public-sector atmospheric science organisation with both service and research mandates.

Direct peers

• Max Planck Institute for Meteorology: German research institute conducting Earth system modelling and climate research, contributing to IPCC assessments. Comparable in scale and mission to NCAS as a national atmospheric science research centre in Europe.
• European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF): Intergovernmental organisation producing global numerical weather predictions and climate reanalysis. NCAS lists ECMWF as a core strategic partner for medium-range forecasting research and development.
• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH): Sister NERC research centre also operating under a Strategic Relationship Agreement with similar funding scale and consortium structure. Comparable as a UK NERC national research centre with distributed model and similar governance framework.
• US National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR/NCAR): US federally funded atmospheric research centre operating Earth system models, observational facilities, and supercomputing. NCAS documents close ties especially in climate modelling and joint research programmes, making NCAR the closest functional peer.

Regional players

• CNRS-INSU (Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers): French national institute coordinating universe and Earth system sciences research including atmospheric science. Operates observational platforms and modelling infrastructure comparable to NCAS's distributed model.
• CSIRO Climate Science Centre: Australian national science agency climate research arm, conducting atmospheric and climate research with observational infrastructure. Comparable as a publicly funded atmospheric science research centre in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon: German Helmholtz Association centre focused on coastal and climate research with atmospheric measurement infrastructure. Comparable as a publicly funded atmospheric/climate research facility in continental Europe.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AtmosScience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-centre-for-atmospheric-science
• Instagraminstagram.com/ncas.uk
• Xx.com/AtmosScience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Centre For Atmospheric Science