For the team at Fregata Space, satellite imagery is all they need to determine pollution levels in Earth’s waters. Founded in Barcelona in September 2020, the company has developed a proprietary algorithm that detects the presence of hydrocarbons, plastics, cyanobacteria and other microbes in oceans and seas. This is Fregata Space’s award-winning idea that has gradually become the company’s primary business model.
Fregata Space was founded by María Fernanda González, who studied physics in her native Colombia and received a master’s degree in numerical methods and a PhD in quantum physics in Spain. Gonzalez started his career as a consultant analyzing large amounts of data for large clients in the telecommunications, energy and health sectors. In early 2010, she founded her Moca Platform, the first startup focused on data analytics, and her second, Innoquant shortly after. The company can study urban mobility based on cell phone data and make recommendations accordingly. to the user’s location. Her scientific knowledge helped generate businesses for both startups. But Gonzales wanted more than that. “She wanted the company to have a social purpose as well,” she explains. A nature lover, she decided to launch Fregata Space to “contribute to ensuring a healthier ecosystem”.
The company has created an algorithm that can interpret satellite imagery. These photos are provided by public agencies such as the European Space Agency and NASA, as well as private companies. Her team developed a system that analyzes image wavelengths and translates them into contamination levels. In this way, it is possible to know, for example, whether there is a slick from an oil spill, the level of plastic in a particular area, or even the presence of dissolved organic matter, which in high concentrations can have a health impact. planet water.
The research team will use artificial intelligence to measure factors to learn important information, such as whether harmful algae are booming in the Mediterranean Sea. Fregata Space’s clients can see the data through the platform, which can be accessed by subscription. The company works with ports, which pay based on their size and the pollutants they want to monitor. Thanks to this monitoring program, users can access historical information, make forecasts, see real-time indicators, set alarms and track pollution anywhere in the world.
Nearly 20 organizations have awarded the company awards and offered financial assistance. In 2021, Fregata Space has been selected for her PortXL acceleration program in the Netherlands to study pollutants in the port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port. “This was an intensive experience that helped us understand how the European port system works,” says Gonzalez.
Fregata Space’s team consists of 10 experts in fields such as astrophysics, mathematics, computer engineering, oceanography and biology. The company had sales of €100,000 last year and is expected to make nearly €500,000 this year. And we have already started a new challenge. “The port sector is doing very well, but we want to analyze other markets to scale up and grow faster,” says Gonzalez.
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