A company which uses new tech to monitor air quality in towns and cities has become the latest tenant at the new £100 million Space Park Leicester.
EarthSense has moved into the University of Leicester-backed research and innovation space after what it called a period of significant growth.
The business - which was a spin-out from the university - created the first ever high-resolution nationwide map of air pollution using modelling based on data from emission estimates, satellites, its own air quality sensors and recorded data.
It said it had seen 60 per cent year-on-year growth and the team was now 26-strong, leading to it take a whole floor at the recently opened Space Park on the northern edge of the city.
Air pollution has been one of the key issues at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Space Park Leicester provides a shared space for academics, researchers and industry to carry out potentially world-leading work to support the city’s fast-growing space sector.
As well as giving the EarthSense team more room to work the relocation will also allow them to collaborate with others based there.
The business first began trading in 2016 following 15 years of research at the University of Leicester.
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The university has led the development of the space park with Leicester City Council and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.
Services provided by EarthSense help organisations such as councils, transport companies and construction companies address local and nationwide pollution issues.
Its Zephyr air quality monitor provides real-time measurements of harmful gases and particulates in the air. Data is sent to EarthSense’s MyAir web application where it can be viewed, analysed and downloaded to understand sources of air pollution as well as patterns and trends.
EarthSense has also developed MappAir, a cloud-based air quality model which provides visualisations of how air pollution behaves and flows around buildings and urban canyons on a city, national, and global level.
The model provides historic air quality data and up to three-day forecasts, allowing for planning around days which are likely to see elevated pollution.
Its subscription-based monitoring services received the royal seal of approval in April 2021 after being awarded an Innovation Award by the Queens Award for Enterprise 2021.
Managing director Tom Hall said: “We have enjoyed continued growth during a challenging time.
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“To enable us to expand we are becoming part of the Space Park Leicester community where we will not only benefit from the increased space, but also the opportunity to collaborate with other like-minded companies and academics from the university.
“The new office will give us space to further expand the EarthSense team by recruiting new talented individuals, so that we can respond to developments within the air quality market by further improving our technologies and services.”
Professor Sarah Davies, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of College for Science and Engineering at the University of Leicester, said: “As a university, we are proud of EarthSense and what the team has gone on to achieve and are delighted that it has chosen Space Park Leicester as the base for its expansion plans.
“We look forward to welcoming the EarthSense team as one of our first co-location partners.”