Winners of the AIRLAB Microsensors Challenge 2023 to measure air quality consolidate themselves on the global air quality monitoring market

Bettair has been awarded for being the manufacturer of the most accurate multi-pollutant sensor for outdoor environments, at the recent AIRLAB Microsensors Challenge 2023, following an independent evaluation where many technologies measuring air quality were compared.

At the recent AIRLAB Microsensors Challenge 2023, Bettair retained its rating for providing the most accurate outdoor sensor system, without the need for recalibration. Bettair’s compact instruments, which are renowned worldwide for their accuracy, as well as being extremely reliable and robust, passed all the logistical and operational tests of the challenge.

Bettair distinguished themselves in the various tests set by AIRLAB, by providing a very high level of data quality without any human intervention needed to adjust the data. This award is a testament to the growing demand in the environmental sector for autonomous and self-sufficient measurement systems that guarantee maximum return on investment.

The award, which was presented during the closing ceremony of this benchmark competition in the air quality sector in Bangkok and Paris simultaneously, reflects the concern for air quality as one of the main challenges facing cities. The authorities and the public need detailed and personalised information on local air pollution levels, as a basis for understanding and acting to improve its quality. 

“I want to share the award with the team. Our achievements at the AIRLAB Challenge reflect our dedication to quality and innovation”, says Josep Perello, CEO and co-founder of Bettair, with a special mention to the work and involvement of the CTO, Leonardo Santiago and CSO, Francisco Ramírez.

Josep Perello added,  “Bettair is at the forefront of the integration of Machine Learning in Environmental Management thanks to its Data Science team. This innovative approach allows us to deliver solutions that significantly improve ease of use and reduce total cost of operation, while maintaining the highest standards of performance and reliability, without the need for recalibration and human intervention”.

Given that outdoor air pollution causes 4.2 million premature deaths globally per year according to the World Health Organization (WHO), reliable data on air quality is critical to environmental policy and health. Given this scenario and thanks to the growing development of microsensor technology, the independent regional air quality observatory for the Paris Airparif metropolitan region, and its open innovation laboratory AIRLAB, have decided to organise the AIRLAB Microsensors Challenge periodically.

This event aims to provide a comprehensive and independent evaluation of the performance of microsensors, through a panel of international experts, under real conditions of use. Since 2018, it has evaluated 164 devices over four separate events, guiding users in selecting the best sensors and fostering innovation in this field.

For the first time, the tests were carried out in both France and Thailand to help better understand the impact of weather conditions, and the different levels and sources of pollution, on the performance of microsensors. As there was no preceding data for Thailand, this challenge was also an important exercise in setting benchmarks for Thai air quality readings. Under these circumstances, Bettair’s nodes proved to be accurate, as well as very reliable and robust in providing excellent quality data delivery. The award panel also took into account how Bettair’s extremely compact device was capable of measuring a multitude of pollution parameters, including noise levels.

One of the key highlights of Bettair’s technology is its ability to obtain accurate measurements without the need for constant calibration or any reliance on data from external sources. This independent and autonomous approach ensures the reliability and accuracy of the measurement, even in locations where there is no established infrastructure to measure air quality. As a result, Bettair achieved outstanding results in the main category: Most accurate multi-pollutant sensor system.

Bettair also received an award for best overall performance in ozone monitoring, maintaining its leadership for ozone pollution since 2021. Bettair also achieved commendable results in both Thailand and France: the highest score in its class for CO and NO measurement and joint highest score for PM2.5.

According to the jury, “the Bettair static node provides excellent performance for O3, being the leader of this contaminant in the previous and current edition of the challenge. Its performance was consistent in the two outdoor static deployments, varying from very good to excellent for particulate material measurements and average for NO2. By having reduced maintenance and offering a diverse list of specific contaminants, it scores very well on the utility-scale for monitoring applications."

Along with celebrating these prestigious accolades, Bettair has also announced its strategic partnership with dnota, a collaboration forged to drive business growth. This strategic alliance positions both companies as key players in the air quality sector. Drawing on its more than 40 years of experience in the conventional air quality sector, dnota has created a global network of distributors, ensuring Bettair’s presence in more than 40 countries and consolidating its role as a major contributor to the air quality market.