Air quality services support trial interventions to aid the move to electric vehicles in India

EarthSense have announced details of its latest air quality project, Innovation for Clean Air (IfCA), supporting India’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

Using MappAir® technology, EarthSense is building a detailed model of air pollution for Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore, India.

Electric Lithium Cabs bus candidate in Bengaluru to be fitted with the Zephyr® air quality sensor

The model will identify the change in ambient air quality for the first 12 months of the two-year project to enable stakeholders to assess several pollution-lowering initiatives to integrate EVs into public transport services.

Contracted by the Satellite Applications Catapult, EarthSense will also deploy its mobile Zephyr® air quality sensors into new electric buses. These Zephyr® sensors will provide continuous measurements and collate air quality data in real-time around the city.

Commenting on the project, Head of Modelling at EarthSense, Dr. Antoine Jeanjean said: “By incorporating the latest satellite, weather, traffic and reference data, as well as integrating our Zephyr® data, we are able to build a highly detailed real-time model of air pollution – the first step in understanding Bengaluru’s air quality. We can then use the MappAir® model to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions over time.”

Managing Director at EarthSense, Thomas Hall, commented: “India is home to over one billion people and is one of the world’s most polluted countries. We are taking a holistic approach, using our sensor technology paired with our modelling expertise, to help transform public transport and reduce air pollution in India.”

The IfCA project partners includes a network of catapults in the UK including the Satellite Applications Catapult, Energy Systems and Connected Places Catapults as well as several local partners and stakeholders in India including Enzen, Government of Karnataka and Lithium Cabs. 

Commenting on the partnership, Head of Health and Wellbeing at the Satellite Applications Catapult, John Vesey said: “This project is looking to create partnerships and opportunities to collaborate between Indian and UK organisations. As a spin out from one of our Regional Centres of Excellence it is great to be partnering with EarthSense and utilising their expertise in embedding satellite data to tackle the societal challenge of air quality faced by Indian and UK cities alike.”