OHB Venture Capital

Deriving insights from uncommon data streams

Alternative Data

Constellr is a German deep-tech startup spun out of the Fraunhofer Institute, Europe's largest organization for applied science. The company operates at the interface of Earth observation and agriculture, dedicated to supporting global food security amidst climate change. Constellr offers precise and plot-level water monitoring for the agricultural sector worldwide through a proprietary space infrastructure with unique sensing capabilities.
Constellr's mission is to enable efficient water use for every field on the planet by providing a scalable, commercial water monitoring service for smart agriculture. The company's patented space-based technology employs microsatellites to measure the Earth's surface temperature and chemical composition. This data allows for the derivation of crop water need and water availability globally on a daily basis, identifying changes in crop health days to weeks before visible signs appear.
Unlike existing satellites limited to visual imaging, Constellr's microsatellites leverage beyond-visual sensing, including thermal infrared and hyperspectral imaging. This advanced monitoring system can detect stress symptoms before crops are damaged, enabling farmers to take early mitigative actions such as targeted irrigation. Constellr's technology optimizes water consumption, reduces crop loss risk, and drives sustainable resource management across agri-food supply chains.
In February 2022, Constellr successfully launched its first thermal infrared payload, LisR, onto the International Space Station as a precursor to its full constellation planned for late 2023. The company has also acquired Belgian hyperspectral firm ScanWorld to augment its data fusion capabilities, unlocking a range of use cases from irrigation optimization to soil organic carbon assessment.
Constellr anticipates generating billions of Euros in gross benefits for farmers within five years while helping save 60 billion tons of water (about 40%) and avoiding 14 megatons of CO2 emissions. The startup is currently working with major agri-food, agrichemistry, and smart irrigation organizations.

Using autonomous, green, IoT, and digital technologies to shape the future of ocean-based transportation

Shipping Tech

Searoutes is a logistics software company founded in 2019 in Marseille, France. The company has developed a proprietary eco-calculator and SaaS platform that leverages extensive datasets, including historical ship positions, satellite data, engine specifications, schedule information, and weather data, to compute the carbon footprint of freight transportation. This enables shippers to make more informed sourcing decisions and reduce their carbon emissions.
Searoutes' technology provides shippers with visibility into their CO2 emissions, allowing them to incorporate environmental impact as a variable alongside price, transit time, and freight mode when selecting logistics service providers. Shippers can choose greener transportation modes, ports of loading or discharge, or incorporate CO2 emissions into reporting templates. The platform also helps identify opportunities to reduce emissions, such as opting for newer, larger, and slower fleets or optimizing door-to-door routes by combining appropriate ports and modes of transport.
Searoutes aims to become the standard in greenhouse gas (GHG) data reporting for the logistics industry. Its methodology is accredited by the Smart Freight Centre (SFC) to provide GHG emissions calculations for freight and logistics operations, conforming to the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) Framework. As of January 2022, Searoutes served over 60 key accounts across various sectors.

Technology for a regenerative future in agriculture

Regenerative Agriculture Platforms

Constellr is a German deep-tech startup founded in 2020 that operates at the intersection of Earth observation and agriculture. The company is developing a satellite-based system to provide high-precision global water monitoring for the agricultural sector. Constellr's technology utilizes thermal infrared imaging to measure land surface temperatures and derive critical data on crop water stress, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture. This information enables farmers and agricultural companies to optimize irrigation, detect potential crop risks earlier, and improve overall resource management.
The company's proprietary satellite constellation will employ microsatellites equipped with advanced thermal sensors capable of delivering daily imagery with 30-meter resolution for land surface temperature data. Constellr claims its technology can detect signs of water stress in crops up to two weeks earlier than conventional methods, allowing for more timely interventions to prevent crop damage and reduce water waste. In February 2022, Constellr successfully launched its first thermal infrared Earth observation system, called LisR (Longwave Infrared Sensing demonstratoR), to the International Space Station as a precursor to its full constellation planned for deployment starting in 2024.
In April 2022, Constellr acquired Belgian hyperspectral firm ScanWorld to enhance its capabilities and expand its product offerings. This acquisition allows Constellr to provide comprehensive monitoring across water, carbon, energy, and crop health parameters. The company aims to help save up to 40% of water used in agriculture while reducing the risk of crop loss, potentially saving 60 billion tons of water and avoiding 14 megatons of CO2 emissions within five years of full deployment.

Constellr develops an imaging technology to assess vegetation, soil health, and industrial monitoring for the agriculture sector, using proprietary space infrastructure. Constellr supports food security by enabling high-precision smart farming services across the globe.

Searoutes.com is a cloud based route planning and weather routing solution for freight — Dynamic APIs to better plan, route and refine. We want the most accurate route, available to all — logistics, financials, mariners. Searoutes is a machine-learning-first company, and addresses routing from a novel angle. We use historical data to compute optimal and accurate routes, with the impact of weather and real time maritime traffic. Therefore reducing fuel costs, emissions (COx, NOx, SOx), and improving the accuracy of schedules, arrival times and risks for 90% for global trade.

ORBCOMM is an innovator and provider of tracking, monitoring, and control services for the transportation market. Under its ReeferTrak, GenTrakTM, GlobalTrak, and CargoWatchTM brands, the company provides customers with the ability to proactively monitor, manage and remotely control their cold chain and dry transport assets. Additionally, ORBCOMM provides Automatic Identification System (AIS) data services for vessel tracking and to improve maritime safety to government and commercial customers worldwide.

OHB Venture Capital is a corporate venture capital company of OHB SE, specializes in start-up and early stage investments.

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