Momentick Partners with Sompo on Emissions

Japanese insurance giant Sompo continues to connect between Japan and early stage, innovative Israeli technology companies, and on this occasion to benefit the environment and prevent continued global warming: In the global race to reduce carbon footprints in order to slow down global warming, Japan is participating this year, more than ever, and this is due, among other things, to the growing presence of Japanese owned energy production sources and gas pipelines beyond Japan’s borders.

This situation exposes those Japanese companies that operate gas rigs and pipelines to fines and sanctions from the government of the territory in which they operate – such as the US and Europe which are tightening regulatory controls over greenhouse gas emissions within their borders, and consequently they need technologies that will monitor greenhouse gas emissions from energy production sources and transmission pipelines, and they will be provided with comprehensive information about them. Gas production is not carried out in Japan itself, mainly due to geographical considerations, so exposure of Japanese companies to the natural gas market is done by investing in and operating energy production sources and gas pipelines in countries outside of Japan, such as the US.

This is where Sompo comes in, as one of Japan’s three biggest insurance companies, by offering to help the Japanese administration and Japanese companies to cope with greenhouse gas emissions. Sompo operates in 30 countries and is traded on the Japanese stock exchange with a market cap of $21 billion. In 2018, the company set up its innovation center in Tel Aviv (it has two others in Tokyo and Silicon Valley), which is led by Yinnon Dolev. The center leads commercial collaborations with Israeli startup companies and is initiating the current collaboration with Momentick, in cooperation with Sompo’s business unit.

Sompo has begun working with Israeli startup Momentick, and the two companies are currently performing a demonstration of the Israeli company’s technology, stressing Momentick’s ability to detect emissions of methane, one of the main greenhouse gases, through satellite images. Momentick has proven its ability to provide a precise analysis after a comparison was made between it and an analysis conducted by an active sensor installed on an aircraft of an American organization called Carbon Mapper, which scanned specific areas in the center of the US. It became clear that the Israeli company had reached the same results as Carbon Mapper.

In this demonstration, Momentick analyzed the amount and locations of methane in the atmosphere with software that uses hyperspectral analysis and algorithms based on satellite images. The results and insights will be provided to Sompo and its subsidiary Sompo Risk Management, who will jointly investigate the potential for technical verification, service provision and the development of insurance products. For the purpose of technical verification, data obtained from the Greenhouse Gases Observer (GOSAT) satellite, which is the first satellite in the world dedicated to monitoring carbon dioxide and methane concentrations from space, will also be used. The data analysis will be carried out in cooperation with the Climate Change Observation Research Strategy Office of the Ministry of the Environment and the Satellite Observation Center of the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan.

In addition, for the purpose of technical; verification, Sompo is inviting companies that are willing and able to participate in the inspection of the facilities they own or manage, with the emphasis currently on companies in the energy market and in particular companies that operate rigs and gas pipelines. Participation is designed for both Japanese and foreign companies. Subject to the results of the demonstration, Sompo may offer Israeli company Momentick’s services as part of the group’s risk management services (Sompo Risk Management).

The company uses satellite images that it buys, and based on them has the expertise to accurately identify the location and amount of greenhouse gas emissions, without having to possess its own satellites. At present, the company has the ability to detect methane gas and within a year it expects to be able to detect carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions. The company offers three main services: firstly, accurate monitoring for specific facilities/assets (such as factories or rigs); secondly, monitoring large areas (such as large regions or long pipelines); and thirdly, monitoring companies’ emissions in order to provide them with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) data. The company’s target is to provide a smart platform for analyzing emissions mainly for the energy industry, waste management companies, financial companies and insurance companies. Momentick has to date raised $7 million in seed financing rounds. Investors in the company include the Japanese venture capital fund Chartered Group Japan and the venture capital fund of Tel Aviv University, TAU Ventures.

Sompo Digital Lab Israel CEO Yinnon Dolev said, “We are very happy to lead this partnership between Sompo in Japan and Momentick in Israel. We see this partnership as creating value in areas that affect the environment, in a way that complements our insurance policies. Also, Japan’s joining the global fight against greenhouse gas emissions creates an opportunity for large investments in technologies that support the struggle to improve the quality of the environment and the war against global warming. I am confident that the Japanese market will find that there are quite a few Israeli technology companies that will be able to assist it in this process.”