Finnish Environment Institute and Kuva Space partner to enhance water quality monitoring

The Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) and the Finnish company Kuva Space, specializing in hyperspectral satellites and artificial intelligence, are starting a collaboration aimed at improving environmental monitoring. The goal of the collaboration is to gain more information about the algae species in Finnish lakes and coastal waters using new satellite data and artificial intelligence. Syke has long utilized satellite observations to monitor algae quantities in marine areas and lakes, but previous satellite observations have not been detailed enough to identify the composition of algae species.

"This pilot project with Kuva Space is extremely interesting for us at Syke. We are constantly striving to develop and experiment new methods that could improve and enhance various environmental monitoring efforts. The large number of lakes and rivers in Finland is already a significant challenge for water quality monitoring," says Jenni Attila, the group leader and lead researcher working on the renewal of environmental monitoring at the Finnish Environment Institute.

"It is fascinating to see if we can utilize hyperspectral technology and artificial intelligence to identify algae species and assess their biomass. In the future, we are interested in using hyperspectral datasets like Kuva Space's satellite observations in our Tarkka service, which currently utilizes a variety of satellite observations from the EU's Copernicus program. In the long term, hyperspectral technology could be used to observe how restoration measures affect water quality in Finland's many small lakes and diverse coastal areas," says Jenni Attila.

The first results from the pilot are expected during this summer.

Commercial-public collaboration accelerates the development of monitoring

"Finland´s current strategy for environmental monitoring aims to speed up and streamline the adoption of new and automated monitoring methods. Commercial collaboration is an important means by which we can quickly advance environmental monitoring," says Jenni Attila.

Founded in Espoo in 2016, Kuva Space is building a large-scale constellation of 100 hyperspectral microsatellites and automated AI-powered data processing to address global challenges such as climate change, food security, safety, and preparedness. The company's first satellite was launched in August 2024 and the second, Hyperfield-1B, developed under ESA's InCubed program, launched in June 2025. The microsatellites utilize a patented hyperspectral camera technology, which enables high quality application-specific data acquisition. 

Kuva Space's CEO Jarkko Anttila estimates that by 2030, Kuva Space's hyperspectral monitoring, with observations made several times a day, can provide continuous, accurate information to stakeholders in aquaculture and water resource management, improving planning, regulatory oversight, and operational sustainability.

The research conducted in the pilot project by Syke and Kuva Space is partly funded by the state research institutes' postdoc program, which started this year and aims to strengthen research, development, and innovation activities in areas crucial to society and the economy. Dr. Salla Ahonen, working at Syke, focuses her research on utilizing hyperspectral satellite observations to determine algae species. Kuva Space will participate with its own equipment in research measurement campaigns organized on the coast and lakes of Southern Finland during the summer.

Finland is a pioneer in utilizing satellite data for environmental monitoring

Finland is one of the leading countries in utilizing satellite data for environmental monitoring. The Finnish Environment Institute currently uses satellite observations, for example, to assess and classify the ecological status of surface waters, and satellites have improved the coverage and reliability of assessments. 

The Finnish Environment Institute is also investigating how satellite observations could be more widely used in reporting, regulation, and restoration activities. Continuous, high-resolution satellite data could further enhance monitoring, improve the accuracy of status assessments and help target measures cost-effectively.

For more information:

Jenni Attila, Leading Researcher, Group Leader, PhD Finnish Environment Institute (Syke)

+358 40 721 0575

 jenni.attila@syke.fi

Jarkko Antila, CEO, Kuva Space

+358 50 5298876

 jarkko.antila@kuvaspace.com