Stellerus helps organisations manage hazard, climate risks

The Hong Kong startup offers a fast and accurate early warning system for natural disasters.

Hong Kong startup Stellerus Technology is helping the government and industries manage high-value assets against natural disasters and climate risks, including typhoons, using proprietary data and algorithms spanning climate risk, hazard and carbon management.

The company, which offers a suite of climate tech solutions, is seeking to raise $10m–$20m to fund its expansion in Southeast Asia, Jeffrey Xu, CTO at Stellerus, told Hong Kong Business. They also plan to expand to the Middle East and are now in talks for tie-ups with companies in Central Asia.

The startup uses data from its satellite to enhance proprietary algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) models, developed from more than 20 years of research by Stellerus Chairwoman Hui Su and Chief Strategist Limin Zhang.

Xu co-founded Stellerus in 2023 with Su and Zhang, both chair professors at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Su is an expert in remote sensing, meteorological and climate modelling, and weather forecasting, whilst Zhang is an expert on hazards such as landslides and floods.

Stellerus led the launch mission of a satellite at the HKUST, which gives them a holistic view of “hazard situations” like inundations caused by rainstorms. The satellite, with a spatial resolution of 0.5 metre, can capture clear images on the ground.

The satellite’s surface working area spans 150 kilometres, allowing it to cover and capture the entire Hong Kong region and beyond, including areas like Shenzhen, in a single pass. This lets Stellerus evaluate hazard data during heavy rainstorms and assess their impact on buildings after the event.

The satellite data also allows Stellerus to measure a typhoon’s intensity and track where it is headed even before it hits the city.

Xu noted that when a typhoon is about to hit Hong Kong, the government institution sends cyclone hunters — aircrews that fly over tropical cyclones to gather weather data. “What we can do better is utilise satellite data to measure the typhoon even before it hits. We use the satellite to see the typhoon when it’s still in the South China Sea,” he added.

Xu said the satellite in HKUST is part of a “constellation” of more than 100 remote-sensing satellites. With data from these satellites, Xu said Stellerus could better assess hazard intensity and its potential impacts, particularly on infrastructure. With AI, the startup can also speed up the process of analysing data before a disaster occurs.

Their main clients include governments, electricity, transportation and insurance companies in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and some Belt and Road countries.

Using the startup’s climate technology, governments can identify which buildings or areas are likely to be flooded during a typhoon. Stellarus can also assess infrastructure and the damage from a rainstorm.

Insurance companies, meanwhile, use Stellerus' service to price premiums. “They need to understand what price they need to put on these assets. To do that, they need to understand what are the risks of these assets when faced with those hazards,” Xu said.

Insurers could also warn their clients so they could mitigate potential damage, “ultimately reducing payouts to clients,” he added.

Their startup's tech is not limited to assessing immediate events, such as the impact of a single typhoon, but also extends to the analysis of long-term climate risks.

Xu said Stellerus could also utilise the climate technology to help listed companies comply with regulations, including the need to disclose their climate risks starting in the next fiscal year. 

“For example, we can project what might happen over three to five years, helping clients include these risks in their climate risk disclosures,” Xu said.

Stellerus aims to expand their solutions to climate mitigations, especially greenhouse gas monitoring and verification.

“[We want to help companies] better manage the root causes of climate change, such as carbon dioxide emissions,” Xu said via Zoom, adding that the team’s next ongoing mission is to lead the carbon observatory space mission to monitor greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane in real-time from China Space Station.