NASA Awards StormImpact with Ignite Phase II Funding

Dublin, OH – StormImpact, a data-driven machine learning software company specializing in storm outage prediction, is making significant strides in its mission. Established in June 2022, the company recently achieved a major milestone by securing a NASA Ignite Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award. This achievement follows a successful Phase I submission completed during the first half of 2023, and the Phase II award grants StormImpact $850,000 for a two-year project.

The technology proposed by StormImpact holds the promise of revolutionizing vegetation management processes for utilities through the utilization of satellite imagery and remote sensing technology. This innovation has the potential to result in substantial annual cost savings, possibly reaching millions of dollars for utility companies.

Dr. Brent McRoberts, Principal Investigator for the Award, Chief Data Scientist, and Co-Founder of StormImpact, expressed his enthusiasm for the project: "This technology has the potential to reshape the vegetation monitoring market by providing clients with an effective, low-cost solution that combines state-of-the-art machine learning models and NASA remote sensing data."

Scott Hull, Chief Software Engineer and Co-Founder at StormImpact, echoed McRoberts' sentiments, highlighting the transformative impact of NASA's investment: "NASA’s support will supercharge our research and development initiatives, enabling us to incorporate near-real-time ground truth data into vegetation risk assessment and storm outage and damage modeling."

Dr. Steven Quiring, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder at StormImpact, emphasized the role of their products in enhancing electrical grid reliability: "Most power outages are caused by weather-related incidents, such as trees and limbs making contact with power lines. Our products will identify risk hotspots for proactive vegetation management and optimize vegetation trim cycles, prioritizing circuits with higher vegetation growth rates and risks for more frequent trimming."

Hull reaffirmed StormImpact's commitment to their customers: "We will continue to provide our customers with the hyper-customized, expert guidance they have come to expect from us in safeguarding vulnerable utility infrastructure."

The NASA Phase II award not only marks a significant milestone but also serves as a vote of confidence in StormImpact's work. McRoberts, with over 17 years of experience in data science, stated, "It's truly validating to have an organization like NASA recognize and endorse the work we're doing." The award also opens doors for growth and expansion for the young company.

Quiring, an accomplished atmospheric scientist, underscored the transformative nature of NASA's support: "The NASA Phase II award is a game-changer for StormImpact Inc. It provides us with the opportunity to develop and introduce cutting-edge vegetation products that empower electrical utilities to optimize their vegetation management practices and enhance their reliability. Additionally, the NASA funding will facilitate the expansion of the StormImpact team."

Jamie McKee, CEO of StormImpact, expressed his excitement about the future: "Our team has dedicated immense effort to reach this point in our journey. We are passionate about our work and our approach to it. The NASA SBIR Phase II Award provides us with a solid foundation for our continued growth and impact in the years ahead." He added, "This is an exhilarating time for us! With a strong team possessing diverse expertise and significant momentum, we aim to attract individuals who share our enthusiasm for doing good while conducting business."

While StormImpact's focus for the NASA Phase II project is on the energy sector, the company envisions broad applications for its technology across various industries. As McRoberts pointed out, "We take pride in offering data-driven solutions, and I'm excited about expanding our capabilities."

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