Scottish climate-tech firm Calterra lands £96,000 grant for habitat monitoring
What's the deal? CalterraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Scottish climate-tech firm, has secured a £96,000 SMART Grant from Scottish Enterprise. The money funds a 14-month research and development project to monitor the health of restored peatlands and woodlands.
What's the endgame? Most of Calterra's work so far has focused on mapping land and planning restoration interventions. The new project shifts to what happens afterwards, using artificial intelligence and Earth observation data to track habitat health over time.
Why now? Scotland aims to restore more than 400,000 hectares of peatland by 2040 under its Climate Change Plan. A new Peatland Standard is also planned to improve consistency in restoration, including monitoring and verification.
The project aims to make long-term monitoring more frequent and accurate while cutting the cost of assessing whether restoration works.
"We want to be able to track the health of peatlands and woodland habitats over the long term, and do that more frequently, more accurately and at a lower cost," said Ewan McMillan, founder and managing director of New GradientDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. He added the goal is "giving people greater confidence that restoration is actually delivering what it set out to do."
Calterra is a joint venture between AI consultancy New Gradient and Caledonian ClimateDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. It has also joined Cohort 10 of the University of EdinburghDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s AI Accelerator, which offers mentoring, commercial expertise, and access to the university's networks. Delivered with Edinburgh InnovationsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the programme has supported more than 100 companies since 2019.
The signal: As governments set ambitious restoration targets, the pressure grows to prove those efforts pay off. Calterra's grant reflects rising demand for tools that verify — not just plan — climate outcomes.
