Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) announced that it has invested $30 million in energy sector-focused methane management solutions provider Insight M, leading a growth equity funding round in the company.
The investment was made through MSIM’s 1GT, its climate solutions-focused private equity strategy, targeting the elimination of 1 gigaton of CO2 emissions by 2050.
Rapid reduction in methane emissions is seen as one of the most effective near-term actions that can be taken to help achieve the global climate goal to limit warming to 1.5°C. Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas (GHG), with as much as 80x the warming power of CO2, and oil and gas facilities are the among the largest industrial sources of methane emissions.
Founded in 2014, Insight M provides solutions to help oil and gas operators to reduce methane emissions. The company’s solution uses proprietary sensors mounted on aircraft to collect and provide high-resolution data on fugitive methane emissions, enabling users help them identify, quantify, and repair emitting energy infrastructure. The company serves energy operators across the U.S., and in other regions globally.
According to Insight M, its solutions have saved its oil and gas customers more than $500 million in gas value, and mitigated over 110 million metric tons of methane from entering the atmosphere.
David Bercovich, Insight M CEO, said:
“We believe effective methane management means advancing operational success, public trust, and environmental stewardship—together. This funding round will accelerate our efforts to deploy pragmatic and complete solutions to energy operators around the world, helping them increase profits while reducing emissions.”
In addition to 1GT, additional participants in the funding round included existing investors DCVC, Climate Investment and Energy Innovation Capital.
Vikram Raju, MSIM’s Head of Climate Private Equity Investing and 1GT, said:
“Fugitive methane emissions are profoundly consequential from an environmental, operational, and financial perspective. We believe that Insight M offers a highly compelling solution to help the industry detect and repair such emission events in a timely and cost-effective manner, leveraging its proprietary detection technology and distinctive data aggregation capabilities.”
