The Belfast-based company uses machine learning and rainfall forecasting to predict sewage levels, detect blockages and improve the performance of wastewater networks.
Brian Moloney has spent many years working in the environmental engineering field.
After graduating in civil, structural and environmental engineering from Trinity College Dublin, Moloney spent over 15 years working in drainage and flood prevention, leading major civil engineering projects in Ireland, the UK and Australia.
This civil engineering experience allowed him to see the opportunity for a data-driven approach to tackling land pollution and flooding, which led him to co-found our latest Startup of the Week – StormHarvester.
StormHarvester is a Belfast-based startup that uses AI to help wastewater utilities better manage their networks and avoid catastrophic flooding and pollution. The startup achieves this by using AI to monitor rainfall and wastewater networks, providing real-time information.
“Urbanization, climate change and population growth are putting enormous strain on our water supply systems,” said Moloney. “This causes an increase in the threats of floods and pollution.
“At StormHarvester, we use machine learning and heavy rainfall forecasting to predict runoff levels, identify blockages and inflows, and improve the performance of wastewater networks.”
How does this work
As Moloney – who is also the company’s CEO – told SiliconRepublic.com, StormHarvester’s initial work focused on understanding the relationship between rainfall and drainage networks.
“Once this was understood, we focused on predicting future network performance using the rainfall dataset,” he says. “After investing time and effort into machine learning, our CTO Stevie Gallagher and I developed a quality blocking and intuitive visualization product that helped us win our first major competition, winning Wessex Water and beating many well-known industry analytics providers.”
Today, Moloney says the startup works with 11 wastewater services in the UK and has installed “tens of thousands” of sensors around the world.
StormHarvester has released several products since its inception, covering a variety of areas including intrusion detection, containment detection, pump station alerting, high alert escalation and spill verification.
“Our advanced anomaly detection system analyzes data from thousands of sensors, turning it into accurate, actionable information that drives smart decisions,” said Moloney. “Active monitoring in real-time allows utilities to be visible in their network, prevent problems before they develop and move from lagging indicators to live insights.”
How is it going
To date, StormHarvester has hit several milestones.
“In the past year alone, we’ve doubled our headcount, which drives our growth and expansion strategies to create exciting opportunities around the world,” said Moloney.
According to Moloney, the company has shipped more than 270,000 sensors worldwide, and in January 2025, StormHarvester announced plans to double its workforce in three years and expand into new countries after raising £8.4m in Series A funding.
Meanwhile, in December, StormHarvester was named Ireland’s fastest growing technology company in the annual Deloitte Technology Fast 50 awards, which rank Ireland’s 50 fastest growing technology companies based on revenue growth over a four-year period.
But while the company is experiencing rapid growth, Moloney says this has presented a challenge for the team.
“As we grew, we hired faster, introduced more structure and refined processes while trying to keep culture and communication consistent,” he explains. “Balancing the rapid growth and maintaining alignment was a challenge.
Currently, Moloney says the company is planning further expansion. He says successful startup moves to Australia and New Zealand have shown that StormHarvester “can continue to scale while keeping our culture and quality strong” – adding that the company is now preparing to enter the US market.
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