Space IoT comms company Myriota and water technology global leader Grundfos develop cutting-edge water pump remote monitoring system

6 October 2022

Myriota announced the launch of Grundfos’ innovative range of satellite-connected, solar-powered water pumps. In developing this simple, “works anywhere you can see the sky” solution, Grundfos are tackling a major pain point for Australia’s 34,000 livestock farmers by enabling easy remote monitoring of water pumps and tanks, thereby significantly decreasing the time, fuel and labour necessary to regularly and manually check each water point.

With each animal needing on average 50 litres of drinking water per day, and more during summer, pumping and tank systems need to be reliable and efficient. Using satellite-connected sensors attached to Grundfos’ solar-powered water pumps and any existing tank, farmers will have a 24/7 water pumps and tanks’ monitoring system in their pocket.

The Grundfos Solar Connect mobile app will track water levels in storage tanks, delivering real-time, useful data on water pumps’ status, and alerting users when supply is low or maintenance is required. With 12 updates daily on only two AA batteries the sensors’ life expectancy is two years, making the whole technology low maintenance and easy to install and use. With a daily update, Myriota-enabled applications can see 7+ years of battery life.

With offices around the globe, Myriota is an Australian-headquartered company specialising in secure satellite connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT), which is increasingly used across a range of industries and is especially useful where mobile or internet connectivity is either unavailable or unreliable. With a network of 20 small-satellites orbiting the earth about 15 times a day, the most remote water pumps will have simple, reliable and affordable connectivity and monitoring, anywhere.

The pastoral industry generates $4.7 billion annually from livestock production in the Great Artesian Basin, with over 14 million beef cattle and 11 million sheep and lambs. The industry uses water delivery infrastructure worth more than $3 billion, and extracts an estimated 187,000 megalitres / year from the Basin, making it the largest user in the region. Careful management of water resources is a strategic component for the industry, and smart technologies can help optimise this aspect.

This week, both Grundfos and Myriota are present at Irrigation Australia in Adelaide, and are giving attendees the opportunity to register for early access to the devices. Ten of the pumps are already in operation at trial sites across North Queensland, Northern Territory and Regional New South Wales.

Sam Ryder, Area Managing Director WU (Water Utility) at Grundfos Australia says that “Introducing satellite connectivity to our range is a significant improvement for all farmers that spend a significant amount of time on pumps’ maintenance.

Sam Ryder, Area Managing Director WU, Grundfos Australia “Solar water pumps are already cost-effective, flexible and reliable off-grid solutions using renewable energy, and this partnership further enhances the system, empowering users with essential data for their daily operations.”

Myriota’s CEO, Ben Cade said that “Until now, satellite provided the potential to connect anything, anywhere – but at an unacceptably high cost and without the power footprint needed of battery only.

Now, new space IoT communications are unlocking previously impossible or impractical use cases at a dramatically lower-cost running with near-zero maintenance thanks to low-power consumption. Having the opportunity to partner with world leaders in their industries such as Grundfos, and develop new solutions hand-in-hand with them is a validation of the value we bring to deliver tangibly better outcomes for our ecosystem, through simple, affordable access to data, anywhere.”