This Belfast-based company uses machine learning and hyperlocal rainfall forecasting to predict sewer levels, detect blockages and optimise the performance of wastewater networks.
Brian Moloney has spent many years working in the area of environmental engineering.
After obtaining a degree in civil, structural and environmental engineering from Trinity College Dublin, Moloney spent more than 15 years working in drainage and flood prevention, having led major civil engineering projects in Ireland, the UK and Australia.
This civil engineering experience allowed him to see an opportunity for a data-driven approach to tackle pollution and flooding, leading him to co-found our latest Start-up of the Week – StormHarvester.
StormHarvester is a Belfast-based start-up that uses AI to help wastewater utilities better manage their networks and prevent serious flooding and pollution. The start-up achieves this by using AI to monitor rainfall and wastewater networks, providing real-time insights.
“Urbanisation, climate change and population growth are putting huge strain on our water supply systems,” says Moloney. “This is resulting in increased threats of flooding and pollution.
“At StormHarvester, we use machine learning and hyperlocal rainfall forecasting to predict sewer levels, detect blockages and inflow, and optimise the performance of wastewater networks.”
How it works
As Moloney – who is also CEO of the company – tells SiliconRepublic.com, StormHarvester’s initial work focused on understanding the relationship between rainfall and drainage networks.
“Once this was understood, we focused on predicting the future network performance using rainfall datasets,” he says. “After investing time and effort into machine learning, our CTO Stevie Gallagher and I created a quality blockage and anomaly detection product which helped us win our first major competition, winning Wessex Water and beating many established industry analytics providers.”
Today, Moloney says the start-up works with 11 UK wastewater utilities and has onboarded “tens of thousands” of sensors globally.
StormHarvester has released a number of products since its establishment, encompassing a range of areas including inflow and infiltration detection, blockage detection, pump station alerting, rising main alerting and spill verification.
“Our advanced anomaly detection system analyses data from thousands of sensors, turning it into precise, actionable insights that drive smarter decisions,” says Moloney. “Proactive real-time monitoring allows utilities to have visibility over their network, prevent issues before they escalate and move from lagging indicators to live insights.”
How it’s going
To date, StormHarvester has hit a number of milestones.
“In the last year alone, we have doubled our headcount, fueling our expansion and growth strategy further to create exciting opportunities globally,” says Moloney.
According to Moloney, the company has deployed more than 270,000 sensors worldwide, and in January 2025, StormHarvester announced plans to double its workforce over three years and expand into new countries after raising £8.4m in Series A funding.
Meanwhile, in December, StormHarvester was named as Ireland’s fastest-growing technology company at the annual Deloitte Technology Fast 50 awards, which ranks Ireland’s 50 fastest-growing tech companies based on revenue growth over a four-year period.
But while the company experienced rapid scaling, Moloney says this introduced a challenge for the team.
“As we grew, we hired quickly, introduced more structure and refined processes while trying to keep culture and communication consistent,” he explains. “Balancing fast growth with maintaining alignment was a challenge.”
Currently, Moloney says the company is planning further expansion. He says the start-up’s successful move into Australia and New Zealand has shown that StormHarvester can “scale sustainably while keeping our culture and quality intact” – adding that the company is now preparing for entry into the US market.
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