Airly-led coalition pushes EU to recognize small air quality sensors

Five air quality monitoring companies have launched Clean Tech for Clean Air in Brussels to push small sensor systems into the implementation of the EU’s revised air quality rules. The group, led by Airly CEO and co-founder Wiktor Warchałowski, is positioning lower-cost, distributed monitoring as a complement to official fixed stations as member states prepare to apply the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive.

The coalition includes Poland-based Airly, France’s Ecomesure and Ellona, Spain’s Kunak Technologies, and US-based Clarity Movement Co. The companies work in small sensor systems, environmental data and air quality monitoring. No funding, procurement commitments, customer wins or valuation figures were disclosed with the launch.

Clean Tech for Clean Air, or CT4CA, says public authorities will need more local data and technical support to understand pollution patterns, plan interventions and assess whether measures are working. Its core policy ask is that high-quality small sensors be formally recognized as tools for filling gaps in monitoring networks across EU member states.

What the coalition wants

CT4CA is not arguing that small sensors should replace reference-grade monitoring stations. The coalition says fixed stations remain essential, while sensor networks can add more granular coverage around local hotspots and areas where people are exposed.

The group is asking EU and national authorities to accept three main points:

• Formal recognition of high-quality small sensors as a way to close air quality monitoring gaps across the bloc.
• Use of existing European technical specifications so sensor deployments can happen under current frameworks.
• Broader acceptance of reliable sensor data by public bodies, with the stated aim of enabling more targeted clean air action.

The announcement did not specify which technical specifications it wants authorities to prioritize, nor did it name member states or cities that have committed to using the coalition’s members’ systems.

Policy timing is the point

The launch is tied to the revised EU air quality directive, which is shifting the discussion from targets to execution. For sensor vendors, that creates a policy window: governments have to monitor, report and act, while companies with distributed hardware and environmental data platforms want their systems treated as part of the public toolkit.

The public health case is well established in the coalition’s framing. CT4CA cites European Environment Agency analysis stating that 95% of urban residents in Europe are exposed to pollutant concentrations above World Health Organization guideline levels. The group also points to the links between air pollution and asthma, ischaemic heart disease, lung cancer and premature deaths, as well as emerging evidence connecting long-term exposure with dementia.

For the clean-tech market, the relevant question is whether small sensors move from pilot projects and supplementary datasets into public procurement and regulatory workflows. CT4CA’s launch signals that vendors see the directive as a route into that process. The coalition’s next test will be whether public authorities treat sensor data as operational evidence, rather than as useful but secondary environmental telemetry.

This story draws on original reporting from Tech.eu.