Paris: The fifth edition of the Airlab Microsensors Challenge has opened for sensor manufacturers to register and participate. Airlab microsensors are miniaturized air quality sensors designed for real-time monitoring of various pollutants. Performance tests will take place in France (Paris) as in previous editions.
According to Ghana News Agency, for the 2025 edition, the Airlab Microsensors Challenge offers a more advanced evaluation by incorporating two new outdoor testing sites in Accra (Ghana) and Bangalore (India) along with a new underground railway environment in Paris, France. The expansion will enable a more comprehensive study of the impact of varied climate conditions, high pollution levels, and confined spaces on microsensor performance. This is accomplished through a partnership between Airparif, Afri-SET, and Indi-SET (CSTEP).
Dr. Allison Felix Hughes, Afri-SET’s Facility Manager, speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said the inclusion of the new locations was due to their distinct environmental characteristics and strong local capabilities in air quality monitoring and microsensor research. ‘The evaluation period will be between September to mid-January and we will be assessing not less than 25 sensors from manufacturers globally,’ he noted. The challenge will feature a jury who will compare and rank the sensors, with companies possessing the best sensors receiving awards.
Dr. Hughes, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Physics, noted that the fifth edition would focus on evaluating the impact of new parameters on microsensor performance. Particular attention will be on the different emission profiles, varied weather conditions, and confined environments. In Ghana, the evaluation will concentrate on the level of gases such as Nitrogen oxide, ozone, and Sulphur dioxide.
Air quality is a critical health, economic, and societal issue. According to the latest WHO report, air pollution-both outdoor and indoor-causes 2.018 million premature deaths worldwide each year. Governments, private companies, and citizens increasingly demand high-quality air data to support informed policy-making and implement effective solutions for improving air quality. With the rise of connected devices, air quality monitoring has become more accessible through compact and affordable sensors deployed in cities, buildings, vehicles, and even worn by individuals.
The 2025 Airlab Microsensors Challenge is financially supported by the Clean Air Fund, Open Philanthropy, the French Development Agency (AFD), €š¬…¡¬‚¬¦¡¬¦½le-de-France Mobilit©s, and the French Agency for Ecological Transition. Other sponsors include the Asian Institute of Technology, Atmo France, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. Additional support comes from Imperial College London, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), the Indoor Environment Quality Observatory, and the World Meteorological Organization.
