A weather modification company with its own technology
SELERYS is a French weather modification company that builds technology for cloud seeding and storm risk management. We make LAICO cloud seeding balloons and drones, as well as storm early warning systems built on the SKYDETECT radar, the EVEARLYS total lightning interferometer, and CIRRUS software.
SELERYS at a glance
- Headquarters in Rousset, southern France
- First storm radar deployed in 2006; latest corporate entity formed in 2014
- LAICO smart balloons developed in-house, first delivered in early 2016
- Over 1,000 systems deployed worldwide, including hundreds of radars
- A team of more than 30 engineers and PhDs
- Three patents on LAICO balloons, three on EVEARLYS and its radar coupling
- QWATMOS, a SELERYS unit running a sensor network across France
SELERYS products and services
SELERYS’s flagship product is the LAICO cloud seeding balloon, used to mitigate hail, enhance rain, augment snowfall, and disperse fog. Smart cloud seeding drones complement the balloons, especially for fog dispersal missions.
Our second product line is storm early warning, which relies on SKYDETECT radars and EVEARLYS interferometers. CIRRUS, the SELERYS software, brings both product lines together in one dashboard. The software tracks cloud cells in real time, sends automated alerts, and launches cloud seeding balloons or drones.
SELERYS’s product lines
- LAICO smart balloons and drones for rain and snow enhancement, hail suppression, and fog dispersal, with a balloon reaction time under 5 minutes
- SKYDETECT X-band radar, covering a 30 km radius per unit and scanning the sky once a minute
- EVEARLYS VHF/UHF interferometer, detecting over 99% of total lightning activity
- CIRRUS software, with a 10 to 20 minute cloud motion forecast, automated alerts, and remote launch control
A fully integrated cloud seeding solution
SELERYS is the only company in the world that offers a fully integrated cloud seeding solution built entirely on technology it owns, from the sensors and software to the balloons and drones that deliver the seeding agent.
- Multipurpose: the same tools for rain and snow enhancement and for hail suppression
- Automated: sensors, CIRRUS software, and decision support work as one chain, so a small team can launch balloons or drones at the right place and time
- 24/7 operation: all year round, with no pilots needed on site for balloon launches
- Cleared for the airspace: patented smart balloons with GPS geofencing hold a set ceiling and share their track with civil aviation authorities
- Built to last: infrastructure designed to stay in service for more than 15 years
Innovation and research
SELERYS ran two large publicly funded research programs on anticipating and managing storm risk, SKYPROTECT and STORM H-1. Both were completed successfully.
SKYPROTECT
SKYPROTECT was a research program to build a localized storm-forecasting network. As part of it, SELERYS designed a new sensor to measure convection inside a developing storm cell and meshed it with the existing SELERYS radar network. Together they reconstruct the atmosphere in 3D and forecast storm risk at the scale of a single productive territory. The program received financial support from the PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) Region in France and the European Union, through an ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) grant of about €335,000.
STORM H-1
STORM H-1 was an acceleration program backed by the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, which funded both the development of SKYDETECT and the EVEARLYS prototype. The program awarded SELERYS a grant of about €1,633,000, plus coaching, to launch SKYDETECT and EVEARLYS in new markets and segments across the EU.
Field results and lightning research
Rain enhancement trial in Romania
In 2022, SELERYS ran a rain enhancement trial over the Cotnari area in Romania with LAICO SOBLI balloons. Romania’s National Agency for Hail Suppression and Precipitation Enhancement (AASNACP) collected the radar and soil-moisture data, and an independent, peer-reviewed study documents the trial (Ilie et al., 2024). The study reports an average rainfall increase of about 20%, and field measurements recorded peaks of up to 500% on some days.
EVEARLYS, the only industrial VHF/UHF interferometer on the market
For more than 30 years, the weather science community, including NASA and EUMETSAT, has recognized interferometry as one of the strongest approaches to early detection of storm activity. EVEARLYS works in the VHF and UHF bands, detects more than 99% of all lightning in its range, and picks up 10,000 times more lightning sources than any other operational sensor on the market. Coupled with the SKYDETECT radar, it forms an exclusive dual-sensor system patented by SELERYS.
EVEARLYS in the EXAEDRE research campaign
In 2018, EVEARLYS data were used in EXAEDRE, a lightning research campaign over Corsica funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR), with support from CNES and the HyMeX program. The interferometer recorded lightning flashes at the same time as SAETTA, the campaign’s 3D VHF lightning mapping array (LMA), and the Météorage network. The researchers, including SELERYS senior scientist J.-Y. Lojou, presented the three data sets side by side at the 12th HyMeX Workshop in 2019. An LMA is a research network run by laboratories, while EVEARLYS is an industrial sensor built for daily operation.
Storm risk management trends in 2026
Storm cells are evolving. Climate change has made them more compact, faster, and more violent, and some travel as fast as 60 km/h. Many now develop within minutes. Violent storms have become far more frequent across Europe over the past decade, and according to a French Chamber of Agriculture, 9 out of 10 farms have suffered hail damage in the past ten years. Weather affects 75% of economic actors, from farms to industry and transport.
SELERYS technology responds to this shift. The SKYDETECT radar warns farm owners and site operators up to 60 minutes before rain or hail reaches the ground, so they can protect their property before the storm begins.
Our commitment to clients and innovation
Innovation is the SELERYS credo, expressed through four commitments.
- An out-of-the-box approach, treating every customer’s challenge as a reason to question established models and push weather modification research forward
- An operational, simple way of working, so that the technology stays practical for the teams who use it day to day
- A client-centric model, keeping customers actively involved in solving their own challenges
- A standing commitment to innovation, with a significant share of revenue reinvested in research every year
SELERYS leadership and key clients
Philippe Cardi and Fabrice Caquin co-founded SELERYS. Philippe Cardi serves as Chairman and CTO, and Fabrice Caquin leads the company as CEO, bringing expertise in risk management and environmental vulnerabilities.
For 20 years, SELERYS technology has helped orchard, vineyard, greenhouse, automotive, outdoor venue, and microelectronics owners in France and abroad. SELERYS early warning systems also protect solar and energy sites, airports, space launch sites, construction and mining sites, telecom infrastructure, and islands and remote territories. Our clients range from defense and space agencies to wine estates, farming bodies, mining companies, and national weather services.
Selected clients
- France: DGA (French defense procurement agency), CNES (French space agency, rocket launch site), Chambre d’Agriculture du Rhône, Département du Rhône, Maison des Vins de Saint-Émilion, Pétrus, Angélus, Figeac, Chapoutier, Bernard Magrez, and hundreds of other clients
- Morocco: Maroc Meteo
- Turkey: Dogus Grubu
- Luxembourg: Société Européenne des Satellites (SES)
- Romania: Ministry of Agriculture
- Indonesia: Turangga Resources and other mining operators
They trust us
SELERYS works with CNES, SES, Maroc Meteo, and the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture, as well as with wine estates from the Rhône to Bordeaux.
Frequently asked questions
What does SELERYS do?
SELERYS develops weather modification and storm warning technology. Its LAICO balloons and drones seed clouds to reduce hail, increase rain and snow, and clear fog, while SKYDETECT, EVEARLYS, and CIRRUS detect storms early and alert site operators.
When was SELERYS founded?
SELERYS deployed its first storm radar in 2006. The company’s current legal entity was established in 2014, and the first LAICO smart balloons reached clients in early 2016.
Has SELERYS received public research funding?
Yes. SELERYS received €334,973.92 from the PACA Region and the EU’s ERDF fund for SKYPROTECT, a local storm forecasting program, and €1,633,275 from the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument for STORM H-1, which paid for SKYDETECT’s development and the first EVEARLYS prototype.
Who leads SELERYS?
Fabrice Caquin is CEO of SELERYS, and Philippe Cardi is Chairman and CTO. The two co-founded the company.
Is SELERYS's lightning detection technology independently recognized?
Yes. Bodies such as NASA and EUMETSAT recognize interferometry, the technology behind EVEARLYS, among the best ways to detect a storm’s earliest electrical signals. EVEARLYS data also served EXAEDRE, a 2018 research campaign on Corsican thunderstorms backed by France’s national research agency.
Which clients work with SELERYS?
Our clients include DGA, CNES, the Chambre d’Agriculture du Rhône, the Département du Rhône, the Maison des Vins de Saint-Émilion, Pétrus, Angélus, Figeac, Chapoutier, Bernard Magrez, Maroc Meteo, Dogus Grubu, SES, the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture, and Turangga Resources, in defense, space, wine-growing, agriculture, mining, and public weather services.
Where is SELERYS based?
SELERYS is headquartered in Rousset, in southern France. Its unit QWATMOS operates weather sensors throughout France, and SELERYS has clients on all continents, from Chile to Indonesia.
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