Kisters Brings Proven US Hail Detection System to Europe Through Meteomatics Partnership

Aachen, Germany — KISTERS has launched HailSens360 across Europe, combining real-time hail sensors with hyperlocal forecasts and nowcast alerts to protect solar farms, crops, and insured assets. Powered by Meteomatics — a leading European weather data provider known for high-resolution forecasting and API access — the solution overcomes Europe’s fragmented weather data landscape, delivering the actionable hail intelligence already trusted in the US.

After proven success in the United States, KISTERS is proud to announce the launch of HailSens360 across Europe — a move made possible through a new strategic partnership with Swiss weather intelligence provider Meteomatics.

HailSens360 combines a state-of-the-art hail sensor with high-resolution forecasting, nowcast alerts, and real-time decision support — all in one integrated solution. Already used across solar energy, agriculture, and insurance sectors in the US, it enables organisations to make faster, better-informed decisions in the face of hail risk.

This marks a significant milestone for the renewables, agriculture, and insurance sectors across Europe, where the risk and cost of hail damage continues to climb — yet timely, localised, and high-resolution hail data remains difficult and expensive to access.

Solving the European Data Access Challenge

Unlike in the US, where open weather data is widely available, the European meteorological data landscape has long been fragmented and despite European Commission directives aiming at more open weather data, still costly. KISTERS chose to partner with Meteomatics — a Swiss-based leader in high-resolution weather forecasting and climate data — precisely because of their proven ability to navigate this complexity.

From simplifying access to disparate regional data sources to offering competitively priced solutions, Meteomatics has helped remove a major barrier to entry. Crucially, they also took the initiative to develop hail size as a specific forecast output — a key input now fully integrated into KISTERS’ datasphere platform, which powers the real-time insights, alerts, and analytics behind the HailSens360 system.

This collaboration enables HailSens360 to deliver the same core value to European users as it does in the US: hail alerts up to 90 minutes in advance, 48-hour forecasts, and post-storm insights — now calibrated for the European landscape.

A Trusted Solution, Now Made for Europe

HailSens360 has already proven its worth across the US — from helping solar parks stow panels ahead of impact, to supporting faster, data-driven claims in the insurance industry. While the backend may differ, the concept remains the same: deliver fast, accurate, and local hail intelligence when every minute counts.

“Our experience in the US showed the power of combining sensor precision with software intelligence. Partnering with Meteomatics means we can finally offer that same value across Europe — with the local data access and forecasting quality needed to make it work,” said Johan Jaques, Solution owner and chief meteorologist at KISTERS.

“KISTERS' commitment to precision and performance aligns perfectly with our own,” said Chris Rees, Partnerships Manager at Meteomatics. “We’re proud to support the HailSens360 launch and bring better decision support to European customers facing growing climate risks. Together with KISTERS, we’re closing the data gap that has long held back better hail risk management in Europe”.