The Earth Energy Monitor System was born at the 2016 SNS Future in Review (FiRe) Conference - CTO Design Challenge. Since then it has moved forward including becoming affiliated with Global Earth Observation (GEO) and other academic, federal and multi-national organisations.

The SNS FiRe CTO Design Challenge is a key event of the FiRe event where thought leaders at, according to BBC the best technology conference in the world" grapples with a world issue over the course of a multi-day design effort. In the design challenge CTOs, industry and government leaders come together to solve large-scale real-world problems. Past CTO Challenges have go on from the design at FiRe and are now being applied in fighting urban wildfires in San Diego County, Austin, and Australia. Measurable, scalable results have also included “Water Beyond Tomorrow,” Scaling Alternative Energy, Capturing Carbon, and Nutritional Microanalysis, and a high-tech stealth startup called Coventry Computers.

The SNS Future in Review (FiRe) Conference was first held in 2003, and soon named “the best technology conference in the world” by the Economist, the annual Future in Review™ Conference is exceptional in its breadth and depth. International speakers and participants often share roles, with a bias favouring action. FiRe is covered by media alliance partner BBC World News, with its 150MM audience, and is streamed live to global mirror sites including London, Shanghai, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo.