CorrosionRadar is gearing up to trial sensors for identifying deep corrosion in oil and gas pipeline.
CorrosionRadar, a UK-based industrial technology spinout from Cranfield University, has raised £250,000 ($334,000) in equity from investment firm Mercia Fund Managers, BusinessWeekly reported yesterday.
The business received an additional £104,000 through a grant from UK-state backed research board Innovate UK.
CorrosionRadar has developed sensors to spot corrosion in oil and gas pipelines. The wiring is installed under the duct’s insulation so decay beneath the surface can be identified.
CorrosionRadar builds on work by two Cranfield University researchers – Prafull Sharma, a doctoral fellow who studied oil and gas sensors, and Hoi Yeung, a professor emeritus in flow process assurance who currently works with oil and gas technology.
The cash will be used to further develop CorrosionRadar’s product as it seeks commercial partnerships to conduct initial tests at oil and gas installations.
CorrosionRadar had received pre-seed funding of $20,000 in 2016 from Cranfield’s leg of the Innovate UK-backed Venturefest initiative, which aims to support local research ecosystems across the UK.
Chiraz Ennaceur, chief executive of CorrosionRadar, said: “CorrosionRadar is addressing an unmet industrial challenge in a global market.
“Our vision is to support industry moving from reactive to predictive corrosion management using cutting-edge technologies from distributed sensing technology to industrial internet of things and advanced analytics.”
