Tech firm secures £1 million to transform corrosion management

CorrosionRADAR - which supplies the world's longest range Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) monitoring technology - has secured investment from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, with additional funds from Mercia and private investors, alongside grants from the Government's Innovate UK and the Oil and Gas Technology Centre.

A spin-out from Cranfield University, CorrosionRADAR's patented system enables the move away from manual inspections to automated monitoring, and from reactive to predictive corrosion management. Earlier detection aids corrosion prevention, lowering costs and risk.

The firm, which has offices in Cranfield and Cambridge, uses permanently embedded sensors placed on the surface of the asset to continuously monitor its condition and detect problem areas, along with advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to predict where faults are likely to occur. The system allows facilities managers to focus their resources most effectively and helps prevent leaks.

The technology was invented by Dr Prafull Sharma and Professor Hoi Yeung. They joined forces with Dr Mehrdad Silatani and experienced industrialist Dr Chiraz Ennaceur to launch the company in 2017, with backing from Mercia and a grant from Innovate UK.

The system is already being used by large corporates such as Solvay, Sitech and Reliance Industries. This latest round of investment will allow the team to develop new hardware for the oil, gas and petrochemicals industries, while enhancing its predictive analytics and software, creating 10 new jobs for sales and marketing staff.

The annual global cost of corrosion is estimated at over £2 trillion by the worldwide corrosion authority NACE.

Dr Chiraz Ennaceur, CEO at CorrosionRADAR, said: "Corrosion is the biggest failure mechanism in the world, with a huge cost to industry. Our vision is to transform corrosion management through smart digital solutions and help pipeline owners and operators to have a safe, reliable and environmentally friendly operation."

Bill Yost, Investment Manager at Mercia, added: "CorrosionRADAR's technology solves a major challenge for the oil, gas and chemicals industries and offers a more cost-effective way to manage and maintain infrastructure. This investment will allow the company to further develop its system and reach out to the global marketplace."

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/digital-oilfield/11112019/tech-firm-secures-1m-to-transform-corrosion-management/