Saudi oil company leads £2.9m investment in corrosion monitoring firm
CorrosionRADAR – whose technology can detect and predict corrosion in pipelines - has attracted funding from the Middle East’s largest oil and gas company as part of a £2.9m investment round.
Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures led the Series A round, with support from existing investors the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), Mercia’s EIS funds and angel investors.
The funding will enable CorrosionRADAR to strengthen its operations and widen efforts to address corrosion under insulation – amajor challenge for oil, gas and chemical companies - through digitalisation. It follows successful on-site installations of its technology at a primary Aramco production facility, demonstrating the potential for substantial cost saving and value generation.
Dr Chiraz Ennaceur, CEO at CorrosionRADAR said: “We welcome this exciting collaboration with Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures as we step up the global response to corrosion through the adoption of digital solutions. This investment demonstrates a surge of confidence from the sector in the use of real-time data systems that will accurately predict leakages and the onset of structural failure. With the worldwide cost of corrosion at $2.5 trillion, a co-ordinated effort cannot come soon enough. CorrosionRADAR is showing that a sustainable path to increased safety and dramatically reduced costs is achievable right now, using new technology and wireless connectivity.”
CorrosionRADAR, which is based in Cranfield with an office in Cambridge, is seeing growing demand for its smart solutions as companies look to make their operations safer and more energy efficient through improved maintenance and management of assets. Its systems typically yield cost savings of between 40 and 60 per cent following installation and extend the lifetime of assets.
Mercia first invested in CorrosionRADAR in 2017 when it was founded as a spin-out from the University of Cranfield.
Stephen Windsor, Investment Manager at Mercia, said: “CorrosionRADAR’s systems transform the way operators approach on-site inspection and maintenance. The company has gone from strength to strength and its ability to raise a sizeable scale-up round during these testing times is a huge testament to the hard work of the team.”
Ken Cooper, Managing Director at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF first supported CorrosionRADAR in 2019 and was able to provide additional funding last year. This investment, together with the expertise of the MEIF fund manager, has helped accelerate the company’s growth to this point. Investments such as this show the importance of the right kind of funding being available in the region.”
Hilary Chipping, Chief Executive at SEMLEP, added: “South East Midlands businesses continue to be at the cutting-edge of innovation, where clever ideas and new technologies come together into smart business solutions. It’s fantastic to see CorrosionRADAR securing further investment to continue using smart solutions to meet major challenges such as tackling corrosion under insulation."
