University of Bristol spin-out Inductosense gets new investment in corrosion monitoring technology
Inductosense, the University of Bristol spin-out company which has developed an ultrasonic sensor for monitoring corrosion, cracks and defects in industrial structures, has announced a new round of investment.
This latest investment round brings the total amount raised by Inductosense to over $10 million.
Inductosense has developed a WAND (Wireless and Non-Destructive) system that is based around wireless, battery-free ultrasonic sensors. These sensors are permanently attached to metal structures to provide simple and accurate wall thickness monitoring.
Inductosense’s clients benefit from a significant reduction in cost and time associated with conventional monitoring.
The WAND technology has already been deployed internationally in a range of industries including oil and gas, chemical, nuclear and mining.
This latest round of investment comes from Aramco Ventures, a significant investor in technology companies that are developing solutions to address some of the challenges facing the energy industry.
Aramco Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, is a significant investor in technology companies that are developing solutions to address some of the energy industry’s most pressing challenges.
Aramco trialled the WAND system across six plants in its network and subsequently approved the technology in 2022. The latest investment brings the total amount raised by Inductosense to more than £8m.
Inductosense’s technology was developed over several years by Dr Chenghuan Zhong, Dr Anthony Croxford and Professor Paul Wilcox from the Ultrasonics and Non-Destructive Testing Group at Bristol’s School of Civil, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.
Inductosense CEO Dr. Matt Butcher said: “Inductosense has seen rapid growth with our customers transitioning from trials to deployments of sensors in volumes.
“It is great to have Aramco Ventures on board and this investment will be used to further support the roll-out of our technology with clients, including Aramco.
"We will also use the funds to take advantage of a range of opportunities to integrate our technology into products during their manufacture as well as progressing towards a recurring revenue based model."
Aramco Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, is a significant investor in technology companies that are developing solutions to address some of the energy industry’s most pressing challenges.
“We are excited to be investing in Inductosense’s game changing corrosion monitoring technology” said Mike Hill of Aramco Ventures. “We believe that its technology has the potential to make a real difference to Aramco and to the way that assets are managed in a wide range of industries.”
