An explosion caused by an unmonitored methane leak

While the major oil and gas companies around the world have pledged to tidy up their act, you can’t manage what you can’t measure, and no one is able to measure methane properly. Current technology doesn’t have the ability to detect leaks at range, is too expensive to be scalable, and too complex to be deployed by non-experts. 

QLM have developed a technology which uses the quantum properties of light to detect greenhouse gases better than previously possible. It can operate at a range of 200 metres with 10x greater accuracy than current solutions, but at a fraction of the cost (80% less than current alternatives), and in a form which is more usable (for example, capable of being hand-held, or drone-mounted as opposed to helicopter mounted). 

By being able to accurately detect and measure methane emissions, QLMs technology will be foundation in preventative action being taken to stop them, and make a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

How they have been doing since we invested?

Since our investment in 2018, QLM have built their technology into a best in class product.

The Company’s technology has been evaluated by experts at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK, the Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Centre in the USA and in industrial trials with Schlumberger, Total Energies, and National Grid Gas.

This has led to a commercial partnership with Schlumberger, the premier service provider to the oil and gas industry, developing the QLM’s technology into market ready products, ready for commercial release this year (2022).

Alongside significant success in raising over £2m in non-dilutive grant funding, QLM recently raised a Series A round at a 8x valuation uplift to Britbots’ initial investment.

QLM’s technology can see natural gas leaks more accurately and affordably than ever before

Looking ahead

The pressure for oil and gas majors to prevent reduce their environmental impact is only going in one direction and demand for QLM’s product offering is accelerating as a result.

The Company will launch is first products this year and expand its manufacturing capabilities to meet the scale of the opportunity – there are over 500,000 active gas wells in north America alone!

Beyond this, huge opportunities exist in other industries outside oil and gas production: the petrochemical industry consumes natural gas to manufacture a wide range of industrial materials and environmental monitoring for landfill and Landfill-Gas-To-Energy plants are both substantial opportunities in their own right.