Laser measurement firm secures £3.5 million investment

A company developing precision sensing technology for the measurement of greenhouse gases and air pollutants has received a £3.5 million investment to bring the products to market.

Oxfordshire-based MIRICO designs, develops and manufactures gas-sensing solutions for applications that demand high performance and reliability.

Experimental set up in RAL Space’s Laser Spectroscopy Laboratory at STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, February 2016

Originally spun-out of the RAL Space Department of the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in 2015, MIRICO produces equipment using ‘next-generation’ laser techniques.

The equipment is used in a wide range of applications, including environmental monitoring to improve measurements for air quality and greenhouse gases and in industrial process control to measure a number of important gas molecules to improve process efficiency and product yield.

The investment was secured from a combination of sources including Longwall Ventures ECF, STFC Innovation Ltd, UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKi2S) and a new investor Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund.

Regulation

According to MIRICO, tighter regulation on air quality and global climate change is driving a growing demand for more accurate, reliable and versatile technology.

Mohammed Belal —  the company’s co-founder and business development director, said: “This is an exciting new phase for MIRICO, the technology has great potential to add value across a range of sectors from improving our understanding of climate change to increasing production yield in semiconductor fabrication. This funding will help MIRICO transition from product engineering to manufacturing, helping us serve our current customer base and open up new opportunities”

Over the past two years, the company claims to have developed a prototype system for remote detection of emissions for use in industrial facilities and scientific applications around the world.

The completion of funding opens an “exciting new chapter for MIRICO”, the company says, allowing it to complete the product development of its current system and build a manufacturing capability to serve its customer base.

Dr Damien Weidmann, Head of STFC’s RAL Space Spectroscopy Group, and co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer for MIRICO, who developed the technology, said: “The development of novel miniaturised sensing technologies for Space applications is highly demanding owing to their stringent requirements. This accuracy, precision, and ruggedness has enabled high impact development for challenging terrestrial applications.

“MIRICO exemplifies this process by fully exploiting space-developed technology in a creative and effective way to address global terrestrial market needs. This is really exciting times to take the technology to the next level, to collaborate further with industry, and pioneer the development of advanced mid infrared sensing systems and applications.”

Related Links
MIRICO
Science & Technology Facilities Council