Dräger Safety invests in Kuva Systems for automated camera-based monitoring of Methane emissions
The Kuva platform is a camera-based methane monitoring solution centered on color-coded video clips of invisible gas that are automatically generated when emission events are detected.
Cambridge, Mass, Sept. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dräger Safety AG & Co. KGaA today announced that after an initial investment in the company in 2018, it has now made a follow-on equity investment in Kuva Systems.
The Kuva platform is a camera-based methane monitoring solution centered on color-coded video clips of invisible gas that are automatically generated when emission events are detected. By making the invisible measurable, and thereby manageable, Kuva enables the oil and gas industry to continuously identify and reduce methane leaks as they occur and thereby meet ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and methane intensity goals. The Kuva technology is a breakthrough because, unlike other infrared camera solutions, it is not confused by the variability that thermal infrared background radiation creates in a scene. This allows for confident automated gas detection.
The financing round also includes follow-on investments by investors from the Clean Energy Venture Group and Launchpad Venture Group. Formerly known as MultiSensor Scientific, the company has concurrently rebranded as Kuva Systems to better reflect the industrial focus that is core to its mission.
Methane is a carbon dioxide-like greenhouse gas. Leading oil and gas firms have made self-commitments to reduce their methane emissions as part of net-zero emission goals. Methane emissions from the global oil and gas industry currently contribute to climate change at double the rate of worldwide airplane traffic.
“We’ve been impressed by the progress of the Kuva team,” said Bernhard Mohr, Vice President Processing Industries, Dräger Safety. “Methane emissions are an extraordinary challenge for the oil and gas industry, both economic and environmental. The Kuva cloud-based gas monitoring service and low-cost infrared camera technology set them up as an unparalleled solution.”
“Continuous monitoring and quantification of methane emissions complement once-a-year optical gas inspections called for by regulations. Companies want to detect major emissions from abnormal system operations at high-risk sites immediately, recapture lost revenues from leaks, and demonstrate clean operations to investors, customers and the public,” said Stefan Bokaemper, CEO, Kuva Systems. “Unlike installed point detectors, a camera-based monitoring solution eliminates the need for expensive secondary inspections, minimizes false positives, and thereby lowers the total-cost-of-ownership.” “While science is the foundation of our technology,” Bokaemper adds, “we chose to rebrand from MultiSensor Scientific to Kuva to reflect the industrial focus of our solution.”
Kuva Systems is starting field installations at up to 100 sites in Alberta, Canada. Additional field testing in Texas will start in October.
The Kuva solution benefits from a strong intellectual property portfolio. Its technology is protected worldwide by six patents, 15 patent applications, and numerous trade secrets.
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Dräger is an international leader in the fields of medical and safety technology. Our products protect, support and save lives. Founded in 1889, Dräger generated revenues of almost EUR 2.8 billion in 2019. The Dräger Group is currently present in over 190 countries and has more than 14,500 employees worldwide. Please visit www.draeger.com for more information.
About Kuva:
Kuva Systems, formerly known as MultiSensor Scientific, offers an industrial IoT solution to continuously monitor and quantify methane and VOC emissions, providing actionable alerts with no false-positive readings. The Kuva infrared imaging system automatically detects and measures emissions and delivers direct alerts. Video clips of emissions, annotated with quantified release data, are directly transferred to customer’s work order management and production operation systems. Armed with this uniquely actionable information, customers can plan and implement mitigation and repairs without the expense of secondary manual inspections. Please visit www.kuvasystems.com for more information.
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Marion Varec, PR Manager Dräger 215-660-2186 [email protected] Stefan Bokaemper, CEO Kuva Systems 617-925-0480 ext. 9 [email protected]