Taking groundbreaking gas sensing from the laboratory to the marketplace.

SPLICE (Single Photon Lidar Imaging of Carbon Emissions) is the name of an Innovate UK project consortium led by University of Bristol spin-out company QLM Technology, working as part of the National Quantum Technologies Programme, designed to bring QLM’s gas visualisation solution to full commercial readiness.

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The project will fund research and development, field trials, production optimisation and commercial presentations over the course of the next two years. By the end of the project, the camera and accessories will be fully available to the oil and gas and environmental science industries, enabling a disruptive change to the way methane and carbon dioxide levels are monitored at the facility scale.

The SPLICE Objectives

The overall goal of the SPLICE project is the successful development of industry-ready single-photon LIDAR gas cameras, fully-featured and ready for use in continuous leak detection and greenhouse gas monitoring operations worldwide.

Three Key Targets

Accuracy over long-range

  • Low-uncertainty, high precision, high repeatability measurements with high temporal resolution
  • A measurement range of over 150m, and further depending on the measurement circumstance

Practicality and wide-ranging applicability

  • A simple to operate user experience, with no requirement for complex calibration routines
  • Versatile mounting capability, either on fixed points, vehicles and drones
  • Eye-safe laser technology, without the need for additional safety procedures
  • No need for complex cryogenic cooling of the detectors
  • Low power consumption, able to run on batteries and potentially solar power
  • A small form factor, with lightweight construction

Scalable and low-cost technology

  • Mature, inexpensive telecommunications laser technology
  • Affordable overall solution with a low cost-of-ownership

QuantIC's role

QLM Technology was formed in 2017 by former University of Bristol researcher, Xiao Ai. Since then QLM Tech. have been collaborating with funders in industrial, government and private sectors to commercialise the gas camera. The University of Bristol and it's research continues to be a part of the SPLICE consortium.

First published: 24 January 2022

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