Silixa Lighting the Way in Fibre-Powered Data Solutions in Mining
London, 29 April 2021: Silixa Ltd., a driving force in fibre-powered data solutions, has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2021 for the commercialisation of its ground-breaking Carina Sensing System. The system takes the high-density coverage of distributed sensors beyond that which can be achieved by point sensors, redefining the possibility for such systems across the energy, infrastructure, mining, and environmental sectors. This allows actionable insight for the refinement of existing processes and the development of new applications to improve sustainability, reduce costs, and enhance operational safety.
The Queens Award for Enterprise recognises innovation coupled with commercial success. In 2018-20, Silixa reported record compound annual growth of over 40% giving sales of £22.42m in 2020.
Glynn Williams, CEO, Silixa, said, “With the launch of the Carina Sensing System in 2019, we doubled down on our diversification strategy, entering underserved sectors that required accurate monitoring solutions. The remarkable growth resulting from this strategy reflects the benefits that the technology delivers in applications, particularly within the mining sector. The system can cost-effectively monitor the integrity of tailings storage facilities at a higher spatial resolution compared to conventional technologies, thus preventing the failure of dams which can cause immense social and economic damage.
The Carina Sensing System, Silixa’s precision engineered distributed fibre optic acoustic sensor (DAS) utilising the family of engineered Constellation fibres, provides sensitivity one hundred times greater than that of standard fibres. The higher sensitivity addresses rapidly emerging critical measurement challenges and paves the way for affordable continuous monitoring in Silixa’s markets.
Mahmoud Farhadiroushan, Founder and Executive Director Silixa added, “This is an exciting time for our company, and we are delighted to have received this internationally recognised prestigious award which is a reflection of a great Silixa team effort across all our international operating centres. The Carina Sensing System was developed with support from our investors Chevron Technology Ventures, Lime Rock Partners and Equinor Ventures and has been used by many of the major oil companies. Going forward, we believe that the system’s passive monitoring capabilities will create huge potential across a multitude of emerging sectors and applications”.
The Carina Sensing System is enabling the development of new digital solutions that were previously impossible, helping mine operators meet their environmental, social and governance goals.
