PRESS RELEASE —4th August 2022 — Quantum Exponential Group plc (AQUIS: QBIT), a company focused on investing in quantum technology, is pleased to announce that it has invested £450,000 (the ‘Investment’) as part of a £12,000,000 Series A funding round in QLM Technology Ltd (‘QLM’), a UK-based photonics hardware and technology development company that has developed a cutting-edge gas imaging camera based on quantum technology termed a Quantum Gas Imaging Lidar. The funding round was led by Schlumberger Oilfield UK Limited (‘Schlumberger’) and included new investment from existing investors Green Angel Syndicate, Enterprise 100 Syndicate, the Development Bank of Wales, Newable, BritBots, and BPEC.
Highlights
● QLM is a UK-based company focused on revolutionising gas sensing in the oil and gas industry and other industries with quantum solutions for continuous greenhouse gas emissions monitoring
● QLM has secured £12,000,000 in a funding round as part of a strategic collaboration with lead investor, Schlumberger
● QLM’s Quantum Gas Imaging Lidar technology will be integrated into Schlumberger End-to-end Emissions Solutions (‘SEES’), a business dedicated to eliminating the oil and gas industry’s methane and routine flaring emissions
● Repeat investors in QLM include — Green Angel Syndicate, Enterprise100 Syndicate, Newable Venture Fund, Development Bank of Wales, Britbots Seed Fund and Bristol Private Equity Club.
● The funding will be used to further develop QLM’s Quantum Gas Imaging Lidar technology and the new strategic collaboration with Schlumberger will help to introduce and distribute QLM’s quantum cameras across the global oil and gas market
● The lidar technology has demonstrated industry-leading greenhouse gas quantification performance and can be rapidly cost-reduced to enable widespread deployment in GHG intensive industries
Following the Investment, Quantum Exponential will hold 1,203,208 B Ordinary Shares at a price of £0.374 in QLM representing 1.6% of QLM’s fully diluted share capital.
Commenting on the investment, CEO of Quantum Exponential Group, Steven Metcalfe said:
“QLM is our fourth investment into the Quantum sector and brings with it further diversification to the Company’s investments. With QLM’s focus being on the detection and prevention of leaks from the oil & gas industry it contributes to our efforts to create a well-rounded portfolio of promising companies using quantum technology in different sectors.
“The Quantum team and I are delighted to be joining Schlumberger in supporting QLM and its unique cutting-edge quantum technology. Schlumberger is a leader in the oil and gas industry and a pivotal partner for QLM particularly as it plans to integrate QLM’s technology into Schlumberger End-to-end Emissions Solutions business for the oil and gas industry enabling a wide deployment of the technology from the beginning.
“With the events of COP-26, the UK’s goal of reaching net zero by 2050, and methane having more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years, this innovative technology couldn’t come at a better time. It will enable companies to quickly identify and stop any leaks, in a quicker and more reliable manner than the methods currently utilised and will assist organisations and governments to achieve the aim of reaching net zero.”
Quantum Gas Imaging Lidar Technology
QLM’s best-in-class gas imaging camera, the Quantum Gas Imaging Lidar, will be used to monitor, detect, and accurately locate and quantify greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emission sources for rapid repair. The capabilities of the QLM technology will allow its customers to credibly certify their Responsibly Sourced Gas and increase the speed at which they achieve their Environmental Social Governance goals. The technology is groundbreaking in the emissions monitoring marketplace in its potential to achieve the greatest amount of GHG abatement at the lowest cost of ownership; the lidar technology is inherently high-performance and scalable to low cost at high volume, enabling wide deployment.
One of the main methods for detecting gas currently is the use of infrared cameras which have several drawbacks that QLM’s technology avoids. Primarily infrared cameras require a high initial investment cost and infrared images are difficult to interpret since the images are sensitive to temperature differences in the environment. QLM’s technology has significant competitive advantages in its accuracy, speed, and scalability in detecting and prioritizing leaks at the lowest cost of ownership.
This announcement contains information that, prior to its disclosure, was inside information as stipulated under Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310 (as amended).
The Directors take responsibility for this announcement.
**ENDS**
For more information, visit the Company’s website: www.quantum-exponential.co.uk or contact:
Steven Metcalfe, Chief Executive Officer c/o [email protected]
Novum Securities (AQSE Corporate Adviser) Tel: +44 (0)20 7399 9400
David Coffman, Lucy Bowden
Oberon Capital (Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 3179 5344
Mike Seabrook, Chris Crawford
St Brides Partners Limited (Financial PR) [email protected]
Catherine Leftley, Ana Ribeiro, Isabelle Morris
Notes to Editors
About Quantum Exponential Group plc
Quantum Exponential is a first of its kind, AQSE Growth Market enterprise company, focused on opportunities in quantum technology and the wider quantum computing sector, with an advisory board made up of industry advisors, entrepreneurs, and technology investment professionals with broad access to quantum opportunities and markets. Quantum Exponential’s investment strategy is to assemble a portfolio of minority investments in early-stage global quantum technology companies, primarily in NATO-allied countries, offering institutional and private investors access to revolutionising technologies and industries in the realms of artificial intelligence, manufacturing and healthcare.
Quantum Exponential trades on AQSE Growth Market under the ticker symbol “QBIT’.
About QLM Technology Ltd
QLM is a UK-based photonics technology company with headquarters in Cardiff and operations in Bristol and San Francisco, formed in 2017 with support from Bristol University’s Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre. QLM developed a new type of gas imaging camera — based on quantum technology developed at the University of Bristol — that combines lidar and gas absorption spectroscopy with single-photon detection. This novel imaging technology can detect, visualize, localize and accurately quantify emission rates of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The solution has demonstrated industry-leading quantification performance and enables customers in GHG-intensive industries to identify and prioritize the most consequential emitters for remediation in the most cost-effective manner. QLM’s lidar technology is inherently scalable to low cost at high volume, enabling wide deployment.
For more information, visit the Company’s website: https://qlmtec.com/
About Schlumberger
Schlumberger (SLB: NYSE) is a technology company that provides leading digital solutions and deploys ground-breaking technologies to enable performance and sustainability that are crucial for the global energy industry. Schlumberger’s services represent over 160 nationalities, who collaborate to create technology that unlocks access to energy for all. Schlumberger has expertise in more than 120 countries that partner with customers in close collaboration to create industry-changing technologies focused on cleaner, safer access to energy for every community. Schlumberger has an extensive portfolio of Transition Technologies concentrated on reducing the energy industry’s carbon footprint and accelerating the path to net zero.
About Schlumberger End-to-end Emissions Solutions (SEES)
In March 2022, Schlumberger launched a dedicated business (SEES) to eliminate oil and gas industry’s methane and routine flaring emissions. This new end-to-end emissions solutions business offers a range of solutions to help operators identify, quantify, report, and eliminate emissions as they work toward their decarbonization objectives.
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