SensL to conduct European research project in the latest sensor technologySeán Sherlock TD, Minister for Research and Innovation, today [Date] announced that SensL Technologies, an Irish based innovator in light detection technologies, has secured a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) valued at €300,000.
The contract was secured with the help of Enterprise Ireland, the co-ordinating body for ESA in Ireland, and will aid SensL in bringing its latest sensor technology to the market.
SensL, a Cork based SME, develops highly innovative and advanced silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). Silicon photomultipliers detect very low levels of light and are used in a wide range of applications from medical imaging to hazard and threat detection. In these markets, SensL’s products provide a low cost, high performance and more reliable silicon sensor alternative.
As part of this ESA contract, SensL will begin the development of the next generation sensor for future ESA space Science missions, offering unparalleled price and performance.
The technologies developed by SensL with ESA support will contribute to the company’s growth in both commercial space and non-space markets leading to a projected 100% increase in sales in each of the next two years.
Making the announcement Minister Sherlock said: “SensL is another example of how Ireland’s recent investment in ESA is assisting Irish Hi Tech companies to develop new technology, leading to export sales and increased employment. The activity is very much in line with the Government’s strategy of exploiting Irelands ESA membership to foster an expanding high technology sector in Ireland. I wish the company every success in bringing its highly innovative solutions to the market”
Carl Jackson, CTO of SensL said: “We are very pleased to be working with ESA on this program. It is not often that it is possible to combine the technology requirements for a space application with those of a terrestrial medical imaging application. I am pleased that we have been able to establish a great technology which can be used in this way and I look forward to working with ESA to further develop our unique sensors.”
Tony McDonald, programme manager with Enterprise Ireland stated that “we are seeing an increasing trend of Irish companies spinning space technologies into a range of non-space markets, in line with the national ESA strategy. SensL’s plan to target medical imaging market is an excellent example how space technologies can be commercially exploited outside of the space market”.
ENDS
For More Information Please Contact:
Wade Appelman, SensL Technologies, Tel: +1 617-314-7957, Email: wade@sensl.com.
Editors Notes:
About SensL
SensL is the world’s leading supplier of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). These are sensors which are used to detect and measure light. SiPM sensors are utilized in numerous applications including hazard and threat detection, medical imaging, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), biophotonics, process inspection, and academic research. SensL’s products replace legacy vacuum tube photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) with a solid state alternative which is lower cost, more reliable, and provides dramatically improved system integration benefits.
Visit www.sensl.com for more information.
Ireland’s Membership of the European Space Agency
Ireland has been a long-standing participant in European space programmes, particularly through membership of the European Space Agency (ESA), and this has provided an effective means for Irish companies, most of them SME’s, to develop new opportunities both in space-related areas and other markets.
Ireland became a member of the European Space Agency in 1975. The purpose of Ireland’s membership of ESA is to participate in European space programmes with a focus on facilitating innovative Irish companies to develop leading edge space technologies and to commercially exploit their ESA participation in global space and non-space markets, leading to increased export sales and employment.
Irish industrial and research participation in ESA covers a range of sectors and technology areas including; software, precision mechanical engineering, telecommunications, electronics, optoelectronics and advanced materials and extending to end user equipment, services and applications. Enterprise Ireland (EI) provides support to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI) in relation to Ireland’s membership, including handling Irish company and researcher engagement with ESA.