Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CountIce (A portable instrument (PINE) for the autonomous detection of atmospheric ice nucleating particles aimed at the research, global monitoring and cloud seeding markets)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2020-02-01 al 2022-04-30
PINE is the first the first instrument to automatically measure atmospheric ice nucleating particles and in CountIce we designed and constructed a suitable inlet system and ran PINE in our mobile laboratory (the IcePod) for several months, largely unattended. Control of PINE was achieved via an internet link and it could be controlled using a phone or remote computer, demonstrating its utility for use in remote intermittently manned research stations elsewhere in the world.
We have patented the core technology in PINE and have partnered with a company, Bilfinger Noel GMBH, who have developed a comercial version of the instrument and are now marketing it. We recently made our first two sales of the instrument, one in Germany and one in China and have interest from potential customers from across the world.
The development and commercialisation of PINE is clearly achieving commercial impact, but will also have a societal benefit through improving our community's capacity to make long-term measurements of ice-nucleating particles. This will enable us in the longer term to improve our climate models, with clear benefits for society.