17 Feb 2021 07:00
17 February 2021
DeepVerge PLC
("DeepVerge" or "the Company")
DeepVerge production orders worth $5m (£3.6m) for Modern Water equipment in Q1
8 Modern Water units being retrofitted with MicrotoxPD SARS-CoV-2 wastewater detection systems
Manufacturing being implemented to increase our production capacity in China in Q2
DeepVerge (LSE:DVRG.L), the environmental and life science AI company, announces that since the offer for the acquisition of Modern Water plc was completed on November 17, 2020, contractual obligations have been signed for the production of water contamination equipment worth $5 million USD (£3.6m) to meet its obligations with distributors and customers. Notably, 80% of the equipment being produced is earmarked for the Chinese market, where further assembly and localization will be carried out. These orders are expected to be delivered during the current financial year ending 31 December 2021.
· Instruments from across the range of Microtox and Microtrace are being manufactured with upgrades to the software allowing optimised collection and organisation of data for real time surveillance.
· Screens have been upgraded with Chinese interfaces across the range of Modern Water's ("MW") bench top lab equipment.
· This month over 100 of the 2019 Award Winning[i] Microtox bench top and mobile instruments are completing production for immediate delivery.
· 40 Handheld trace metal detector PDVs[ii] have been manufactured to meet immediate obligations and a significant upgrade design is underway on a further 100 units to be produced.
· Big ticket (c$50,000 USD) online monitors from the Microtox CTM[iii] toxicity range and the Microtrace metal OVA[iv] range are being produced across two sites with 40 units scheduled for final assembly at our Shanghai, China, facilities in March.
· 8 MW, Microtrace OVA, units are being retrofitted with the MicrotoxPD[v] real-time optofluidic COVID detection system for wastewater.
· Upgrade to the MW reagent production line, in York, UK, being completed with the installation of a HS-2 Freeze Drying Lyophilizer from Frozen in Time[vi]. This streamlines downstream processing, automates quality control, improving volume output of the recurring revenue consumables used by most of the MW range of equipment.
· Microsaic's in-line bio-processing monitoring unit[vii], announced in the RNS[viii] of the 15th of February, will fully automate the upstream quality control system removing all manual testing requirements.
Phase two of our manufacturing plan is being implemented to increase manufacturing capacity in China in Quarter 2, 2021 to double current capacity by year end.
Gerard Brandon, CEO of DeepVerge plc, commented:
"Following our acquisition of MW, ongoing investment is focused on creating optimised, miniaturised and more cost effective instruments that collect data efficiently to be processed using our AI models to deliver more detailed results faster. This enables water pollution to be detected, and when combined with external weather data, the prediction of pollution, and therefore pollution control is made possible. The software in each unit has undergone substantial upgrades to enhance the user experience of Microtox and Microtrace instruments. Automatic detection and identification of Modern Water's reagents by our equipment ensures optimal monitoring as our tests are a regulated benchmark and, importantly for the Company, generating recurring income from these consumables."
DeepVerge plc | Gerard Brandon, CEO | +44 (0) 7340 055 648 | ||
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited
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+44 (0) 113 370 8974 | ||
Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited (Broker) | Andy Thacker / Zoe Alexander | +44 (0) 20 3657 0050 |
About DeepVerge plc (www.deepverge.com)
DeepVerge is a group of companies comprising environmental (Modern Water) and life science (Labskin) that develops and applies AI and IoT technology to analytical instruments for the analysis and identification of bacteria, virus and toxins. Utilising artificial intelligent data analytics to scientifically prove the impact of skincare product claims on skin microbiome for most of the top 20 global cosmetic company clients and remotely detect and identify in real-time, dangerous pathogens in wastewater treatment plants, drinking water, rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
[i] https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/MWG/modern-water-microtox-lx-declared-winner-in-china/14547432?lang=en
[ii] Modern Water's PDV are portable analysis tool kits that provide on-site characterisation of pollution hot spots and contamination sources. They can be configured to measure up to 24 different metals and offer an internationally accepted alternative to laboratory analysis.
[iii] Microtox® CTM is a site-based, broad range, Continuous Toxicity Monitor (CTM) that continuously measures the chemical toxicity of a water source, giving instant indication of water health. It is a fully automatic instrument that offers a 4-week, autonomous operating cycle and requires a low level of skill for both operation and maintenance.
A major advantage over most analytical methods is that Microtox® CTM takes one measurement every ten seconds, significantly reducing the risk of false alarms and can detect contaminants whether or not there is prior knowledge of the potential source or nature of contamination. Most other on-line toxicity monitors take intermittent samples and provide only one test result in typically 15-30 minutes.
[iv] Microtrace OVA is a fully automated on-line monitor, developed as a modular system, to provide continuous or intermittent monitoring of metals in process streams, effluent discharges, river and potable water. Sampling can be programmed to be taken at specified times, on demand or when triggered by an external event. Integration of the OVA in a plant control system allows users full control over the content of their process streams, ensuring regulatory compliance for any discharges.
[v] Microtox® PD has been designed to be retrofitted into existing Modern Water equipment to detect and identify a range of infectious viruses and bacteria including SARS-CoV-2, E.coli, Legionella and Cryptosporidium, on a single chip, using AI, in real-time.
[vi] https://www.freezedriers.com/_webedit/uploaded-files/All%20Files/HS-2.pdf
[vii] https://www.microsaic.com/products/protein-id/
[viii] https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/DVRG/proposed-framework-services-ag-ment-with-microsaic/14864240