BBI Solutions has announced its pioneering Novarum technology has facilitated a 400% increase in usage of Conidia’s FUELSTAT test over the last twelve months.

Working with sectors including aviation, marine and offshore, backup power generation and transportation, microbial fuel testing company Conidia Bioscience has experienced a surge in demand for its on-site rapid testing technology.

BBI Solutions partnered with Conidia Bioscience, makers of the market leading FUELSTAT test kits, in 2017 to develop a mobile app to verify results of tests detecting microbiological contamination in diesel or jet fuels. Since then, Conidia and BBI have been working closely together to review feedback from users in the field to shape future developments.

Requiring only a droplet of water in fuel to thrive, microbial growth has the potential to cause severe disruption. It is an issue that costs the aviation industry millions in lost revenue every year and as many fleets have been grounded due to the pandemic, there is an increased risk of fuel tanks becoming contaminated.

The partnership between BBI Solutions and Conidia Bioscience provides a full test and mobile solution, helping prepare aircraft for service again, ensuring backup power is available to keep data centres running, and maintaining the quality of fuel systems across many critical industry applications.

Dr Mario Gualano, Chief Executive of BBI Group, said “Our partnership with Conidia Bioscience using our Novarum technology in combination with their test kits demonstrates our commitment to address challenges faced in the aviation industry, particularly during the pandemic.”

BBI Solutions’ patented Novarum technology transforms a smartphone into an accurate test reader, empowering users to read, share and store their results as part of a connected mobile ecosystem.

The application acts as a seamless extension to Conidia’s testing process; the end to end solution enabling technicians to take a sample on site, perform the test and share results digitally anywhere around the globe within fifteen minutes.

Following the success of the feature over the last year, Conidia Bioscience has this month launched a new version of the application and online portal to provide all customers with a unique, full digital test solution.

Redesigned from the ground up for greater speed of response and reliability of result, the application contains many new features designed for ease of use by customers, whilst retaining familiarity for existing FUELSTAT users.

Dr Neil Polwart, Head of Mobile at BBI Solutions, said “Microbial fuel contamination is a common and costly issue for the aviation industry and other sectors that rely on jet, or diesel fuel to power their operations.

“We developed this breakthrough product with Conidia, combining our innovative Novarum reader technology with the firm’s comprehensive immunoassay to transform the way fuel contamination tests are performed. It is fantastic that affected sectors are being proactive and using FUELSTAT tests, and we are pleased to continue to support the development of the application to further improve process efficiency and data capture.”

Leif Friestad, Managing Director of Conidia Bioscience, said “As industry harnesses the power of smartphones to drive advances in safety, security and compliance, BBI Solutions’ Novarum technology has been a significant value-add for us and our customers.

“The ability to test and share results quickly saves time, money, disruption and, potentially, lives.”

Novarum holds patents in Europe, the US, China, Japan and Russia and BBI is also ISO 13485:2016 certified for Medical Device Quality Management Systems.