Omnisens Cable Monitoring Group Receives Major Investment from SVC (Switzerland)

Omnisens, a pioneer in continuous, long distance monitoring systems for energy cables, has received substantial investment from SVC Ltd., an investment vehicle fully owned by Credit Suisse.

“From their success in projects demanding cost-efficient, long distance, accurate monitoring, the Omnisens systems are clearly answering a market need,” said Andreas Koopmann, chairman of the Investment Committee of SVC. The systems are considered accurate at significant distances, even those greater than 50 km (31 miles).

With many windfarms located more than 20 km (12 miles) offshore and in relatively shallow water (less than 100 m (328 feet)), the export cables, which transmit the power generated from the offshore substation to the onshore one, are exposed to many potential risks. Existing pipelines and cables may cross the cable route. Tidal activity may lead to seabed migration, which completely changes the environment where the cable is located. Fishing and marine activity may damage the cable with anchors and dropped debris. None of this is visible.

Omnisens’ Ditest, based on Brillouin-based distributed fiber optic sensing, is able to resolve the temperature to within 1°C at each point along 50 km of power cable continuously from one interrogator, enabling the operator not only to monitor the condition of the cable, but also to feed the temperature into a dynamic rating system so that the cable loading can be optimized.

Examples of two of the many projects that Omnisens systems are monitoring are a 48 km (30 mile) export cable for Dong Energy’s Walney Offshore Windfarm and a 22 km (14 mile) power cable used for the heating of a subsea flowline connecting Åsgard B platform to Statoil’s Morvin field off the coast of Norway.

About Omnisens SA

Omnisens is a leader in long-range, accurate monitoring for the power, civil engineering and oil and gas industries. Founded in 1999 as a spin off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and based in Switzerland, Omnisens operates throughout the world, either directly or through specialized solution providers.

Using pioneering fiber optic based Brillouin sensing and highly qualified application and commissioning teams, Omnisens offers continuous, reliable monitoring of asset integrity.

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Source: Omnisens, September 14, 2011;