Kromek Regulatory News (KMK)

Embargoed until: 07.00, 4 August 2014

Kromek Group plc

("Kromek" or "the Company")

Kromek Awarded Network Detector Development Programme by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency

Kromek (AIM: KMK.L), a supplier of patented radiation detection technologies to the medical, security and nuclear markets, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded up to $1.23m for a 12-month programme with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) commencing immediately. This is to develop an advanced portable detection system for gamma and neutron radiation that can be combined in large networks, providing information on radiation signatures over an extended area. The programme is geared towards procurement in Year 2 and beyond. DARPA is an agency of the United States Department of Defense and responsible for maintaining the technological superiority of the U.S. military.

This contract, along with many others in the nuclear detection market, represents further healthy conversion of the pipeline into orders and the majority of the revenue of the contract is expected to be recognised in the current financial year.

These latest successes are rooted both in Kromek's world leading capabilities in high performance radiation detectors, which are compact and uniquely require no cooling mechanism, and also in its overall "semiconductor to solutions" business model. This allows the Company to quickly respond to emerging customer needs by understanding and integrating all the closely interlocking elements required for an end customer application. These elements often include the detector design, different system configurations and software components, to allow improved interpretation and presentation of data in an easy-to-use and efficient form. Over the last few years the Company has introduced a number of products into the nuclear detection market, each providing unique performance, field usability and reduced size, including the world's smallest, high resolution gamma ray spectrometer operating at room temperature. This is used for a wide range of applications such as nuclear decommissioning, environmental monitoring and remote sensing on board ground-based robotics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.  

Commenting on the award, Kromek CEO Dr Arnab Basu said, "Kromek is delighted to receive this award from DARPA, which closely follows recent awards from other areas of the U.S. Government and is further recognition of the advances Kromek's detector technology platforms are making into growing global markets."

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About Kromek Group plc

Kromek Group plc is a UK technology company (global HQ in County Durham) and a leading developer of high performance radiation detection products based on cadmium zinc telluride ("CZT"). Using its core CZT technology Kromek designs, develops and produces x-ray and gamma ray imaging and radiation detection products for the medical, security screening and nuclear markets.

The Group's products provide high resolution information on material composition and structure and are used in multiple applications, ranging from the identification of cancerous tissues to hazardous materials, such as explosives, and the analysis of radioactive materials.

Kromek uses multiple technologies in its manufacturing processes, including the established methods of 'liquid phase' detector production, and also 'vapour phase' production methods, which allow the production of high quality, high performance detectors on an industrial scale. Kromek has an intellectual property portfolio of more than 250 pieces of IP.

The Group's business model provides a vertically integrated technology offering to customers, from the growth of CZT crystals to finished products or detectors, including software, electronics and application specific integrated circuits ("ASICs").

The Board believes that the vertical integration offered by Kromek, combined with the benefit of 25 years of research into CZT production and the patents and trade secrets accumulated by the Group, are unparalleled in the market place.

The Group has operations in the UK, Germany and US (California and Pennsylvania), and is selling internationally through a combination of distributors and direct OEM sales.

Currently, the Group has over a hundred full time employees across its global operations.