DeepVerge trials identify Covid-19 in wastewater in real time

London-listed scientific research group DeepVerge said it had successfully completed trials to detect Covid-19 in wastewater treatment plants in real-time, providing another potential weapon in the fight against the global pandemic.

The group, which was founded by Irishman Gerry Brandon, said it had completed phase three field trials in which its water contamination system, Microtox PD, successfully detected in real time Covid-19 in wastewater treatment plants at multiple sites. The system could act as an early warning system for outbreaks of the disease.

Mr Brandon said the success demonstrated Microtox PD’s capability and value in identifying dangerous pathogens in real-time. “By establishing a permanent anonymised mass surveillance of wastewater, DeepVerge claims a world first real-time defence against this global pandemic,” he said. “The installation of Microtox PD wastewater units will enable live data to simultaneously identify the source of Covid-19 cases as well as identify Covid-19 clusters with the ability to indicate the size of each cluster. As the data grows, the central AI system has the potential to predict the trajectory of growth of future clusters of Sars-CoV-2 or any future dangerous pathogen.”

Wet infrastructure specialist

DeepVerge's environmental health division Modern Water has agreed a deal with EPS Group that could see Microtox PD units installed in multiple European countries. EPS Group is a privately owned wet infrastructure specialist, focused on water, wastewater and clean technology.

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“Having achieved this major milestone, we are delighted to enter this agreement with EPS Group who complete the final step of installing, retrofitting and maintaining our Microtox PD equipment,” Mr Brandon said. “With this level of established technical engineering support and distribution, DeepVerge can now offer an end-to-end solution for public and private clients across the European wastewater sector.”

DeepVerge, which is headquartered in Cambridge, England, is listed on the AIM in London, and earlier this year agreed a major deal with China Resources Group to form a joint venture for the manufacture and sale of environmental monitoring equipment.

Overall, DeepVerge employs more than 90 people and has over 60 patents. It also has facilities in York, Delaware and Shanghai.