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Chrysalix Venture Capital

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Tank Inspection Challenge

Innovative ideas for safe, accurate and economical inspections of aboveground storage tanks without human entry, while staying in service.

This challenge is closed

stage:
Won
prize:
Up to $250,000 USD

This challenge is closed

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Summary
Timeline
Updates5
Forum25
Teams245
FAQ
Summary

Overview

Challenge Overview

The Oil & Gas sector utilizes large capacity Aboveground Storage Tanks (AST) to temporarily hold several different liquid or gas substances (e.g., water, crude, chemicals).  The tanks are typically built up from welded steel plates, rest on top of the ground and are prone to corrosion over time.

Tank inspections are extremely costly, laborious, and creates a significant safety risk as they are performed manually, requiring storage tanks to be taken out-of-service, cleaned, and degassed to allow workers to enter the confined space.

In general, the population of tanks is quite diverse, ranging from 40’ to 300’ in diameter, in refineries, the most common are 110’ and 300’. The crude oil is of all types, light, paraffinic or asphaltenic, depending on the origin. Uncleaned tanks can be particularly challenging as the access to the tank floor is limited by a buildup of sediment or sludge (e.g., crude, wax, asphaltene). The sludge can range from 2-6 inches to 10 feet depending on the product characteristics but mostly in 2-5 feet range.  

 

Get Involved

We welcome entrepreneurs, researchers, scientists, students, and anyone eager to contribute, to jump into this challenge and to find a solution. To register for the challenge:

  • Read the Challenge Guidelines to learn about requirements and rules
  • Click the “ACCEPT CHALLENGE” button above and enter your passcode to start your entry
  • Start a conversation in our Forum to ask questions or connect with other innovators

 

About the Sponsors

Chrysalix Venture Capital Chrysalix is a global venture capital fund with a long history commercializing step-change innovation for resource intensive industries. We invest in intelligent systems, energy technology and resource productivity solutions to deliver outsized financial returns and environmental sustainability. By teaming up with leading industrial companies and outstanding entrepreneurs, Chrysalix connects market driven problems to breakthrough solutions. Founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2001, Chrysalix has one of the strongest investment teams in the industry with deep energy, technology and entrepreneurial expertise, and is backed by more than 20 international blue chip industrial and financial investors.

https://www.chrysalix.com

 

PETRONAS Established in 1974, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) is Malaysia’s fully integrated oil and gas multinational ranked among the largest corporations on FORTUNE Global 500®. The growing demand for energy inspires and strengthens our purpose to steadily drive for new solutions and push boundaries towards a sustainable energy future. We apply innovative approaches to technology which helps us unlock and maximise energy sources from even the most remote and difficult environments. Our fully integrated value chain spans from exploration to marketing, logistics to technological infrastructures, with operations in over 50 countries. Throughout our rapidly expanding network and steady growth trajectory, PETRONAS has consistently and successfully implemented various social, environmental and community programmes. Guided by our Corporate Sustainability Framework, we carry out our business in a socially responsible and holistic manner for the benefit of the present and future generations.

https://www.petronas.com


Guidelines

Prizes

Chrysalix Venture Capital will award up to $250K USD for the winning solution.

The prize money:

  • Is awarded based on the judges’ evaluation of the best submission
  • Will be dedicated to funding a 6 to 12 month project to demonstrate a viable business case along with a proof of concept (e.g. minimum viable product with a commercial pilot initiated)
  • Final amount will be determined based on the technology readiness and business readiness level of the solution

Successful, start-up worthy solutions that achieve the 6-12 month project milestones will have the opportunity for additional follow-on equity funding of $1M+ from the Chrysalix RoboValley Fund.

 

How Do I Win

To be eligible for an award, your proposal must be submitted by July 12th, 2019 at 5 pm PST and at a minimum:

  • Be scored higher than your competitors
  • Accurately and thoughtfully address the submission form questions (include only non-confidential information and data)
  • Satisfy the judging criteria and any follow-up questions
  • Semi-finalists may be invited to present to the judging panel in person
  • Timeline of the process can be found on the Timeline Tab

 

Judging Criteria

In scope solutions will:

  • Be able to detect and/or predict early corrosion
  • Be able to operate in a broad set of fluid and tank conditions
  • Be able to operate at various temperatures (low and high)
  • Be able to inspect the AST while it remains in service (i.e. online solutions)
  • Be autonomous and non-intrusive (i.e. without human entry)
  • Conform to API 653 (Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration and Reconstruction)
  • Bonus: Be ATEX certified

Out of scope solutions:

  • Offline solutions that require taking the AST out of service
  • Intrusive approaches requiring human entry
  • Limited application where it can only be deployed in a narrow set of clean fluids and tank conditions

Additionally, submissions that meet the minimum eligibility criteria will be evaluated with the following questions in mind:

  • Innovative - is it fundamentally different?
  • Valuable - does it generate substantial value beyond just cost savings?
  • Feasible - Is there a strategy to prove the concept efficiently and cost-effectively?

 

Rules

Participation Eligibility:

The challenge is open to all adult individuals, private teams, public teams, and collegiate teams. Submissions must be made in English. All challenge-related communication will be in English. No specific qualifications or expertise in the field of the oil & gas sector is required.

To be eligible to compete, you must comply with all the terms of the challenge as defined in the Challenge-Specific Agreement.

Registration and Submissions:

Submissions must be made online only, via upload to the HeroX.com website, on or before 5pm PST on July 12th, 2019. All uploads must be in PDF format. No late submissions will be accepted.

Intellectual Property Rights:

Will be according to the respective Cornerstone Academic Partners’ policy or defined at contracting upon awarding the prize. The sponsors will not have default rights to the Intellectual Property.

Selection of Winners:

Based on the winning criteria, prizes will be awarded per the Judging Criteria section above. In the case of a tie, the winner(s) will be selected based on the highest votes from the Judges.

In the case of no winner, Chrysalix Venture Capital reserves the right to withhold the Prize amount.

Judging Panel:

The determination of the winners will be made by members of the Chrysalix Investment Team and select members of our LImited Partners by invitation.

 

Additional Information

  • By participating in the challenge, each competitor agrees to submit only their original idea. Any indication of "copying" amongst competitors is grounds for disqualification.
  • All applications will go through a process of due diligence; any application found to be misrepresentative, plagiarized, or sharing an idea that is not their own will be automatically disqualified.
  • All ineligible applicants will be automatically removed from the competition with no recourse or reimbursement.
  • No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the competition.
  • Void wherever restricted or prohibited by law.
Timeline
Updates5

Challenge Updates

AST Challenge: Semi-finalists announced

July 19, 2019, 4:15 p.m. PDT by HeroAJ

The Chrysalix – PETRONAS Tank Inspection Challenge has officially closed!

For the past week, our team has been diligently reviewing the submissions and we have been thoroughly impressed by the number of engaged innovators around the world. To date, we have received over 11,000 views for this challenge, including an engaged community of 231 and 47 quality submissions.

 

We are pleased to announce the following semi-finalists:

Amphibious GPR Mounted Robot for Oil Tank Surveys

by

Jekan

Thanga

AST Elastic Wave Tomography (ASTEWT)

by

Cliff

Edwards

In-Service AST Inspection Using Guided Waves

by

Eric

Thompson

InspecTAR: Tank inspection robot

by

Karel

Flere

New innovations detector Wireless IoT technology

by

Ridho

Kusuma

Pneumatic vibration to navigate sludge

by

Fred

Briggs

SenseCoat

by

Yegor

Morozov

SludgeBOT: Autonomous Tank Inspection Robot

by

Howie

Choset

SOTIR - Submergible Oil Tank Inspection Robot

by

Dario

D'Amico

Tankgrity

by

alain

trottier

Tethered robotic system for online AST inspection

by

Aurelian

Zapciu

The Angler Automatank

by

Wout

Haakman

Underwater drone for online AST inspection

by

Jacqueline

Nichols

 

Don’t miss out on future innovation opportunities with Chrysalix!

Sign up as part of our community to receive updates on future incentive challenges: https://www.herox.com/Chrysalix

 


8 Hours Remaining to Submit

July 12, 2019, 9 a.m. PDT by Kyla Jeffrey

If you're still assembling your submission, you have exactly 8 hours left to complete it! 

Here's a Tip: HeroX recommends innovators plan to submit with at least a 3-hour window of time before the true deadline. Last-minute technical problems and unforeseen roadblocks have been the cause of many headaches. Don't let that be you!


Two Day Warning

July 10, 2019, 5 p.m. PDT by Kyla Jeffrey

This is your official two-day reminder!

That's right, the AST Tank Inspection Challenge will be closing this coming Friday July 12th at 5:00 pm Pacific Time (Los Angeles/USA)

Please be sure to complete your submission form well before the exact cut-off time. 

At exactly 5:00 pm Pacific Time, we can no longer accept new submissions! 

Got questions?

Now is the time to speak up! Comment directly on this update with any questions about the submission process and we'll get back to you right away!


4 Days Remaining to Submit!

July 8, 2019, 8:42 p.m. PDT by Kyla Jeffrey

We are quickly approaching the final days open for submission to the AST Tank Inspection Challenge. The deadline is Friday July 12th at 5:00 pm Pacific Time (Los Angeles/USA) Eastern Time 

Here are a couple of last-minute tips for a smooth entry process:

1. Begin your submission process several days before the cutoff time. This allows you to ensure everything you have been working on can be seamlessly integrated into the form.

2. Your submission will not be reviewed until you click the orange "Submit Final Entry" button at the top of the final review page. Please remember to do this! 

3. Review the Challenge Guidelines to ensure your submission is complete. Pay particular attention to the judging criteria which will be the scorecard used to evaluate your entry.

4. Have any questions? Head over to the challenge forum and we would love to help you out. 

Thanks so much, and good luck to all! 


More time to submit!

June 11, 2019, 1:28 p.m. PDT by Kyla Jeffrey

For the past 6 weeks, Chrysalix's Cornerstone Academic Partners have been working diligently on their submissions and today we open the challenge to the world!

With so many people just finding out about the challenge now, we are giving you extra time to work on your entry! You now have until July 12th at 5pm PDT (Los Angeles time) to get your entry in! Check out the timeline for full details.

You can still update your submission if you would like to do so. Simply return to your entry and click the "Return to editing" button.

Best of luck!


Forum25
Teams245
FAQ