Cambridge Tech Podcast

What if the biggest threat to the world's energy infrastructure is something you can't even look at? Dr Chiraz Ennaceur, CEO and Co-founder of Cambridge-based CorrosionRADAR, joined James and Faye for one of our most compelling conversations to date - a masterclass in deep tech entrepreneurship, customer-led product development, and building a global business from a genuinely unglamorous industrial problem.

Corrosion costs the global economy an estimated $3 trillion every year, and by 2030, replacing corroded steel is projected to account for up to 9% of greenhouse gas emissions. CorrosionRADAR tackles one particularly stubborn variant: corrosion under insulation (CUI), where the very material designed to protect industrial pipelines and vessels creates the perfect conditions for hidden decay.

"We are the doctor of things rather than the doctor of people. We go, we look, we diagnose, and we find solutions to make sure that things are running in a safe way."

The company's sensor technology - including what it claims is the world's longest CUI sensor at 50 metres - installs beneath insulation and feeds real-time data into its Clarity software platform, delivering granular risk assessment without ever needing to remove the insulation itself.

Key highlights from the episode:

• The founding story: Chiraz worked at TWI (The Welding Institute) for a decade before leaving in 2016 to pursue the entrepreneurial dream she'd had since her PhD in France. A two-weekend programme for female entrepreneurs gave her the confidence to act.
• The Cranfield connection: CorrosionRADAR is a spinout from Cranfield University, where co-founder Dr Prafull Sharma developed the core electromagnetic guided radar technology that underpins the product.
• Capital efficiency: The company has raised $14 million across multiple rounds - modest by deep tech standards - because it prioritised paying customers from day one. First customer signed within six months of founding. First investor secured in the same year.
• Who's backing them: Aramco Ventures - the investment arm of the world's largest oil company - started as a customer and became an investor. ADNOC and Chevron are also in the customer base.
• The team: CorrosionRADAR now employs nearly 50 people across Cambridge, the Middle East and a growing US operation, including newly appointed CMO Steve Tongish, previously of IQGeo, RealVNC and AVEVA.
• What's next: Three strategic pillars - moving from predictive to autonomous AI (powered by an in-house engine called Hakima), global expansion, and positioning for the new build energy transition market.

The founder's advice to founders:

"Don't wait for a perfect product. Go and find your early adopters - the ones happy to try something that isn't 100% working. Because there is a huge difference between your nice, clean lab and the crude places where this technology actually gets used."

This is a rare window into what disciplined, customer-obsessed deep tech company building actually looks like. CorrosionRADAR didn't chase the AI hype cycle or raise money it didn't need. It built hardware when everyone said to avoid hardware, stayed focused on five key customers when it could have spread thin, and turned a niche industrial problem into global market leadership.

If you're building in the industrial IoT, energy tech or sensor space - or you're an investor trying to understand what genuine product-market fit looks like in enterprise deep tech - this episode is essential listening.

Headline sponsor Holden Polestar

Produced by Cambridge TV

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