Developed over a decade of R&D by professionals based in the US, UAE and India, ATOM is a certified, patented technological innovation that suppresses explosion of hydrocarbon fuels
· ATOM brings explosion-protection to everyone who stores & transports fuel: military, industries, communities and the common man
Dubai, UAE: Atom Alloys, a global impact-driven safety innovation company based in the US with its corporate office in Dubai, UAE, has announced the launch of a revolutionary fuel explosion prevention system, ATOM.
A disruptive technological innovation that suppresses the explosion of hydrocarbon fuels in storage and transportation units, ATOM was developed over 10 years of research and successful trials by a global team of professionals based in the US, the UAE, and India. This breakthrough innovation addresses one of the world’s most pressing challenges: the colossal damage to human lives, property and the environment due to the fuel storage explosions happening around the world.
Addressing a global challenge
From LPG cylinder blasts and to massive blasts of fuel tankers and at industry sites, ‘Fire & Explosion’ is one of the top 10 global business risks in 2021. The National Fire Protection Association’s latest report on Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem illustrates the escalation of explosions across the world including over 37,000 fires that occur at US industrial and manufacturing properties annually.
More than 100 fuel explosions have been reported since 2019 across the world, most of them avoidable. Shocking ones include the explosions recently of 10,000 propane tanks at the Marshfield, Ozark , the 2019 Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery explosion, the 2021 explosion at a Beirut home that came from stockpiled fuel cans, and the massive explosion of hundreds of fuel tankers in Herat, Iran-Afghanistan border. The list goes on. These explosions affected human lives and caused extensive material and environmental damage.
Tested, proven and certified solution
While fire protection and mitigation systems have been developed in recent years, ATOM is the first tested, proven and certified solution to offer a full range system of explosion prevention to liquid & vapour fuel storage at industrial scale without the need for any human intervention or triggering factors to function.
By reducing explosion risks of liquid fuels & vapours, it shifts the safety standards from mitigation to active hazard prevention. ATOM’s impact objective is to reduce explosion disaster risks and enable a risk mitigation strategy that provides unprecedented levels of safety with fuel storage in all industries and communities.
Innovation that creates an ecosystem of safety
Applicable at any scale – from a jerry can to a fuel-tanker – ATOM creates an ecosystem of safety. The technology can protect every workplace and residence that uses fuel – from hospitals and malls to schools and industrial complexes – and convert them into truly safe zones.
ATOM was developed by drawing on innovation in materials sciences, design engineering and fire dynamics. The Atom Alloys team innovated a passive protection module, applicable across all fuel storage and transportation unit, which cuts the deflagration process from escalating to detonation.
Following successful trials for military application, ATOM has won four patents from the US Patent & Trademark Office and is registered in PCT countries. It has also been tested and certified by Underwriters Laboratory, Chicago, USA; Southwest Research Institute, Texas, USA; Bureau Veritas, France; and Emirates Industrial Laboratory, UAE. ATOM is compliant to international standards like NFPA 69, ASTM, ICAO & IMDG.
Readymade product level and sector specific applications
ATOM can be applied at a readymade product level, such a 20-litre jerrycan to 2,000 litre-skids for dynamic and static storage to massive 60,000-litre containerised fuel units. Sector specialised explosion safety solutions such as fuel tankers for the oil and gas industry, mobile fuelers for the fuel delivery business, marine fuel tanks for the maritime industry and storage tanks for industrial and civil uses are value additions.
ATOM is the first manufacturer to receive the ‘explosion resistant’ verification from the reputed US-based Underwriters Laboratory for its fuel storage units. Atom has successfully developed prototypes for defense establishments and supplied products to large Multinationals and Oil Majors like Nakagawa Bussan & Indian Oil Corporation.
Experts from Atom Alloys engage with customers through a seven-step journey, which starts with an on-site evaluation of flammable fuels at client premises. This is followed by a first-hand technical exchange with the client on the history and issues faced. Next, ATOM designs and installs a customised system that protects from all the enlisted explosion risks with patented technology products. The team also conducts periodical checks and recycles used products to promote sustainability.
Building awareness on safety
John Fillmon, Executive Vice President of Atom Alloys, said: “Fossil fuel consumption is peaking and yet most consumers appear unaware or are complacent about the risks associated with liquid fuel & vapours. Be it the industries, communities or the environment, we all stand to lose every time a fuel tank explodes. There is also significant disparity in the frequency of such explosions between the developed and developing world, the latter even more at risk with a less-evolved fuel storage and transport infrastructure. These explosions are preventable and as an impact driven company we believe it is our duty to help create a progressive blueprint for global fuel safety.”
Bader Al Mansoori, VP- (Govt. & Institutions) of ATOM Alloys, added: “We are unveiling this technology in the UAE, especially as the nation has highlighted its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 and to cut down carbon emissions by a quarter by 2030. ATOM will benefit oil and gas majors in the Middle East as well as industrial, commercial and civil users – across the fuel storage and transportation value chain.”
ATOM’s #StaySafewithFuel digital campaign that kicked off in April has channelized industry thought towards fuel safety exploring case studies with a worldwide perspective. As a token of honour on International Firefighters Day (May 4) John Fillmon and Bader Al Mansoori of ATOM presented Terry Johnson, FIFireE, Senior Fire Service Advisor, Dubai Civil Defence with ATOM products.
Impact Objectives & Helping meet the ESG goals
According to experts, years of decarbonisation efforts can be reversed by the carbon emissions from just one fuel tank explosion. The Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) potential offered by ATOM helps to protect lives, prevent business interruption, and mitigate environmental damage and harmful emissions from explosions.
ATOM’s system helps organisations and governments fulfil their Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments, especially as the world is rallying ahead to take strong actions regarding climate change. ATOM actively contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals No 3 (good health and well-being), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), 13 (climate action) and 17 (Partnerships for the goals) and works towards the triple pillars of People, Planet and Prosperity.
Manufacturing and marketing facility in the UAE
ATOM has set up manufacturing and distribution facilities in the UAE to complement the government’s ‘Make it in the Emirates’ initiative and the Operation 300bn industrial strategy to strengthen the country’s manufacturing sector. The UAE will also serve as a regional hub to expand the operations of Atom Alloys across the Middle East, one of the global energy centers, where ATOM can deliver priceless value by helping to prevent fuel-storage explosions.
Successful demos have been held in the energy sector majors and civil defense units in the Middle East, with imminent deals to be signed, marking the first regional application of ATOM. More details on the agreements will be announced in due course.
Atom Alloys’ manufacturing & inventory hub in Hamriyah, Sharjan and its production facilities in India, have secured ISO 9001, 14001, & 18001 certifications.
About Atom Alloys:
Atom Alloys is an international impact-driven safety innovation start-up company based in the US and having its Corporate Office in Dubai, UAE, on a mission to prevent fuel-storage explosion and protect life.
With experts who have a cumulative industry experience of over 200 years, Atom Alloys is the innovator of ATOM, a disruptive technology for explosion prevention. ATOM provides tested and certified, regulatory compliant, easy integration solutions that secure industries across sectors against fuel tank explosions. More than product and technology, ATOM is creating worldwide, an ecosystem of safety.
ATOM has secured four USPTO patents, is registered in PCT countries and has been tested and certified by Underwriters Laboratory, Chicago, USA; Southwest Research Institute, Texas, USA; Bureau Veritas, France; and Emirates Industrial Laboratory, UAE. Certified to ISO 9000, 14001 and 18001, ATOM is also certified and tested as per UNECE provisions for recommendations on Transport of Dangerous Goods and has successfully met all the requisite criteria. ATOM has been among finalists in the Safety & Innovation categories of Seatrade & Intersec Awards. ATOM has also been on the ASTM Technical Committee for safety standards.
Atom Alloys has offices in the US, the UAE, Mauritius and India, and representation offices in Japan and Iraq.
