This new technology sees rust in critical infrastructure before it causes visible damage

Critical infrastructure is corroding — a multi-billion global problem without an easy solution.

Across Europe and the US, corrosion is one of the leading causes of deterioration in bridges, dams, tunnels and other concrete structures with steel reinforcement, particularly those operating beyond their original design life.

Today, the only way to identify rust before it becomes catastrophic is manually, by eye, but these visual checks are dangerous and expensive, and often miss damage hidden beneath layers of paint and dirt.

Cyprus-based RustAlertSystem has developed technology to detect early-stage corrosion remotely before it causes extensive damage — by analysing how concrete surfaces reflect light and isolating signals for subtle material changes.

“Using drones equipped with our hyper-spectral cameras, we can see beyond what the human eye can detect. We analyse information across different wavelengths to identify early corrosion patterns more accurately and consistently,” explains Marina Doukanari, part of the team who developed the technology.

They originally developed RustAlertSystem to look for corrosion in the steel reinforcement of concrete bridges within their native Cyprus, where aging infrastructure poses growing safety and maintenance challenges. Thanks to a partnership with the University of Alabama, the team has expanded its focus to metal infrastructure in the far larger market of the US.

Marina’s geoinformatics PhD research into remote sensing for corrosion detection led her to Rust Alert System. The project stems from work by Dr Andreas Christofe at the ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence in Limassol, Cyprus.

With the technology now developed, Marina is moving from a primarily technical role into a commercial one to bring RustAlertSystem to market. It’s a challenge she relishes, and one she says Conception X has prepared her for.

The RustAlertSystem team joined Conception X via its partnership with Cyprus Seeds, a private, non-profit organisation supporting academic research commercialisation. For Marina, the experience proved pivotal in making the leap from pure research and development.

“Conception X opened our eyes to how everything works, and that has been really valuable,” she says. We were trained by top experts in a practical, engaging way — from legal and financial aspects to pitching and customer communication. They introduced us to lawyers, accountants, investors and clients. Building that kind of network on your own from scratch is incredibly difficult.”