TeraGlo: Quantum AI Material Sensing (QAIMS) for a Smarter, Safer Planet
In this Start-up Spotlight, we introduce TeraGlo — an Australian pioneer bringing quantum sensing out of the lab and into the field.
Fluorescing Minerals (Supplied: TeraGlo)
TeraGlo is redefining how we identify and understand materials, using portable quantum sensors that deliver real-time insights from construction sites to the lunar surface. Their revolutionary platform, Quantum AI Material Sensing (QAIMS), delivers portable, real-time material identification with unmatched speed and precision. Whether it’s improving safety in construction, accelerating critical mineral exploration, or detecting hazardous substances in the field, TeraGlo’s sensors are built to transform decision-making across mining, defence, health, construction, and even space.
At the core of TeraGlo’s breakthrough is Novel Fluorescence (NF), a non-contact sensing technique that uses multiple light sources to trigger unique colour signatures specific to each material. This allows for both precise identification and imaging of material morphology (shape, size, form, structure), offering a complete analytical picture in real time.
No one else has been able to deliver portable, real-time sensing of materials like this, replacing lab-based analysis with instant, on-the-ground insights. Our technology enables results in minutes instead of days, at a fraction of the cost. Professor Nigel Spooner, scientific lead and co-founder of TeraGlo.
Quantum Meets AI & Cloud
TeraGlo’s QAIMS platform is more than just sensing hardware. It combines quantum sensing, artificial intelligence, and secure cloud-based reporting into a powerful, end-to-end solution.
These capabilities are opening doors for industries that previously relied on lab instruments and lengthy turnaround times. From critical mineral speciation in mining to detecting trace elements in construction materials, QAIMS offers a step-change in efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
Driving Real-World Impact Across Industries
Construction & Health
Detect asbestos safely and accurately without disturbing hazardous materials, identifying both mineral composition and fibre morphology in situ.Mining & Critical Minerals
From lithium and rare earths to deep-sea nodules, TeraGlo’s sensors support the full mining value chain, enabling high-resolution analysis of complex samples, including particle size and phase detection, directly at the site.Space & Lunar Missions
TeraGlo’s technology is being adapted for lunar resource mapping, enabling the identification and quantification of valuable minerals on the moon, a critical enabler for sustainable space exploration.Petroleum & Hazardous Substances
From real-time mud logging on offshore rigs to detecting toxic agents in the field, QAIMS brings instant analytical power to frontline operations in petroleum, defence, and national security.Cement & Aggregates
As high-quality quarries become scarcer, TeraGlo’s sensors enable near real-time quality control and feedstock analysis, currently only available through lab testing.Deep Sea Mining
Identify and quantify polymetallic nodules and critical minerals in real time, supporting targeted extraction and process optimisation on the ocean floor.Bespoke Applications
From environmental monitoring to materials analysis in manufacturing, TeraGlo welcomes custom applications. If it fluoresces, they can likely detect and analyse it.
Advancing Australia’s Sovereign Sensing Capabilities - On Earth and in Space
As TeraGlo's applications grow, its collaborations are expanding too — particularly in areas of strategic national interest. In 2025, TeraGlo deepened its collaboration with the University of Adelaide’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) through a project supported by the Defence Trailblazer Advanced Innovation Fund. The partnership aims to develop a sovereign QAIMS platform for use in space environments, with a focus on lunar resource exploration and broader defence and civilian applications.
This project includes the creation of a dedicated discovery facility to identify and validate Novel Fluorescence signatures across a wide range of materials — accelerating the development of field-deployable, space-compatible prototypes.
“This collaboration is opening new windows into the field of materials sensing,” said Dr Margaret Law, General Manager of Technology Development & Acceleration at Defence Trailblazer. “The projects hold enormous potential for space resource assessment, as well as numerous Defence and civilian applications.”
From Research to Real-World Impact
TeraGlo was founded through a collaboration between the Loughan Technology Group and the University of Adelaide’s Institute for Photonics & Advanced Sensing (IPAS). The platform builds on decades of research led by Professor Nigel Spooner, who pioneered the use of upconversion fluorescence for advanced material detection.
Since 2015, Professor Spooner and his team at the Prescott Environmental Luminescence Laboratory (PELL) have grown their facility into the world’s leading centre for novel fluorescence sensing. With over $40 million in research funding and collaborations across mining, defence, and medical sectors, they’ve translated fundamental science into scalable commercial solutions.
We’ve learned that there’s a real opportunity for Australia to lead in critical minerals and sovereign capabilities. Our work aligns directly with national priorities, especially in defence and strategic resource management. Professor Nigel Spooner, scientific lead and co-founder of TeraGlo.
Looking Ahead
With applications expanding across sectors and geographies, TeraGlo is set to play a key role in the global quantum sensing ecosystem. Their vision? A future where low-cost, ubiquitous materials sensing is available anywhere, anytime.
“Quantum sensing is a game-changer for productivity and environmental stewardship,” says Spooner. “We see QAIMS as a platform for democratising access to high-quality materials data, and reshaping how industries operate in the process.”
Supporting Australian Start Ups
Quantum Australia is supporting start-ups like TeraGlo as part of a broader national effort to prepare Australia for a quantum-enabled world.
TeraGlo highlights how quantum technologies aren’t just theoretical, they’re being built and deployed now, across real industries and in response to industry needs, and Quantum Australia is working with researchers and entrepreneurs to build more quantum businesses with real impact in our society.
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