Shares of Canadian firm Kontrol Energy Corp surged about 60 percent on Friday, capping a move in which its stock has more than doubled in five days, after the company said it had developed a technology "that detects the presence of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the air".

The Canadian firm said its BioCloud device has a real-time analyzer designed to detect airborne viruses by sampling the air quality over time.

The unit has a proprietary detection chamber that can be replaced as needed if and when viruses are detected. An alert system is created in the cloud or over local intranet.

It added that it is preparing the technology for applications in schools, hospitals, long term care facilities and mass transit vehicles.

"Our team has been working day and night since the onset of the pandemic to bring this exciting technology to market. It will be an invaluable tool to enhance the existing system of individual testing and contact tracing," said Paul Ghezzi, Kontrol’s CEO.

The commercialization of BioCloud will take place once the initiation of an application for independent certification starts. It has already started discussions with two global contract manufacturers who can provide external manufacturing capacity, the company told shareholders.

The unit will cost around US$12,000 based on supply chain components.

First Published:Sept 14, 2020 2:21 PM IST