MADISON, Wis., March 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Voluna Inc. and Clandestine Materials Detection, Inc. (CMD) today announced a strategic collaboration designed to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative materials detection technologies in the global mining industry. The collaboration brings together Voluna’s proprietary Gammine mineral exploration platform for rapid, non-invasive, in-field geochemical analysis with CMD’s deep technical expertise in neutron-based detection systems, related IP and specialized knowledge, state-of-the-art facilities, and regulated operational capabilities.
Mineral exploration today relies on sparse, labor-intensive soil sampling and multi-month laboratory turnaround times, creating a bottleneck at the very front of the mining value chain. As demand for copper, nickel, and rare earth elements accelerates, the industry urgently needs tools that can deliver faster, denser, and more actionable geochemical data. This collaboration is focused on meeting that need by moving advanced neutron-based geochemical detection out of the laboratory and into a field-ready system for real-world mining operations.
“This partnership lets us compress years of development into months by having access to and leveraging CMD’s decades of nuclear detection capabilities and applying it directly to mineral exploration workflows,” said Alexander Strange, CEO of Voluna. “Strategically, it positions us to bring a new class of non-invasive, in-field geochemical tools to an industry that urgently needs faster, higher-resolution insight.”
Voluna is developing a new class of geochemical sensing platforms that use neutron-induced nuclear reactions to deliver rapid, non-invasive subsurface elemental data for mineral exploration. By bringing the physics into the field, explorers can map critical minerals in real time without traditional soil sampling. By integrating advanced nuclear science with autonomous robotics, Voluna aims to dramatically increase the speed, safety, and resolution of early-stage exploration across global mining operations.
CMD is commercializing proprietary and patented systems that use neutron-induced nuclear reactions to quickly detect, identify, and characterize a wide variety of materials, such as the detection of landmines, improvised explosive devices, and unexploded ordnance. Early versions of these CMD technologies were developed at the University of Wisconsin Fusion Technology Institute. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation licensed certain technology patented by two CMD Founders to CMD and is an investor in CMD.
“This is a highly complementary collaboration,” said Gerald Kulcinski, CEO of Clandestine Materials Detection. “Voluna brings momentum, product focus, and a clear industry application path, and CMD contributes decades of experience designing and operating neutron-based detection systems in complex and regulated environments. Our agreement allows both companies to benefit from future co-developed intellectual property and provides economic reward to CMD shareholders tied to Voluna’s success.”
While Voluna’s initial focus is mineral exploration and CMD’s is chemical explosives detection, the companies will continue to explore additional applications where their combined technologies can create impact.
Both companies are building and developing technologies in the Madison, Wisconsin area and view the collaboration as an investment in long-term innovation, technical leadership, and the region’s growing role as a center for advanced science and engineering.
Additional updates will be provided as development milestones are achieved.
To learn more about Voluna and to explore potential partnerships, visit https://www.voluna.com/
To learn more about CMD, visit https://www.cmdworldwide.com/
About Voluna Inc.
Voluna Inc. is a venture-backed technology company transforming how subsurface geochemical data is collected for the global mining industry. The company builds autonomous, field-deployable systems that use neutron-induced nuclear reactions to deliver rapid, non-invasive geochemical insight, enabling real-time mapping of critical minerals without conventional sampling or laboratory delays. Voluna’s mission is to accelerate mineral discovery and resource characterization while improving safety, speed, and data density in exploration and mining operations. Voluna is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin and is supported by Breakthrough Energy Fellows. Learn more at https://www.voluna.com and follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/voluna/.
About Clandestine Materials Detection, Inc.
Clandestine Materials Detection, Inc. (CMD) develops advanced chemical and nuclear explosives detection systems based on neutron-induced nuclear reactions to identify, locate, and map landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), unexploded ordnance (UXO), and nuclear weapon materials. CMD specializes in complex detection challenges that require deep expertise in nuclear science, nuclear engineering, system engineering, and operation within regulated environments. CMD grew out of over four decades of Research and Development in Nuclear Fission and Fusion Science and Engineering by two of the CMD Founders and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison More information can be found at https://www.cmdworldwide.com/.
Media Contact
Alexander Strange
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