Joint project developing carbon-free subsea AUVs

“We believe a self-contained system powered by an OPT PowerBuoy^® and exempt from existing ocean infrastructure has the potential to revolutionise the industrial use of AUVs and make long-term residency a cost-effective reality,” said George Kirby, OPT President and CEO.

“Modus Seabed Intervention’s experience with advanced technology development efforts in subsea docking with Saab Seaeye’s market-leading hybrid AUV (HAUV) enables autonomous offshore operations and we believe it is a natural fit for our environmentally sound PowerBuoy ocean power and communications technology,” Kirby added. “We’re looking forward to working together to further support the growing offshore electrification market.”

Remote operation without the need for surface vessel support or complex power and data umbilical cable systems to offshore platforms or land has the potential to offer tremendous savings over operations that would otherwise require manned vessels – including long-term environmental monitoring, frequent subsea equipment integrity inspections, and interaction with seafloor assets.

The system is designed for carbon-free autonomous offshore operations with the OPT PowerBuoy power and communications platform at its core. Via an innovative integrated mooring and subsea power/data transmission cable, a PowerBuoy can provide carbon-free power to a seabed docking station to recharge an autonomous underwater vehicle while enabling secure data transmission to and from shore-based operations located anywhere in the world.

The autonomous resident AUV system concept has been jointly submitted for US government development and demonstration project funding consideration.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/offshore-and-subsea/11032020/joint-project-developing-carbon-free-subsea-auvs/