French National Institute for Ocean Science Ifremer has acquired a stake in compatriot company Forssea Robotics.
Through this partnership, Forssea wants to accelerate its diversification in the sectors of renewable marine energies and scientific exploration.
Ifremer is thus once again showing its ambition to become an innovation engine for the blue economy.
Forssea proprietary ROV systems have recently reached final qualification with Oil & Gas offshore operators and contractors.
Ifremer anticipates these systems will have promising applications in the context of marine renewable energy and of oceanographic campaigns.
Especially when interacting with existing or future scientific deepwater observatories, Ifremer said.
Parties are already discussing deployment of Forssea systems during the upcoming Ifremer scientific campaigns.
They will also continue and expand upon their collaboration in the field of resident robotics, long immersion cycles, and advanced imaging capabilities.
This includes artificial intelligence and 3D photogrammetry.
Since its creation in 2016, the Forssea company has developed two remote-controlled submersible robots: Atoll and Argos .
Gautier Dreyfus , co-founder and director of Forssea, said:
“We developed our own vehicles because we needed a modern, all-electric platform that was light and powerful enough to meet today’s needs .
“Our solutions would make it possible to divide by 5 the operating costs of fossil energy deposits or EMR parks.”
“These systems are now in the final qualification phase, for the deployment and recovery of underwater beacons on the sidelines of drilling campaigns and oil constructions.”