ACUA Ocean secures £5.5m to deliver world’s most advanced open ocean USV
Above: (left to right) ACUA Ocean Co-Founders, Mike and Neil Tinmouth.
Courtesy ACUA Ocean
The pre-seed round, led by StealthPoint, a US defence and intelligence investor deploying capital into hardware and software innovators, focusing on strengthening national security for the US and its allies.
The round also saw investment from the UK early-stage investor in robotics and automation, BritBots and sees ACUA Ocean join an exclusive portfolio of pioneering firms such as QLM Tec and Humanising Autonomy. Sixth Wave Ventures and Blue Action Accelerator also participated in the round.
The venture investment commitments add to the £4 million grant funding secured by ACUA Ocean from UK government bodies, which included a successful application to the Department for Transport’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund and a successfully completed grant from DEFRA relating to the Improving Marine Observation and Biodiversity programme, a government-led scheme focused on building comprehensive solutions for data collecting, processing and analysing remotely in real-time.
ACUA Ocean is currently developing its open ocean platform Pioneer-class USV, which can operate in very high sea states relative to its size, enabling systems and sensor payloads to be deployed in wave heights exceeding four metres (13ft). The prototype USV is hydrogen-powered, although there are plans for optional fuel powertrains in subsequent platforms. Pioneer will act as a platform or “mothership” providing the modular payload capacity, power and communications necessary for the launch and recovery of technologies, including remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
ACUA Ocean’s approach to ‘interchangeable nested robotics’ will replace the need for larger, more costly crewed vessels to do dull, dirty and dangerous tasks, such as subsurface surveys, monitoring and protection of critical offshore infrastructure.
Commenting on the latest investment, ACUA OCEAN Co-Founder Neil Tinmouth said: “We’re excited to be collaborating with a visionary group of venture investors who share our passion for dual-use ocean technology.
"The combination of the rapid growth in offshore renewables, regional geopolitical uncertainty and threats to our marine biodiversity mean customers are increasingly seeking out vessels that can provide enhanced open ocean capabilities like the Pioneer.”
