Project Summary

The project aims to contribute towards maritime decarbonisation through improved availability of high-quality MET ocean data. The project will achieve this by delivering the first offshore-capable solar electric, Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV). Building upon previous work conducted by Online Oceans to deliver a coastal-capable prototype USV. The proposed project represents a significant advancement in design. The innovative vessel will be specifically engineered to gather high-quality local MET ocean data, a pivotal requirement for enhancing voyage optimisation. The refined voyage optimisation facilitated by this advanced design holds the potential to achieve a reduction of up to 5% in global shipping emissions.

Project Achievements

Online Oceans employed an agile hardware development methodology to deliver two iterations of the platform, focusing on rapid prototyping and testing. The development involved extended testing of subcomponents and full-scale prototypes in both coastal and offshore environments. Computational fluid dynamics and simulation techniques were used to de-risk development The team utilised advanced manufacturing processes to enable rapid hardware development. This approach allowed for the creation of a technically viable, production-ready prototype within the project timeline. Additionally, real-world data collection demonstrated the platform’s potential for enhancing maritime voyage optimisation. T t T f a c o a d

Conclusions

The project successfully demonstrated the technical and operational viability of the solar-electric robot for offshore METocean data collection, reaching Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6. The collected data showed clear potential for optimising maritime voyages, contributing to a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions. The success of this project validates Online Oceans’ strategy and creates new commercial opportunities, especially within the decarbonisation and offshore wind sectors. The TRIG programme enabled rapid technological advancement, positioning the robot as a scalable solution for sustainable ocean data collection.

Next Steps

Following successful project completion, Online Oceans aims to continue iterative development of the Ocean robot and expand offshore testing to multi-week and multi-month deployments. This phase will help identify any remaining technical challenges and ensure robustness ahead of full-scale production. Concurrently, the company plans to initiate product documentation and certification to prepare the platform for commercial release. The team is also focusing on further sensor integration to enhance the data collection system, enabling real-time data transmission in conjunction with developing a web-based platform to serve as the basis for future voyage optimisation capabilities. Moreover, Online Oceans is engaged in discussions with potential early adopters, aiming to secure its first commercial platform sales.