Offshore wind services firm Beam, recently formed from the merger of marine robotic technology companies Rovco and Vaarst, has announced an investment of £15m in three marine vehicles aimed at boosting its surveillance capabilities.
Its fleet now includes two 18m autonomous surface vessels (ASVs), called Xplorers, and a remotely-operated underwater vehicle (ROV), the Quantum EV workclass.
Speaking to Energy Voice, Joe Tidball, Beam’s co-founder & executive VP for service innovation, explained that the new vehicles will help the company do more with the people they have – sidestepping the impacts of the skills shortage afflicting the rapidly-growing offshore renewables industry.
Citing reports of a 70,000 person skills gap by 2030, Tidball said: “Technical helping hands like automation and machine learning are really important. The more we can do to increase the efficiency output of each person [in the company], the better.”
Beam offshore vessels
The Xplorers can be remotely operated from anywhere in the world and include an AI component that allows them to independently navigate their vicinity – although they can also be manned. They are equipped to collect data and beam it to shore for processing.
The Quantum EV is agile and light, and can outpace strong water currents, meaning greater uptime, better reliability, lower energy use and improved speed in difficult conditions.
© Supplied by BeamBeam says the vehicles will help extend its capacity to undertake work in challenging marine regions, in particular the southern North Sea. “It means we’re not sitting around waiting for the right weather or tide,” Tidball explained.
With a primary focus on supporting the energy transition, Beam provides services for site inspection and characterisation, hydrographic surveys and O&M services for prospective and current offshore renewables installations and for oil and gas decommissioning work.
The company plans to recruit more than 150 new employees at its Bristol, Aberdeen and Edinburgh offices over the next year, and fill a further 50 positions in other markets, including 25 in the USA and 10 in Asia.
According to Future Market Insights, the offshore ROV market is anticipated to be worth $1 billion in 2024 and to reach $1.5 billion by 2034, boosted by increasing offshore oil and gas exploration and production and growth in renewable energy production.
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