Engineering, construction and equipment rental company Innovo, of Aberdeen, has received a cash boost to support its plans to develop drone sailing craft.
The £10,000 funding for Innovo and project partner Strathclyde University is from the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) – an alliance of 14 independent Scottish higher education institutions supporting energy industry research and development (R&D).
It will support R&D for Innovo’s innovative autonomous “eco-robotic” surface vessel, Oceandrone.
“Innovo’s innovation will help the Scottish government reach its goal of net-zero carbon by 2045.”
Garry Millard, Innovo.
Designed by Innovo engineers and naval architects, Oceandrone uses a combination of wind, solar and hydrogen power, together with patented sail management and propulsion systems.
It is aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from a wide range of offshore operations.
Industries expected to benefit include offshore energy, ocean sciences, marine environmental protection and the military.
Other potential markets for Oceandrone include telecoms, subsea data storage, ocean research, fish farming, seabed mineral exploration, carbon capture and hydrogen generation.
Job, revenue and export targets
Business development director Garry Millard said Innovo was committed to “developing an autonomous, eco-robotic wind, solar-cell and hydrogen fuel-cell sailing craft that will revolutionise unmanned autonomous surface vehicles.”
He added: “Innovo’s innovation will help the Scottish government reach its goal of net-zero carbon by 2045 by relacing marine survey support vessels working within the renewable energy sector and supporting a reduction in travel, thereby reducing CO2 emissions.
“This R&D project with Strathclyde University moves us closer to our objectives of creating 15 Scottish jobs, generating £10 million in annual revenue, spending an additional £3m on R&D and achieving an export value of £20m by 2025.”
Strathclyde University is hosting the ETP-funded R&D project in its Power Networks Demonstration Centre, which accelerates new technologies towards commercial deployment.
Innovo’s website says Oceandrone is the result of “our team’s decades of experience in underwater robotics”, as well as technologies developed in America’s Cup yacht racing events.
The craft will be performance-tested in different, simulated weather conditions and locations, with the aim being to achieve the maximum possible endurance using only clean energy.
Successful partnership
ETP project manager Brian Cross said: “At our very first meeting with Innovo we knew we were dealing with a highly innovative Scottish SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) that needed some additional technical expertise to take their product forward.
“The partnership has been a complete success, proving once again, that knowledge exchange between Scotland’s SMEs and our university researchers can be a game-changer in low carbon energy product development”.
Innovo and its technologies and services Innovo supports the communications, offshore energy, and marine industries worldwide.
Knowledge exchange between Scotland’s SMEs and our university researchers can be a game-changer in low carbon energy product development.”
Brian Cross, ETP project manager.
According to documents filed at Companies House, the firm – based on Regent Quay – is controlled by founder and executive director Stefano Malagodi.
Mr Malgodi is the co-inventor of 10 patents, a chartered engineer in both the UK and Italy, and a fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.
Mr Millard is a former chief executive of Flexlife, a specialist provider of lifecycle management equipment and services for oil and gas industry flexible pipes and umbilicals, and ex-managing director of DOF Subsea UK – responsible for its operations in the UK, Mediterranean and Africa.
