Hydromea, founded in 2014 as an EPFL spin-off and based in Lausanne, builds wireless underwater autonomous inspection robots that operate in confined flooded spaces and for open-sea missions. Its core product is a portable, untethered inspection drone that enables 3D environmental mapping and high-bandwidth underwater wireless communication, allowing dives through intricate labyrinths without tether entanglement. The company says it is first in the market to place autonomous robots into confined flooded spaces for inspection and monitoring and leads optical communication standard setting in the subsea wireless industry group SWiG. Hydromea is accelerating development through a co-development multi-year project funded by Scotland-based OGTC in collaboration with Total E&P UK, receiving undisclosed grant funding and securing first-phase multi-million project funding. The funding will enable onsite asset integrity inspections, replace hazardous manned entries into ballast tanks and similar spaces, increase safety, reduce emissions and inspection costs, and enable remote inspection capability. Future phases aim to enable open-sea inspection missions from unmanned surface vehicles or resident platforms, leveraging the company’s multi-robot systems experience. The article cites a global market for underwater asset integrity inspections estimated at CHF 14 billion over the next five years as the opportunity space. Hydromea is an EPFL spin-off that develops portable, autonomous underwater robotics and high-speed wireless underwater communication. Its flagship product, the ExRay, is a tether-less underwater drone intended to replace multi-person manned entry into confined, water-filled spaces such as ballast tanks. The company says its expertise in navigation, high-speed wireless communication and autonomous robotics is built on a decade of IP development and includes at least one patented component. Hydromea has built seven autonomous vehicles used in 12 open-water campaigns with EPFL and received a letter of intent from an oil and gas super-major to assist with development and testing. The firm plans to launch ExRay in 2021 and will use new funding to accelerate commercial availability of existing products and grow the team. Hydromea is targeting rapid revenue growth—projected to quadruple this year versus last and to triple again in 2020—and cites the ballast-tank inspection market at an estimated CHF 3 billion. Hydromea is an EPFL spin-off that develops products and solutions allowing autonomous ultra-fast and high-volume remote subsea data access in real-time for offshore energy companies. Their technology combines robotics and wireless communication network systems to render cables obsolete and replace ships and commercial divers for subsea data collection. Hydromea will join the TechX offshore energy accelerator run by the Oil & Gas Technology Centre, participating in an intensive 16-week programme beginning in May. As a Pioneer Hydromea will receive up to £100,000 in non-dilutive funding with no equity or payback and will have access to expert mentors, development partners and deep industry access. After graduation it may be eligible for the 12-month TechX+ incubator, where two companies receive an additional share of £130,000 from strategic partner BP. The programme focuses on innovations that help maximise economic recovery and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Total raised

$0M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Mar 2019