Innovation Norway has awarded a hull-cleaning pioneer ECOsubsea a $6.2 million Green Growth Loan, which will be used to partially fund the construction of next-generation hull-cleaning robots.
In addition to expanding its fleet of next-generation hull-cleaning robots, ECOsubsea will also use the funding to expand its operations in Singapore.
The Austevoll-based company performed the first commercial cleaning job in Singapore in the autumn, using its next-gen robot dubbed the ‘Pink Panther.’Â
Cleanings are performed while vessels are bunkering at anchor, with the robot deployed from a specially adapted tug vessel. Â
The new hull-cleaning robots, supported by the funding, will be built in Norway and deployed in Singapore, while the total project cost includes retrofitting port service vessels to carry them.Â
The loan will be matched with equity from private investors over the next six months, and the plan is to have the new robots target delivered within 2025.
ECOsubsea estimates that adequate, industry-wise hull cleaning has the potential to reduce emissions from shipping by 100 million tons of CO2 globally every year.Â
The company aims to cut two million tons in 2025 alone. In the future, its long-term ambition is to capture 50% of the hull cleaning market through a global network of 250 cleaning robots in locations including Singapore, Panama, Suez, and Gibraltar.