High-technology offshore wind companies Rovco and Vaarst have entered into merger, creating a new brand Beam to boost their offshore wind services.
In uniting their capabilities across research, development, and deployment, Beam will provide innovative automation technologies to service offshore wind, and deliver efficiencies and reduced costs for survey and subsea work across all lifecycle stages.
Under the unified Beam brand, Rovco and Vaarst will continue in their shared mission develop and deploying AI and autonomy enabled services in the offshore wind sector.
Rovco was founded by Brian Allen in 2016, with technology spin-off Vaarst later launched by Allen in 2021.
The decision to unite the companies under one name follows several years of rapid growth and will support future technological ambitions.
Allen will continue in the CEO role at Beam, with the merger of the two companies creating a combined workforce of over 200 employees.
“Piecemeal policymaking, supply chain issues and the rising workforce shortage have created hurdles in the green energy transition and fueled a continued reliance on oil and gas. It’s never been more important to find ways to cut costs and project timelines.
“This merger under a united brand makes Beam the only company in the world with a unique combination of subsea AI, computer vision, sonar and autonomous advanced robotics. Our mission is to deliver real world impact in the offshore wind industry by making it cost competitive with oil and gas, which is a pivotal step in ending the world’s dependence on fossil fuels,” said Brian Allen, CEO of Beam.
Beam is set for further expansion in the coming year, hiring over 150 new employees across the UK in a variety of high-technology roles at its Bristol, Aberdeen and Edinburgh offices.
Global growth will also see Beam recruit an additional 50 positions in other global markets, including 25 in the United States and 10 in Asia.