Subsea data provider joins upcoming SeaRAY ocean energy system demonstration

U.S.-based Tiburon Subsea, a subsea data collection and delivery provider, has joined fellow U.S. marine energy company C-Power’s partner engagement and co-development (PEC) program to handle subsea data collection for the upcoming SeaRAY ocean energy system demonstration.

The two companies will collaborate to gather and deliver subsea data during C-Power’s SeaRAY autonomous offshore power system (AOPS) demonstration. The 18-month field test, set to begin in the first quarter of 2025 at the PacWave South test site off Oregon’s coast, will assess SeaRAY’s capability to provide power and data communications for surface and subsurface mobile and static assets, said C-Power.

According to the U.S. marine energy company, partners in the PEC Program will receive real-time data and feedback opportunities throughout the test to improve the system’s usability for prospective use cases.

“C-Power and Tiburon Subsea share a belief that the future of the ocean economy is digital, autonomous, and resident. That future requires power and data,” said C-Power CEO,  Reenst Lesemann.

“We are excited to work with Tiburon Subsea to test how the SeaRAY AOPS can deliver power and data solutions that enable their mission to disrupt conventional subsea data collection methods that are slow, scarce, expensive, unreliable, and unable to meet modern demands for subsea intelligence.”

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is backing the demonstration as part of a $6 million initiative co-sponsored by DOE, C-Power, and PEC participants, aimed at advancing the next generation of SeaRAY systems. The test will evaluate the system’s long-duration survivability and reliability in harsh marine conditions.

“We believe that our dynamic underwater technologies will propel us into a new era in marine robotics helping to protect our oceans,” noted Tiburon Subsea CEO, Tim Taylor.

According to C-power, key upgrades to the SeaRAY AOPS include deep-water mooring capabilities, satellite communications, increased energy generation, improved transportability, enhanced maintenance and operations, and more efficient manufacturing.

C-Power AOPS is a system that provides in-situ power, energy storage, and real-time data and communications support for offshore applications, including data-gathering equipment, operating equipment, uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), and AUVs. 

In June, Scotland’s Green Marine (UK) joined C-Power’s PEC program, with the same goal of advancing AOPS. 

In September, C-Power signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SLB’s OneSubsea joint venture (JV) to explore the use of ocean energy as a lower-cost, lower-carbon power source for subsea applications.