UK-based USV specialist expands production facilities to ‘meet demand’

UK-based HydroSurv has moved into new facilities in order to deliver expansion in production capacity for its uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) used for hydrographic and environmental data collection.

HydroSurv said that the expansion of production facilities comes as a move to meet the demand for USVs.

Located in Exeter’s Marsh Barton industrial estate, the new 6,000ft² premises include facilities for design, manufacturing, and final assembly of USVs from 2.8 to 8.6 meters in size.

The new base currently has 15 employees, while the company expects the headcount to increase to more than 30 over the next 12 months.

“These new facilities mark our continued investment and commitment to the development and deployment of uncrewed surface vessel technology. As our team has grown steadily over the past year, it was obviously only going to be a matter of time before we ran out of space,” said David Hull, founder and CEO of HydroSurv.

“Everyone is excited and optimistic about the way the venture has grown, and these new workspaces will enable us to increase our efficiency and strengthen our production capacity for the future.”

HydroSurv, which entered the ocean technology sector in 2019, operates offices in the UK and Canada.

The company is part of a collaborative project with Sonardyne and Dynautics aimed at demonstrating extended-range uncrewed operations using a hybrid-powered USV.

HydroSurv developed the REAV-60 design for the vessel named USV Decibel which runs on a hybrid system utilizing a Fischer Panda generator and battery pack combination.

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