The grant will be for developing a subsea decommissioning optimisation software demonstrator
Subsea research and technology development centre, the National Subsea Centre (NSC), has partnered with marine logistics artificial intelligence provider, PlanSea, to deliver a new technology for decommissioning AI-demonstrator.
The grant was awarded to both PlanSea and the NSC by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in partnership with Scottish Enterprise (SE) to help in developing a subsea decommissioning optimisation AI-demonstrator.
Jim Cargill, CEO of PlanSea said: “The AI demonstrator is aimed at addressing both standalone and collaborative campaign optimisation of current and future decommissioning. Additionally, as in marine logistics, we offer a digitalised process for users whilst at the same time enhancing visibility of operational activity.”
A need for optimisation in cost-effective and resource-efficient practises, whilst contributing towards net zero targets by reducing emissions. The UK is expected to spend £21 billion on decommissioning in the next 10 years. This therefore creates great demand for large-scale and complex subsea decommissioning.
The NSC and PlanSea have collaborated for many years already, creating an AI to optimise marine logistics. Together, the two will now use the technology and skills developed to address subsea decommissioning.
To further this, the two organisations are now developing a robust task-based formalisation of offshore decommissioning activities. This will increase the benefits of PlanSea’s existing marine-logistics AI technology. Decision-makers will now be able to simulate with a high degree of accuracy and can see the cause-effect relationship of different strategies and KPI of interest. Initial trials of the fast-tracked AI tool are scheduled for Q2 of 2025.
Professor James Njuguna, NSC director of research and innovation, added: “Our centre is uniquely positioned to address the subsea industry’s most pressing challenges. Our in-depth knowledge of marine operations offers a great opportunity to collaborate with PlanSea to provide operators with substantial savings and reduce emissions. I am confident that this collaborative project will harness our research expertise and PlanSea’s cutting-edge industrial knowledge to deliver a pioneering solution for the energy transition.”
