Drones are spending their time the way I like to in the summer: In the water. 

As offshore renewable energy, specifically wind generation, plays a bigger role in the energy transition, so are drones. Offshore operations are expensive and hazardous, making drones a great resource. 

Underwater drones—both autonomous and piloted—are helping speed up project development, improve safety, help in ongoing operations, and more. They’re already being used in offshore energy in several ways:

• Mapping the seafloor and surrounding ecosystems of potential wind farm sites

• Conducting routine inspections and collecting valuable data

• Autonomous inspections on oil and gas platforms

• Underwater pipeline maintenance and repair

• Coworking with humans on offshore platforms

A couple of projects have caught our attention lately: 

Hydromea successfully trialed EXRAY, its wireless underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) system, in a full ballast water tank on one of TotalEnergies’ North Sea floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels.

Bedrock, an early-stage startup, is testing its electric, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)—which can navigate along the ocean floor in waters up to 300 meters deep—for seafloor mapping.

And the future applications are as big as the ocean.