XOCEAN, a leading provider of ocean data to the offshore energy and civil hydrography sectors, has closed a €115 million fundraise that will help support its ongoing growth across the company’s expanding global footprint. The company partnered with S2G Ventures (“S2G”) to structure the round, which was funded by S2G, Climate Investment (“CI”), Morgan Stanley’s 1GT fund, and an affiliate of the Crown Family’s CC Industries (“CCI”).
This financing will support XOCEAN in accelerating the growth of its platform servicing the offshore energy and civil hydrography sectors. It will also help enable the company’s geographic expansion and product innovation efforts to meet the rapidly growing demand for high-quality data solutions across the blue economy.
Founded in Ireland in 2017, XOCEAN has revolutionized offshore geophysical data delivery with its fleet of Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs). These USVs combine mission endurance, advanced sensors, real-time communications, and post-processing expertise to offer clients a flexible, cost-effective solution for the delivery of their offshore geophysical data needs. With a low-carbon, remotely operated fleet emitting just 0.1% of the CO2 of incumbent manned surveying vessels, XOCEAN aims to avoid millions of tons of carbon emissions over the next decade while achieving more than 30x the industry average in team gender diversity.
Demand for ocean data services is projected to grow significantly over the coming decade as the blue economy becomes a greater focus for capital deployment. The offshore wind sector is a key factor in this growth, with global installed capacity projected to reach over 250GW (ex. China) by 2035, a more than 500% expansion relative to today. Beyond wind, the inspection of aging legacy offshore infrastructure, the development of offshore carbon capture and storage (CCUS) facilities, and the expanding needs of civil hydrography are all fuelling added demand. Meeting this demand comes with new and complex challenges. XOCEAN understands these evolving complexities and has designed its solutions to meet client needs in a reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally sensitive manner.
XOCEAN works with leading offshore-focused energy companies, including SSE Renewables, Ørsted, bp, and Shell, and has delivered data solutions to commercial and government clients in over 23 jurisdictions. To date, the company has collected and processed over 4.9 million gigabytes of data, and has supported over 48.6 GWs of offshore wind development. XOCEAN is also supporting the asset integrity monitoring of existing energy infrastructure, CCUS project development, subsea electrical and data interconnections, and government agencies with their ocean data needs.
Commenting on the funding, XOCEAN’s Founder and CEO James Ives said: “Our mission is to deliver data that drives the sustainable development of our oceans in a safe, cost-effective, and ultra-low-impact way. Today, we are providing this service for many of the world’s largest energy companies, supporting the development of clean renewable energy globally. We are delighted that S2G, Climate Investment, Morgan Stanley and CCI have chosen to join us on this exciting journey. Whilst we embark on the next phase of growth, I would like to thank our early shareholders for their support and belief in our mission.”
“We believe this investment represents a distinct opportunity at the intersection of the energy and oceans sectors. Working with many of the world’s leading energy companies, XOCEAN has reimagined how the geophysical data central to unlocking the blue economy’s potential can be delivered,” said Dr. Francis O’Sullivan, Managing Director for S2G. “We are looking forward to partnering with James Ives and the outstanding XOCEAN team as they continue to grow their business’s global operations and innovate their product offerings to meet evolving customer needs.”
The growth-focused investment consortium that was formed to support XOCEAN with this financing brings fit-for-purpose capital, diverse operational experience across the offshore value chain, and the strategic connectivity needed to enable the company to realize its ambitious growth objectives.
“XOCEAN is revolutionizing the way we develop, monitor and enable offshore-focused industries with its fleet of uncrewed surface vessels that offer safe, low-carbon, and efficient surveying capabilities,” commented Patrick Yip, Managing Director and Head of Growth Equity at Climate Investment. “The investment will accelerate the deployment of XOCEAN’s technology through Climate Investment’s unique global network of member companies, many of which are already customers, and reflects our commitment to supporting innovative technologies that deliver climate impact.”
“We are honoured to join James and the XOCEAN team in the next chapter of their journey to decarbonize maritime surveying and build a global leader in ocean data solutions. Access to high-quality data is critical to multiple players in the offshore-focused ecosystem and we believe XOCEAN’s differentiated capital efficient solution will remain at the forefront of the industry,” commented Vikram Raju, MSIM’s Head of 1GT and Climate Private Equity Investing. “We look forward to bringing the totality of the Morgan Stanley platform to support the team in delivering low carbon energy in a low carbon way.”
