There are robots under the Sydney ferries right now, scrubbing them while they float. They come from Hullbot, founded over a decade ago by Tom Loefler and Karl Watfern, and backed by UNSW’s NewSouth Innovations.
The problem
First slime, then algae, then barnacles. This biofouling creates drag, so the engine works harder and the boat burns more fuel. The old fix is hauling the boat out, blasting it and repainting. That is slow and expensive, so operators wait as long as they can and burn fuel the whole time.
The fix
Small robots attach to the hull, navigate it on their own using cameras and AI, and clean constantly so the slime never becomes barnacles. Clean early, clean often, never dry dock for it.
The numbers
- 1,000+ paid cleans
- Fuel savings averaging about 15%, and up to 26%
- 3,600+ tonnes of carbon avoided
- Customers include Sydney Ferries and NRMA Marine
The raise
An A$16M Series A led by Regeneration.VC out of the US, with Folklore, Katapult Ocean and Climate Tech Partners.
My read
Shipping puts out around a billion tonnes of carbon a year. Part of the answer is simply keeping the bottom of the boat clean, and a Sydney team built the robot that does it.