AUV market to total US$2.3 billion over the next decade

Vessel & ROV News - December 18, 2009

Global expenditure on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) will total US$2.3 billion over the next decade according to new research released by business analysts, Douglas-Westwood. The company’s latest ground-breaking report, The World AUV Market Report 2010-2019, also highlights that that just under half of AUV expenditure between 2010 and 2019 (US$1.1billion) will come from the military sector.

“Although 629 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have been produced to date, they are still regarded as a relatively new technology,” explains Paul Newman, lead Douglas-Westwood Analyst. “However, the use of AUVs has increased significantly in a number of key tasks where they have been shown to be more cost effective than previous technology. For example, they are now one of the military’s primary mine countermeasure devices and well established within the oil & gas community as deep water survey platforms.”

The report predicts that around 1,400 AUVs will be required over the next decade – the majority of which will be small units (starting from a weight of 10kg). It also highlights key AUV market drivers amongst military, oil & gas and research sectors – the three principal AUV purchasers – concluding that supporting War on Terror campaigns, searching for potential deep water oil & gas reserves and understanding the role of the oceans in climate change are the main reasons for the increased demand.

The World AUV Market Report 2010-2019 describes how AUVs fit into the family tree of unmanned underwater vehicles – outlining industry development and providing detailed examples of the various types of AUVs. It also segments AUV numbers by type and application, while providing insight into developers, manufacturers and operators.

Newman concludes: “In addition, a massive growth in demand has not just increased ship costs dramatically but also those of the essential underwater operations personnel. AUV technology is primed for dynamic growth as technological capability and market need are now building on each other.”