Untethered Subsea Power

The delivery of untethered subsea power with multiple megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy storage capacity would be game-changing for many applications in the subsea community. Power is required for science outposts, to extend the operating duration of UUVs, and to support various subsea assets for the commercial oil and gas industry. A power source with multiple MWh of energy storage capacity will specifically minimize the ship time required to maintain subsea assets, addressing both the carbon footprint and the financial cost associated with maintenance. The most mature untethered power systems for the subsea community are battery-based. The issue with batteries is they become cost prohibitive at energy storage capacities greater than a few 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh).