Listen to this article

Nauticus Robotics, a developer of autonomous underwater robots that use AI for data collection and intervention services for the ocean industries, has been awarded a contract with Petrobras to develop and test its autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Aquanaut in Brazil. The contract leads to a potential market worth over $100 million annually and will expand Nauticus’ international presence to South America. 

Under the contract, Nauticus will deploy Aquanaut, its autonomous subsea robot, to support Petrobras’ offshore activities. Specifically, Aquanaut will be used in Petrobras’ Deepwater Production Field using supervised autonomy for infield inspection services. The contract consists of approximately two months’ worth of subsea inspection time. 

Aquanaut is a fully electric AUV that carries an array of multi-spectral perception sensors that allow the robot to detect, classify, inspect, and act upon subsea infrastructure using its pair of manipulators without direct operator control. The Aquanaut can provide significant reductions in cost and greenhouse gas emissions over conventional methods. 

“A contract with another worldwide leading operator for Nauticus speaks to the state-of-the-art technologies of our autonomous robots as we further penetrate the global markets,” Nicolaus Radford, CEO of Nauticus, said. “The market opportunity for Nauticus in offshore Brazil is significant, as it is one of the world’s most active offshore energy basins; we are pleased to enter this market through a world-class operator. We competed through a rigorous tender process with many well-respected industry competitors to earn this business with Petrobras and eagerly await the deployment of our assets to validate our capabilities. We continue to build our robust pipeline of opportunities, giving us the confidence to execute our mission and deliver long-term value to shareholders.”

Petrobras is one of the world’s largest offshore operators. It manages 57 platforms, and ten thousand miles of oil and gas pipelines, and produces 2.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. 

Nauticus’ entire product line includes its flagship Aquanaut robot, the Hydronaut, an autonomous or remotely controlled small vessel, and the Olympic Arm, a robotic arm subsea tool. The company also offers ToolKITT, its robotics control software.

In September 2022, the company completed its business combination with CleanTech Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed in June 2020. Nauticus also made its debut on the NASDAQ under ticker symbols “KITT” for its common stock and “KITTW” for its public warrants.