Cleantech venture capital pioneer Emerald Technology Ventures has invested in Sea Machines, a developer of autonomous control systems and advanced perception technology that supports the decarbonization of the maritime industry.
This US$12m funding round, which included Nabtesco Technology Ventures (NTV), Chevron Technology Ventures, Ingram Industries, RKKVC, Level 2 Ventures, and IMC Ventures, is expected to help Sea Machines “hone its technological edge and grow its market presence”, the company said. This follows a 2023 financing led by the Geekdom Fund.
Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics creates autonomous piloting systems to help sea vessels navigate and operate with greater efficiency, productivity and capability. Its proprietary technology enables onboard computers to maintain precise control of vessel position, steering and speed during a voyage, reroute as needed to avoid traffic and obstacles, and use streaming data to improve operations. The startup also develops solutions for computer vision, remote command and control, and advanced data collection along shipping routes, among other applications.
One estimate pegs growth in the autonomous ships sector at 9.6% annually between 2022 and 2030. According to Sea Machines, key considerations behind the shift toward autonomy include cost pressures, labor shortages, safety, fuel savings and greenhouse gas reductions. The latter is a particularly pressing concern for shipping, Sea Machines states, given the challenges of decarbonizing the sector – an area that Emerald is actively engaged in. While the companies stated that clean fuels like hydrogen could potentially serve as a long-term catalyst for a greener industry, they highlighted that they will need to be paired with leaps in operational efficiency along the lines of Sea Machines’ solutions in order to help the sector achieve Paris Agreement-aligned emissions reductions.
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