As global efforts to tackle climate change ramp up, startup HonuWorx has its sights set on subsea. With its advanced tech, the company hopes to deliver something no other organisation has successfully achieved – subsea operations with zero emissions and zero personnel at sea.
Founded in 2020 by Lee Wilson and Lucas Wissmann, HonuWorx is driven by the belief that ‘incremental improvements are simply not enough to make a real change in the subsea industry’. As proven leaders in taking marine robotics technologies from concept to commercialisation, HonuWorx provides clients with remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services from autonomous water motherships that are launched from port.
HonuWorx’s tech can deliver the same subsea robotics service that users experience today, from the safety of the shore.
So far, the company has raised £1.7 million equity to date, to support the development of the burgeoning offshore wind sector, help safeguard sustainable energy infrastructure and increase national climate and supply chain resilience.
Loggerhead is HonuWorx’s all-electric mothership; ‘it’s an innovative robotic system designed to transport and deploy ROVs to remote locations for subsea inspection and maintenance’.
With the potential to deliver a much lower cost base, 100% reduction in offshore personnel and up to 100% reduction in carbon emissions, Loggerhead can replace legacy offshore support vessels as a sustainable, long-term solution.
Alongside Loggerhead, is HonuNet, a modular platform of hardware and software which uses Cloud-Edge networking architecture to deliver distributed communications and control. HonuNet ‘enables geographically distributed stakeholders to see data, collaborate, supervise, and control robotic systems that are beyond line-of-sight.’
With HonuWorx’s tech, customers could safeguard underwater communications, oil pipelines and electrical cables, with minimal surface footprint.
in 2023 pre-seed round investment
equity raised to date
as investment lead for follow-on raise in 2024
“We are delighted to have the backing of the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund as we continue to hit key milestones on our mission to help support and safeguard multiple blue economy sectors. It’s fantastic to see privately managed, publicly funded bodies acknowledging, and most importantly promoting, the vast range of clean energy, defence and economic advantages that working subsea presents.”
We led the pre-seed round in 2023 contributing £400,000, whilst unlocking non-dilutive funding from the Innovate UK Investor Partnership.
We’ve successfully introduced the company to the defence community, forging links into the Royal Navy. And as investment lead for its follow-on raise (2024), we’ve continued to promote HonuWorx and its innovative tech to potential later stage investors. Alongside financial investment, UKI2S is supporting the company with general Board governance, business strategy, and development to help get the most out of the investments raised so far.
With a pioneering mission to make the subsea world ‘easily accessible to those who defend and sustainably commercialise ocean resources’, HonuWorx is challenging the subsea sector status quo.
Armed with incredible tech, the company hopes to serve multiple sectors by enabling a diverse range of applications. No matter if you’re monitoring offshore wind energy infrastructure or enabling covert defence operations, health, safety, efficiency, and sustainability underpin HonuWorx’s game changing offering.
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