News / Tech
High-tech offshore wind company announces merger with sister firm
Vaarst, a high-tech offshore wind company has announced a merger with its sister company Rovco under a new branding: Beam.global.
Vaarst and Rovco have been developing and deploying AI and autonomy enabled services in the offshore wind sector.
Under the unified branding, the firm expects the shared mission to continue with the goal of helping offshore wind become more reliable, efficient and cost-effective by improving its commercial viability compared to oil and gas.
Rovco was founded in Bristol back in 2016 by Brian Allen and subsequently launched its tech spin-off Vaarst in 2021. The decision to unite the companies under one name follows several years of rapid growth and will support its future technological ambitions. Allen will continue in the role of chief executive at Beam, with the merger of the two companies creating a combined workforce of over 200 employees.
Vaarst and Rovco have been developing and deploying AI and autonomy enabled services in the offshore wind sector
Allen said: “Piecemeal policy making, supply chain issues and the rising workforce shortage have created hurdles in the green energy transition and fuelled a continued reliance on oil and gas.
“It’s never been more important to find ways to cut costs and project timelines. This merger under a united brand makes Beam the only company in the world with a unique combination of subsea AI, computer vision, sonar and autonomous advanced robotics. Our mission is to deliver real world impact in the offshore wind industry by making it cost competitive with oil and gas, which is a pivotal step in ending the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.”
In uniting their industry leading capabilities across research, development, and deployment, Beam expects to provide an “unrivaled offering in cutting-edge automation technologies”. Through its mission to automate offshore wind, these innovations deliver efficiencies and reduced costs for survey and subsea work across all lifecycle stages.
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Bristol is considered as one of the world’s leading hubs for green technology, particularly in subsea applications. The merger promises to bring further growth for the company in the region, with Beam set to hire 50 new employees in the coming year at its Bristol office.
All photos: Beam
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