The company is aiming to radically upend the multi-billion pound underwater services market and has developed a suite of technologies to drive down the costs and environmental impact of deploying and operating subsea robots. This includes plans to build a fleet of all-electric subsea motherships to replace large diesel-powered support vessels and a cloud-based software platform that enables geographically distributed stakeholders to supervise, control and collaborate with robotic systems from the safety of onshore control hubs.
HonuWorx has key team members in the United States and throughout the UK but has now chosen to anchor its business in the North East of Scotland citing the region's pioneering subsea heritage and the 'flagship ecosystem' provided by the Energy Transition Zone. The company currently has 12 employees with plans to treble that in the next 2-3 years whilst targeting upwards of £30 million inward investment to support its growth plans.
The announcement was welcomed by Aberdeen City Council co-leader, Cllr Christian Allard, and Cllr Martin Greig, as they visited W-Zero-1 to mark the formal opening of the building. During a tour of the facility, they met with HonuWorx Chief Executive, Lee Wilson, along with senior representatives of the building's other recently confirmed tenants; ORE- Catapult and Trojan Energy.
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Aberdeen City Council Co-leader, Cllr Christian Allard, said: "It was an honour to mark the opening of the fully refurbished W-Zero-1 and to welcome HonuWorx as the newest tenants in this excellent facility. Along with Trojan Energy and ORE-Catapult, it is clear this building will be a hive of activity and it is hugely encouraging to learn of plans from all three organisations that they seek to increase the number of employees at the site in the coming years."
Councillor Martin Greig said: "Aberdeen City Council is fully committed to ensuring the city retains its position as a global energy hub and, as we accelerate the transition to new and green energies, it is vital to provide bespoke and flexible energy transition properties to facilitate the growth of businesses. The ongoing revitalisation of the Alten's Industrial Estate is welcome and I look forward to seeing more and more businesses invest in the Zone."
HonuWorx Chief Executive, Lee Wilson, said: "Today marks another incredible milestone for HonuWorx and I'm delighted to commit our long-term future and headquarters in the city. The North East of Scotland has a globally recognised reputation for pioneering subsea engineering and we plan to further cement that legacy with the next generation of talent in software and robotics.
"The flagship location and ecosystem provided by W-Zero-1 and the wider Energy Transition Zone allows us to benefit hugely from first-class facilities and join a cluster of game-changing companies. The Wind Campus is the ideal location for our company to grow and attract talented people and we look forward to supercharging headcount here in the next two years. I'm grateful for the ongoing support of the team at ETZ Ltd. HonuWorx is now well and truly ready to scale."
ETZ Ltd Chief Executive, Maggie McGinlay, said: "It was a privilege to welcome Councillors Allard and Greig as they marked the formal opening of W-Zero-1, which is a landmark moment given it is the first major investment made by ETZ Ltd. The ongoing support from the City Council is hugely welcome as we continue to take forward the widespread delivery of new and refurbished property and development sites suitable for companies seeking to locate and invest in the Energy Transition Zone.
"W-Zero-1 will, in collaboration with ORE- catapult, be the home of the National Floating Wind Innovation Centre and is a catalyst for attracting high-value manufacturing and energy transition supply chain companies. That is evidenced by the fact Trojan Energy, one of the fastest growing cleantech businesses in the UK, and now HonuWorx have decided to locate their headquarters in the building with plans to expand their operations.
"We are in the process of confirming more exciting companies, like HonuWorx, to the building and are confident it will reach capacity in the coming months. Today's opening and announcement is a real vote of confidence in the region's ability to effectively transition to becoming a globally recognised energy cluster focussed on the delivery of net zero."
