Eni and Fincantieri, through its subsidiary IDS - Engineering dei Sistemi, a company specialized in the development of unmanned for the underwater market, have signed an agreement "Clean Sea" proprietary technology, the submarine robotic system developed by Eni and designed to the monitoring of the marine ecosystem and infrastructures including verification of their integrity in service. The agreement provides for the granting of a license to IDS exclusive for global commercialization and development Clean Sea technology, which will be used to underwater inspections and applications related to the objectives of energy transition of the offshore market, with a particular focus on reference to Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) programs in marine environment. This license will allow IDS to use "Clean Sea" technology for the operational needs of Eni and the same for those of third-party customers.

The Clean Sea is based on a hybrid ROV/AUV architecture (Remotely Operated Vehicle/Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), which allows use both in remote control mode from a ship support and in completely autonomous mode. The technology integrates interchangeable modular payloads, called e-pods, which combine instruments and sensors dedicated to specific monitoring and inspection activities - including sampling of water, detailed visual analysis and acoustic reconstructions 3D - providing advanced capture and processing data even in complex offshore environments. Technology will come integrated with the various autonomous platforms and unmanned systems developed by the Fincantieri group, which will allow the scalability of applications both in terms of volumes and new areas.

Following the agreement, Eni and IDS will also be able to collaborate on the technological evolution of the platform and the development of complementary innovative solutions, promoting the growth of Italian industrial skills in a strategic sector such as robotics and underwater technologies.