Hydrosphere’s long-standing client, which tests and designs naval systems, came looking for a new solution to be deployed off the South Coast of England. Hydrosphere has been providing high-quality, reliable and cost-effective data buoy solutions since it was first founded in 1994.

Mobilis’ standard data buoys typically feature a full range of met and wave sensors, enabling observation or surveillance to take place and data to be reported back via satellite, but this buoy was a little bit different and required a high degree of modification

The client had previously using seabed cables to power its application but had encountered problems with cables breaking on a regular basis and incurring subsequent and substantial maintenance costs as divers were needed to repair them. A floating solution to the power supply requirement was designed.

The buoy had to be completely non-magnetic and capable of supporting a variety of undisclosed devices. Once all the initial details had been ironed out, the buoy was built around a large central stainless-steel structure with a silent mooring, taking approximately three months to make.

The finished product is a gigantic three-metre hull diameter data buoy featuring wave and met sensors, two wind turbines, 900 watts of solar panels and a two-tonne battery with a massive capacity of 2,900 Ah. Certainly not your average data buoy – in fact Hydrosphere managed to persuade six people to fit inside it at the factory acceptance test.

If the project proves successful for the client, the buoy may be deployed at other sites across the UK. Hydrosphere is looking to take on more of these types of projects in the future – collaborating with companies like Mobilis to create bespoke products.