“The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market (without payload) is projected to grow at a CAGR of 20.8% from 2020 to 2025.”
The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) market (without payload) is projected to grow from USD 638 million in 2020 to USD 1,638 million by 2025; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.8% from 2020 to 2025. The increasing capital expenditure in the offshore industry is expected to drive the growth of the AUV market. AUVs are widely used in the oil & gas industry for various applications such as pipeline inspections, platform inspections, and bathymetric surveys, as well as search and rescue operations. AUVs are cost-effective for deepwater drilling applications as they eliminate the requirement of surface vessels and can operate autonomously. The main restraint for the growth of the AUV market is that AUVs are relatively expensive maritime systems. The costs involved in the deployment of AUVs for exploration or survey activities add to the actual cost of the operation, thus restraining the growth of the AUV market. High costs of maintenance, manufacturing, and R&D activities, and system complexity associated with AUVs lead to their slow adoption across the world.

“The archeology & exploration segment of the market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.”
Among applications, the archeological and exploration segment of the AUV market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. AUVs can be used as an important tool for underwater exploration activities to extract minerals such as cobalt, zinc, and magnesium; these minerals are used in the fabrication of smartphones, laptops, and hybrid cars, among others. According to the Digital Index of North American Archaeology (DINAA), there would be an increase in the number of underwater archeological sites if the sea level rises by 1 meter, which would submerge more than 13,000 recorded historic and prehistoric archeological sites, as well as over 1,000 locations currently eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The rise in demand for AUVs used in archeological and exploration applications has led companies to manufacture AUVs and payloads catering to the requirements of archeologists and marine research institutes.

“The torpedo segment estimated to hold the largest share of the AUV market in 2020.”
In 2020, the torpedo segment is estimated to hold the largest share of the AUV market. The growth of this segment can be attributed to the ease of storage and launch of torpedo-shaped AUVs from ships, aircraft, and helicopters without significant modifications. The drag of these AUVs is the second-best after laminar flow body AUVs. But torpedo-shaped AUVs are preferred over laminar flow body AUVs as they are stable and hence, offer a good balance between speed and stability. Torpedo-shaped AUVs can be used in a wide range of applications. Moreover, their hulls have more surface area than laminar flow body AUVs that make them highly suitable for deepwater applications.

“North America estimated to hold the largest share of the AUV market in 2020.”
In 2020, North America is estimated to hold the larges share of the AUV market. The increasing adoption of AUVs in the military & defense applications in the US is driving the growth of the AUV market in North America. For instance, in August 2019, Teledyne Instruments (US) received an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract worth USD 22 million from the US Naval Undersea Warfare Center to supply AUVs and related monitoring and communication acoustic systems. The increasing adoption of advanced underwater systems in emerging economies in APAC, including China and India, is creating significant growth opportunities for the manufacturers of AUVs in this region. For instance, in February 2020, Kongsberg Maritime (Norway) received a contract for providing a Hugin AUV system to the Indian National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT). The Hugin AUV system ordered by NIOT can be operated at depths of up to 6,000 meters and is expected to be equipped with a KONGSBERG HISAS 1032 synthetic aperture sonar and EM2040 multibeam echo sounder, designed for hydrographic and seabed classification applications.

In the process of determining and verifying the market size for several segments and subsegments gathered through secondary research, extensive primary interviews have been conducted with key industry experts in the AUV marketspace. The break-up of profiles of the primary participants for the report has been given below:

  • By Company Type: Tier 1 – 40%, Tier 2 – 40%, and Tier 3 – 20%
  • By Designation: C -lLevel Executives – 40%, Directors – 30%, and Others – 30%
  • By Region: North America – 40%, APAC – 30%, Europe – 20%, and RoW – 10%

The report profiles the key players in the AUV market with their respective market ranking analysis. Prominent players profiled in this report are Kongsberg Maritime (Norway), Teledyne Marine (US), Bluefin Robotics (US), ECA GROUP (France), Saab AB (Sweden), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), Fugro (Netherlands), ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH (Germany), Boston Engineering Corporation (US), International Submarine Engineering (Canada), Graal Tech (Italy), BAE Systems (UK), Boeing (US), L3Harris OceanServer (US), and Hydromea SA (Switzerland).

Research Coverage:
This research report categorizes the AUV market based on technology, shape, type, application, and region. Further, this report also categorizes the AUV payload market based on payload type. The report describes the key drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities pertaining to the AUV market and forecasts the same till 2025. Apart from these, the report covers leadership mapping and analysis of all companies included in the AUV ecosystem. The report also covers qualitative information on the impact of COVID-19 on the AUV market.

Key Benefits of Buying the Report

The report is expected to help leaders/new entrants in this market in the following ways:
  • This report segments the AUV market comprehensively and provides the closest market size projections for all subsegments across different regions.
  • The report helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provides them with information on key drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities for the market growth.
  • This report is expected to help stakeholders understand their competitors in an improved manner and gain insights to improve their position in the business. The competitive landscape section includes competitor ecosystem, product developments and launches, contracts and agreements, partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions.
  • The analysis of the top 25 companies based on the strength of their product portfolios, as well as their business strategies is expected to help stakeholders visualize the market positioning of these key players.
  • Geographic analysis and country-wise information that is expected to shape the market in coming years has also been covered in this report.