Eni S.p.A. and Fincantieri, through its subsidiary IDS – Ingegneria dei Sistemi, have announced the signing of a strategic agreement concerning Clean Sea, Eni’s proprietary technology. Clean Sea is the underwater robotic system developed by Eni and designed for monitoring marine ecosystems and subsea infrastructure, including the verification of their in-service integrity.
The agreement grants IDS an exclusive license for the worldwide commercialisation and industrial development of the Clean Sea technology, which will be deployed for underwater inspection activities and initiatives related to the offshore market’s energy transition objectives, with particular focus on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects in marine environments. This license will enable IDS to use Clean Sea to support Eni’s operational requirements and those of third-party customers.
Clean Sea is based on hybrid ROV/AUV (Remotely Operated Vehicle/Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) architecture, allowing it to be used in remote-controlled form from a support vessel or in fully autonomous mode. The technology incorporates interchangeable modular payloads, known as e-pods, which combine instruments and sensors tailored to specific monitoring and inspection tasks — including water sampling, detailed visual analysis, and 3D acoustic reconstructions — ensuring advanced data acquisition and processing capabilities even in complex offshore environments. The technology will be integrated with various autonomous platforms and unmanned systems developed by the Fincantieri Group, enabling scalable applications both in terms of operational volumes and new use cases.
Following the agreement, Eni and IDS could also collaborate on the further technological evolution of the platform and on the development of complementary innovative solutions, fostering the growth of Italian industrial expertise in strategic sectors such as robotics and underwater technologies.
The agreement is in line with Eni’s innovation model, which aims to accelerate deployment on the market of proprietary technologies through technological and commercial partnerships. Licensing such technologies to qualified operators further enhances their innovation potential and operational efficiency, while promoting their industrialisation and commercialisation across broader national and international markets. In addition, the agreement strengthens Fincantieri Group’s position in the underwater domain, while further consolidating the role of the Underwater Technology Hub.
Lorenzo Fiorillo, Director of Technology, R&D & Digital at Eni, stated:
“The agreement with Fincantieri confirms the value of Eni’s innovation activities and the relevance of the resulting products, particularly in a field where we have achieved excellence such as industrial robotics. Our proprietary Clean Sea technology, operational since 2016 and continuously enhanced over time, has earned recognition from a leading and forward-looking operator in the sector, which will enable us to further raise its operational performance standards.”
Matteo Marchiori, CEO of IDS, added:
“This agreement further strengthens Fincantieri Group’s capabilities in the underwater domain and consolidates IDS’s role in the development and integration of advanced solutions for underwater monitoring and inspection. The combination of IDS’s expertise in unmanned systems, command-and-control technologies, and advanced sensing solutions with Eni’s innovation embodied in the Clean Sea technology will accelerate its industrialisation and deployment across international markets.”
