Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) announced today that the 1GT private climate equity strategy (1GT) participated in a €115 million fundraise for XOCEAN (company), a leading provider of ocean data to the offshore energy and civil hydrography sectors. 1GT participated in an investor consortium that includes S2G Ventures (S2G), Climate Investment (CI), and Crown Family’s CC Industries (CCI).
The investor consortium brings fit-for-purpose capital, diverse operational experience across the offshore value chain, and the strategic connectivity to accelerate the growth of XOCEAN’s platform to meet the rapidly growing demand for high-quality geophysical data solutions across the blue economy.
“Access to high-quality data is critical to multiple players in the offshore-focused ecosystem and we are honored to partner with the XOCEAN team,” said Vikram Raju, MSIM’s Head of Climate Private Equity Investing and 1GT. “We believe XOCEAN’s differentiated capital efficient solution will remain at the forefront of the industry and we look forward to supporting the next chapter of the company’s journey to decarbonize maritime surveying and build a global leader in ocean data solutions.”
Founded in Ireland in 2017, XOCEAN has revolutionized offshore geophysical data delivery with its fleet of Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs). These USVs combine mission endurance, advanced sensors, real-time communications, and post-processing expertise to offer clients a flexible, cost-effective solution for the delivery of their offshore geophysical data needs. With a low-carbon, remotely operated fleet emitting just 0.1% of the CO2 of incumbent manned surveying vessels, XOCEAN aims to avoid millions of tons of carbon emissions over the next decade while achieving more than 30x the industry average in team gender diversity.
Commenting on the fundraise, James Ives, XOCEAN founder and CEO, said: “Our mission is to deliver data that drives the sustainable development of our oceans in a safe, cost-effective, and ultra-low-impact way. Today, we are providing this service for many of the world’s largest energy companies, supporting the development of clean renewable energy globally. We are delighted MSIM’s 1GT and the rest of the investment consortium have chosen to join us on this exciting journey.”
XOCEAN works with leading offshore-focused energy companies, including SSE Renewables, Ørsted, BP, and Shell, and has delivered geophysical data to commercial and government clients in over 23 jurisdictions. To date, the company has collected and processed over 4.9 million gigabytes of data, which has supported over 48.6 GWs of offshore wind development.
Part of MSIM’s $240 billion alternative investments business, 1GT aims to make investments in companies that will collectively avoid or remove one gigaton of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) emissions from the Earth’s atmosphere.
