Hullbot
Saving fuel for ships through an autonomous hull cleaning service
At a glance
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Development stage
Scaling operations
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Investment stage
Series A
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UNSW affiliation
UNSW Founders startup
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Technology readiness level
TRL 9
Hullbot uses autonomous underwater robots to reduce vessel fuel costs through proactive hull cleaning.
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Hullbot offers ship operators an autonomous hull cleaning service, with customer verified savings of 10-28% on fuel costs. Hullbot designs, manufactures, and deploys a global fleet of underwater robots that are remotely managed, travel with vessels and clean when stationary.
Delivered as a service with no upfront capex, Hullbot ensures fuel savings exceed the service cost. Frequent, proactive cleaning outperforms antifouling coatings, diver services and drydocking on both cost and performance.
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Biofouling, marine growth on ship hulls, drives higher fuel and operating cost for fleets. It accounts for 1% of global emissions, is the primary pathway for invasive marine species, and poses an escalating regulatory risk to port access.
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Commercial operators with high-utilisation fleets - passenger ferries, workboats and cargo ships.
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- AU$16M Series A in 2025 from lead investor Regeneration.VC
- Operating commercially across EU, LATAM, US, and APAC
- 1,800+ cleans across 91+ vessels, saving 2m litres of marine diesel and 6m kg CO2e
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