Modus, a North East subsea services company, which is pioneering the next generation of subsea robotics, has commissioned its control room in Darlington, the culmination of a £24m investment programme.

The company welcomed the Right Honourable Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, Secretary of State for International Trade and Darlington MP Peter Gibson, to officially open the state-of-the-art control centre at its headquarters.

Modus has developed the application of fully automated, low cost, carbon-zero inspection and maintenance services using subsea hybrid autonomous underwater vehicles (HAUVs) to map underwater topography and inspect pipelines, cabling and undersea structures.

These hybrid vehicles combine the characteristics of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), which is linked to the surface, and an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), which can operate without such a link. The vehicles can be deployed internationally and operated from the Darlington control room.

The investment includes four HAUV’s, two of which are in service, with the third and fourth to be delivered in October 22 and mid ’23 respectively. Ms Trevelyan was invited to pilot one of the vehicles around the port of Sunderland via remote connection.

The Right Honourable Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, said: “It’s been fantastic to have the chance to discover the extraordinary work in underwater drone technology that Modus has been leading on. It’s genuinely world-leading, UK-first technology and I’m so proud that it’s here in Darlington.

“There’s amazing, brilliant leadership in this sector and Modus is absolutely leading the way. It’s so exciting to hear the opportunities that are coming forward for this technology, and I want to make sure that it’s heard around the world: ‘made in Darlington, sold to the world’. This is where the new technology started and it will be central to the UK’s leadership in underwater technology in the decades ahead.”

Nick Tompkins, CEO of Modus Ltd, said: “We are extremely proud of our work at Modus, investing to develop world-leading capabilities to supply global markets, from our base right here in the North East.

“The technological capability we are offering to the offshore and subsea sectors provides a greener, more cost-effective and higher quality product than those currently available. It was a pleasure to showcase the ingenuity of Modus to both the Secretary of State and our local MP, Peter Gibson.” Peter Gibson, MP for Darlington, said: “The headquarters here in Darlington make me incredibly proud and there are tremendous opportunities from a military, oil and gas and a whole subsea perspective that will be fantastic for our region.”