HPR Lands First Taiwan Offshore Wind Contract After ROV Trials

High Performance Robotics (HPR) has secured its first commercial contract in Taiwan, deploying subsea robotic systems and personnel to support IOG on an offshore wind project off the Taiwanese coast.

The Aberdeen-based company confirmed the award follows a self-funded trial program conducted earlier in 2026. That program tested the firm's remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technology — an unmanned submersible piloted from the surface — in high-current conditions that have historically posed persistent challenges for subsea inspection work.

How did HPR win the work?

The path to the contract ran through two trial phases. HPR first tested its systems at FloWave, the ocean energy test facility in Edinburgh capable of simulating combined wave and current environments. It then moved to offshore trials in Taiwan in March, according to the company.

The company reported that the Taiwanese trials demonstrated inspection speeds significantly faster than the existing rate achieved on the project. On the strength of those results, HPR was appointed as an additional contractor with a mandate to help accelerate the inspection program.

HPR described the award as marking two firsts: its entry into the Taiwanese offshore wind market and its first contract with IOG. The company did not disclose contract value or duration.

"The results led to HPR being appointed as an additional contractor to help accelerate the inspection program."

What technology is involved?

HPR deploys compact ROVs and subsea robotic systems developed from its Aberdeen headquarters. The firm's core proposition is technology transfer: it applies hardware and operational expertise built up in North Sea oil and gas operations to offshore wind projects, where inspection of foundations, cables and substructures demand similar capabilities.

The company has form in the sector. HPR previously deployed its micro-ROV technology at Dogger Bank, the UK offshore wind farm under construction in the North Sea, where it supported cable installation activities.

The Taiwan contract forms part of HPR's stated international expansion strategy. The company is targeting opportunities to apply its subsea inspection technology across offshore wind markets beyond its UK and North Sea base.

Why do high currents matter?

Strong tidal and current regimes are a recognized constraint on subsea inspection campaigns. Conventional ROV operations slow or halt when currents exceed workable thresholds, extending vessel time and schedule.

Taiwan's offshore wind zones are known for demanding metocean conditions, which made the demonstration relevant. HPR's trials at FloWave and offshore in Taiwan were designed specifically to prove the vehicles could hold station and work efficiently in those environments, and the resulting speed improvement underpinned the appointment.

The takeaway: proven performance in field trials, not price, won this contract.

What comes next?

The watch item is execution. HPR must now convert trial-phase inspection speeds into sustained commercial performance on the IOG project, with the pace of the accelerated inspection program as the measurable indicator.

Beyond Taiwan, the company's expansion thesis rests on repeating the formula — self-funded demonstrations in difficult conditions followed by contractor appointments — across other offshore wind markets. Further contract announcements, particularly in basins with high-current challenges, would validate the strategy.

In plain terms: an Aberdeen robotics firm has turned a funded trial into paid work in Taiwan, and its next results there will show whether the model travels.