AS the UK accelerates its transition to cleaner energy and offshore wind farms move into deeper, more challenging waters, demand is growing for more accurate geoscience data to reduce risk before construction even begins.
Yorkshire-based geoscience consultancy Agerion has joined forces with North Wales technology specialist Robertson Geo to help meet that challenge, combining specialist technical advisory services with advanced downhole logging technology to give offshore wind developers greater confidence in the ground beneath multi-billion-pound renewable energy projects.
The partnership brings together Agerion’s expertise in site characterisation, technical advisory, survey design and data interpretation with Robertson Geo’s industry-leading downhole technologies, field services and data acquisition.
Together, the companies will support offshore wind and wider energy transition projects by delivering higher-fidelity subsurface data and translating complex site investigation information into practical, decision-ready outcomes.
The collaboration comes at a pivotal time for the offshore wind industry as developers look to build larger wind farms in deeper waters across the North Sea and beyond, where understanding ground conditions is increasingly critical to improving project efficiency, reducing environmental risk and supporting long-term sustainability.
Founded earlier this year in Yorkshire, Agerion draws on more than 21 years of international energy sector experience through its founder and Managing Director, Vanrisch McLean, whose career spans oil and gas before transitioning into offshore wind.
Robertson Geo, meanwhile, continues to expand its international footprint from its headquarters in Conwy, exporting geophysical and petrophysical technologies to more than 160 countries. Around 95% of the company’s sales are generated overseas, supported by a workforce of 55 people, an international network of more than 25 approved agents and operational bases in the United States and Hong Kong.
Robertson Geo Managing Director Simon Garantini said the collaboration bridges an important gap between technology providers and project developers.
“We’ve built an exceptional reputation for the quality of our technology and data, but we don’t always get the opportunity to speak directly to the developers who ultimately benefit from it,” he said.
“As offshore developments expand into deeper water in regions including the North Sea, the Mediterranean, Japan and South Korea, the need for higher-quality subsurface information becomes even more critical.
“Together we can help make the case for investing in better data from the outset. Better information leads to better decisions, reducing uncertainty throughout the life of a project and ultimately helping developers achieve stronger outcomes.”
Vanrisch said Robertson Geo had long been recognised as one of the industry’s leading technology providers.
“I’ve been aware of Robertson Geo’s reputation for many years and have seen firsthand the step change in ground model accuracy their products bring,” he said.
“The quality of the information they produce has had a significant impact, particularly as the industry moves into deeper water where ground conditions become increasingly complex.
“Combined with my experience in geoscience advisory, survey specification and data interpretation, we can offer developers something genuinely different. Namely, by demonstrating that investment in advanced tools and workflows early in the project lifecycle reduces uncertainty and delivers substantial value at later stages.
“Site investigation campaigns across the offshore wind sector have frequently underutilised borehole logging data. There is a significant opportunity to raise the standard of what is specified and delivered across the sector, and that is where this partnership adds direct value.”
Simon added: “This is about combining two highly complementary skillsets. We each bring something different to the table, but together we can provide developers with a much stronger proposition.
“Vanrisch brings an in-depth understanding of the challenges they face. We bring the technology, operational expertise and data that can help solve those challenges. It’s a partnership that has the potential to make a real difference to the offshore wind sector.”
The partnership reflects growing demand across the renewable energy sector for more integrated approaches to site investigation, enabling developers to make better-informed engineering decisions, reduce project uncertainty and support the efficient delivery of the next generation of offshore wind infrastructure.
