102496SubSeaLase – Underwater laser cutting for high-speed and lower cost decommissioning of off-shore structuresClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKOil & Gas UK forecasts the market value of decommissioning the North Sea to be ~£30Bn by 2040. Approximately £1.8Bn of this is related directly to subsea cutting activities, with Main Operators requiring cutting technologies which are flexible, fast, reliable, deployable remotely and safe. As such, there is an industrial need and market opportunity for a significantly quicker approach to lower cost decommissioning in deep and hazardous waters than exisiting solutions. The SubSeaLase project will address this need by developing and demonstrating a novel underwater laser cutting system which can be initially used for cutting industrial relevant structures at depths up to 100m. The system will consist of an underwater laser cutting head, with the laser source and gas compressor remaining topside, deployed on a modified ROV. We expect our approach to be 4 times faster than conventional cutting approaches; significantly reducing deployment costs and increasing the competitiveness of the UK decomissioning supply-chain.