bp and Oxbotica complete industry-first autonomous vehicle trial at German refinery

bp has successfully completed an autonomous vehicle trial at its Lingen refinery in Germany, working with Oxbotica, a global leader in autonomous vehicle software. The trial was a world-first in the energy sector and the latest addition to the bp ventures technology portfolio.

During the trial the vehicle travelled over 180km fully autonomously, safely navigating the extensive and complex environment of the bp refinery, including busy junctions, narrow paths, railway crossings, and multiple terrains, during both day and night and in unpredictable weather conditions.  Oxbotica was able to deploy its autonomy software platform and integrate with the existing infrastructure within two hours of arriving on site.

Following the success of the trial, bp aims to progress to deploying its first autonomous vehicle for monitoring operations at the refinery by the end of the year. 

The self-driving vehicles will enhance human operations and improve safety by increasing the monitoring for irregular conditions, faulty equipment and security threats, making it more frequent and around the clock. The autonomous vehicles’ enhanced analytics will help the site reduce the size of its current fleet.

Morag Watson SVP digital science and engineering, bp said: “This relationship is an important example of how bp is leveraging automation and digital technology that we believe can improve safety, increase efficiency and decrease carbon emissions in support of our net zero ambition. 

“Lingen has 30 km of roads. Intelligent technology like this helps us make the incremental but equally critical improvements to our operations, so we can continue to focus on delivering the energy the world needs in the way that it wants.  I am looking forward to working with Oxbotica to explore how we can unlock the full potential of autonomy.”

The announcement follows bp’s recent $13m equity investment in Oxbotica. The partnership will give Oxbotica access to bp’s operations, retail sites and customer network, helping to unlock its potential.

Ozgur Tohumcu, CEO at Oxbotica said: “As part of our first refinery trial in Lingen, we showcased how autonomy improves safety, reduces emissions and improves productivity. The investment from bp will allow us to scale our autonomous software platform across the energy ecosystem with a number of planned use cases and unlock the true power of universal autonomy.” 

Beyond the trial, bp believes that Oxbotica’s technology can help it to create an inherently safer operating environment for field workers through its reliable, repeatable, and predictable application. 

The software can be installed into any vehicle and can work indoors, outdoors, underground, in any weather condition and any time of day or night. It has zero dependence on external infrastructure such as GPS or third-party mapping and is completely sensor- and platform-agnostic.

Erin Hallock, managing partner at bp ventures added: “Oxbotica’s technology makes autonomous vehicles safer due to improved vision, more efficient due to reduced downtime and less carbon intensive through forensic control of acceleration, braking and driving patterns. We are delighted to partner with a business at the forefront of the future of mobility that can modernise bp through autonomy and look forward to scaling the software across bp’s ecosystem.”  

About bp ventures:

• bp ventures was set up more than 10 years ago to identify and invest in private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating innovation across the entire energy spectrum. Since then, bp has invested almost $700 million in technology companies across more than 31 active investments with more than 250 co-investors.
• bp ventures focuses on connecting and growing new energy business. It makes strategic equity investments across a portfolio of relevant technology businesses including advanced mobility, low carbon and digital.
• For more information visit: bp.com/ventures

About Oxbotica:

Oxbotica ​is a global leader in autonomous vehicle software. Oxbotica was founded in 2014 as an Oxford University spin-out with a simple mission to develop autonomy software that will transform all industries where people and goods move. Oxbotica’s autonomy software works with any vehicle, any time, and in any place. This is Universal Autonomy.

Oxbotica’s autonomous vehicle software is deployed across multiple industries, bringing the benefits of autonomy to enterprises globally. Oxbotica is building an ecosystem that supports the adoption of autonomous vehicles, leveraging key partnerships to accelerate the deployment of Universal Autonomy.

Further information

Contacts

bp press office, London: +44 (0)20 7496 4076, bppress@bp.com
Kekst CNC, London: +44 (0)20 3755 1630, bpventures@kekstcnc.com

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