The MELODI project is tested off the Basque Coast

Aiming to produce and develop a group of submarine drones which can detect and map out the deep seabed of mineral resources such as sulphide deposits, the MELODI project (Magnetic and Electromagnetic Ore Detection) brings true innovation to underwater exploration.

This is a collaborative project born of the merging of three independent and complementary research programmes which aim to design a new system for the rapid and precise reconnaissance of sulphide deposits in deep sea beds.

The benefit of the MELODI project is that it avoids increasing the incidence of exploratory drilling and its repercussions on ecosystems. The environmental impact will be considerably reduced in the search for exploitable minerals, starting with sulphide deposits.

Winner of the Global Innovation Competition launched by the State in 2012, the MELODI project is driven by a business partnership agreement with Créocéan as the lead partner, and participating French groups such as the ECA Group, DCNS, recently the NAVAL GROUP, the RTSys and MAPPEM Geophysics associations as well as the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. At a total cost of 4.5 million euros, this project has received support from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region for the test stages.

On the Basque Coast, trials of the MELODI project navigation prototypes have been put into action from the port of Bayonne, with the support of the south-west branch of Créocéan, based in Bassussarry. The branch ensures the coordination of sea trials off the coast of Bayonne, notably with the support of Marseille-based company JIFMAR, located in the port of Bayonne, which offers the project its boat, the Jif Xplorer, moored in Anglet.

Progress made by the MELODI project was presented on Wednesday 28th June 2017 in the Bayonne Pays Basque Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in the presence of partners of the project and key players in the ocean economy. The aim was to expose the practicality of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) deployed in order to test the MELODI project. This innovative and collaborative is part of Ocean Start, an initiative driven by the Communauté d’Agglomération Pays Basque which aims to develop and support the “blue economy” in its territory.