Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer)
French national ocean research institute that operates the French Oceanographic Fleet and deep-sea vehicles Victor 6000 ROV, Ariane HROV and Ulyx AUV.
Ifremer (Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) is the French public research institute devoted entirely to ocean science. Its head office is at 1625 route de Sainte-Anne in Plouzané, near Brest, Brittany, where it moved from Paris in 2019. The institute was created on 5 June 1984 by merging Cnexo, the National Centre for Ocean Exploitation, with ISTPM, the Scientific and Technical Institute for Maritime Fisheries. In 2025 it reported 1,623 employees, a budget of 274 million euros and 23 sites across all oceans, including overseas delegations in the Indian Ocean, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and elsewhere. François Houllier is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The board includes representatives of the ministries responsible for research, maritime affairs, sea fishing and aquaculture, foreign affairs, defence, the budget, the environment and overseas territories.
Ifremer's research covers marine biodiversity and ecosystems, ocean and climate, extreme events, pollution, fisheries and aquaculture, sanitary quality of seafood, mineral resources, marine energy and biotechnology, sensors and measurement systems, and digital-ocean modelling. It also runs national marine data infrastructure. Its technology work includes Argo profiling floats, with about 4,000 Argo floats in the global network that Ifremer helps coordinate. Its Argo Deep-6000 prototypes completed autonomous cycles to 6,000 m north of the Antilles. Under the France 2030 "Deep Seabed" priority, Ifremer has contracted ALSEAMAR to design a deep-sea underwater glider able to reach 3,500 m.
Since 2018 Ifremer has operated the unified French Oceanographic Fleet, which brings together the marine assets of CNRS, Ifremer, IPEV and IRD and is one of the five largest research fleets in the world. The fleet includes 17 research vessels, among them the flagship Pourquoi pas?, the Marion Dufresne, L'Atalante and the fisheries vessel Thalassa, as well as deep-diving underwater vehicles. It hosts about 1,800 scientists and runs 100 to 120 campaigns each year. Ifremer's subsidiary Genavir crews and operates the ships. Ifremer's Submarine Systems Unit at La Seyne-sur-Mer, near Toulon, manages the technical side of the underwater vehicles, and the institute has developed and operated deep-sea vehicles there since 1984.
Current vehicles include:
- Victor 6000, a work-class ROV in service since 1998 that observes and intervenes down to 6,000 m with advanced optical imaging and navigation. It took part in the first exploration of cold-water coral carbonate mounds off Ireland in 2001 and has sampled hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
- Ariane, a hybrid ROV (HROV) commissioned in 2017. It runs on lithium-ion batteries with a fibre-optic link and can be launched from coastal vessels for single-day intervention, sampling, inspection and optical or acoustic mapping dives to 2,500 m.
- Ulyx, a 6,000 m autonomous underwater vehicle christened in 2020. It can cover up to 80 km per mission, mapping the seafloor, taking images and measuring physical and chemical parameters a few metres above the bottom.
- AsterX, an AUV for continental shelves and margins rated to 2,850 m.
- Nautile, a crewed submersible first launched in 1984 that made its first 6,000 m dive on 3 April 1985. It has completed 2,122 dives and its service has been extended to 2035.
Earlier systems trace French underwater robotics history. They include the Cyana submersible (1969 to 2003) and the Epaulard, which Ifremer describes as the world's first operational deep autonomous observation vehicle; it was acoustically commanded and rated to 6,000 m, and served from 1980 to 1991. They also include the SAR deep-towed high-resolution side-scan sonar, introduced in 1984, which contributed to the discovery of the Titanic in 1985 and of the Air France 447 wreck in 2009.
Ifremer also works on commercial transfer through an innovation partnership and transfer division, which handles research contracts, start-up incubation and collaboration with companies, and it is part of the Carnot MERS institute network. In 2025 it created the Neptune endowment fund to support Mission Neptune, an ocean-exploration initiative launched at the Third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
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Contact Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer)
WEBSITE
https://www.ifremer.fr/enHEADQUARTERS
France
Company Facts
Founded
1984
Primary Role
Research Institute
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Europe
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Grant / Non-profit
Funding Total
-
Keywords
- Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer)
- Victor 6000 ROV
- Ariane hybrid ROV
- Ulyx AUV
- AsterX AUV
- Nautile submersible
- French Oceanographic Fleet
- Argo profiling floats
- deep-sea exploration
- Genavir
- ocean observation
- Research Institute
- Unmanned Marine Vehicle
- ROV
- AUV
- Subsea
- Education & Research
- Research Platform
