Fabien Burignot de Varenne, a former merchant marine officer, left the seven seas to create Seaproven.This young SME is based in Saint-Jean-sur-Mayenne (France) and is specialised in the maritime field, specifically, in the design of futuristic ships.

Back in 2014, the first product coming out of this new enterprise was Sphyrna: a marine drone that can be driven with no one on board. "Sphyrna is built as an asymmetrical multihull 20 m long and 5,20 m wide. It is composed only of composite materials, mainly carbon and weighs less than two tonnes" says Fabien. This drone is also green, as it runs on solar panels and a wind turbine system. Another extraordinary feature of Sphyrna is its autonomy: it can make a round-trip from New York to Brest and stay several months at sea. 

Sphyrna's applications can be manyfold. From going into offshore oil areas, to monitoring of wind farms or monitoring of maritime traffic. Sphyrna can also be adapted for marine works, such as to map the seabed or do seismic surveys.

Fabien Burignot de Varenne and his first prototype Sphyrna

From idea to business with the support of Laval Mayenne Technopole

In December 2014, Fabien's innovative drone was awarded €10,000 by Crédit Mutuel, in the framework of the Idénergie competition in France. Idénergie is a startup accelerator, that provides tools and coaches to accompany young enterprises for eight months, in order for them to kick off their new business ideas.

More recently, Seaproven, in partnership with Nautiraid Vaiges, are developping a marine drone for speedrescuing purposes, mainly for use in aid operations  in maritime and inland waterways. Both companies are now seeking investors to develop the project. "We want to go to the market at the beginning of 2017", they say. 

Still in 2014, Seaproven procured the services of EBN Member and certified EU|BIC, Laval Mayenne Technopole (LMT). In the beginning of 2015 Fabien offficially entered LMT's incubator where his company is still receiving services for commercial training , networking, and others. Currently is team has expanded to four associates.