Funding
Two rounds.
Two stages.
A hybrid financing model — institutional seed funding, citizen capital and scientific partnerships — to build the boat and industrialise the exoskeleton.
Funding
Two rounds.
Two stages.
A first round closed to put L'Hydronaute into service. A second round planned to industrialise the exoskeleton and adapt it to river freight — the high-impact market.
Round 1 · December 2025
Seed · Hydronaute
Hull completion · exoskeleton · AOT permit · first missions
Réseau Initiative Nantes laureate · France Active
Nantes Transition loan · Bpifrance PL2I grant
Réseau Initiative Nantes laureate · France Active
Nantes Transition loan · Bpifrance PL2I grant
0 €
Closed
Round 2 · 2027
Series A · Exo Freight
Exoskeleton industrialisation · river-freight adaptation · Europe deployment
TBD
● Planned 2027
Use of funds · Round 1 (€100,000)
Exoskeleton completion Assembly · floats · aluminium fittings · electronics
40%
Scientific missions Instrumentation · protocols · PhD student · Université Gustave Eiffel
25%
AOT permit & infrastructure Mooring · Nantes Métropole · insurance · certification
20%
Communication & early access Site · media · first bookings · citizen science
15%
Round 2 · 2027 — Freight Exoskeleton
Exoskeleton industrialisation R&D · freight prototyping · river certification
—
Deployment & licences Shipowner partnerships · European rivers · open source
—
Structure · BIUTOPIC SAS · ESS / ESUS · JEI
Eligible · IR-PME · Madelin scheme
Laureate · Réseau Initiative Nantes · France Active
Backers · Bpifrance PL2I · Nantes Transition loan
Eligible · IR-PME · Madelin scheme
Laureate · Réseau Initiative Nantes · France Active
Backers · Bpifrance PL2I · Nantes Transition loan
Institutional supporters
Get in touch
Looking to invest, co-finance or support the project? Write to us directly.
hydronaute@biutopic.com →