Tupras’ venture capital company, Tupras Ventures, is taking innovative steps to support Tupras’ sustainable refining business area with a focus on safety and operational excellence. In this context, Tupras Ventures, which invested in the AISField initiative operating in the field of robotic technologies, will contribute to the initiative in expanding the innovative robotic product portfolio in the field of digitalization and promoting products and services to domestic and foreign customers and investors. The ATEX certified robot, which is one of AISField’s robotic solutions and can perform tank bottom maintenance while there is product inside, has started to be used in Tupras refinery areas.
Tupras continues to implement digitalization and robotic applications for sustainable refining from four business lines within the scope of the Strategic Transformation Plan. Tupras venture capital company, Tupras Ventures, supports its parent company, Tupras, with technologies that will accelerate digital transformation in the energy sector.
Tupras Ventures, which supports promising and successful initiatives with the aim of creating strategic collaborations and supporting digitalization in the energy sector, made its first investment in the field of robotic technologies with AISField, a venture company based in Ankara, operating in the field of robotic inspection and data management.
Tupras Ventures, which invested to expand Tupras’ innovative robotic product portfolio, will continue to focus on business partnerships in which it will make new investments in this field in the coming period.
AISField; focuses on robotic technologies, automation and advanced software solutions in the field of non-destructive testing. The company provides services with non-destructive testing solutions and systems in various industrial sectors such as energy production facilities and power plants, storage facilities, oil, fuel, natural gas and defense, with the robotic technologies and software it has developed.
Bottom inspection can be performed in storage tanks in the refining area even when they are full.
RUVI OilDiver robot, developed as part of the R&D project carried out under the SME Support program for TUBITAK Order-Based R&D Projects, in which Tupras is a customer organization, provides bottom control and maintenance of fuel tanks even when they are full.
RUVI Diver underwater drone can perform visual and ultrasonic inspection of water tanks of industrial facilities, especially refineries and fuel storage. The I-Cleaner robot successfully performs the tank cleaning operation in case of pollution in the water tanks.
The first ATEX certified robot is at Tupras refinery sites
The robot, which provides 95% time saving as well as high safety in the working environment, is also one of the few applications in the world with the international ATEX certificate, which was created under the umbrella of the European Union and primarily aims to protect human health and safety.
The RUVI OilDiver robot, whose first applications were carried out in Tupras fields, not only saves time and costs because it controls the tank without disabling it, but also contributes to occupational health and safety because it does not require employees to enter the tank. Since hydrocarbon cleaning is not carried out as in traditional methods, waste generation and waste disposal are eliminated, thus environmental conditions are protected. Field tests and first services of the product were successfully carried out at Tupras site.
Levent Zagra, Deputy General Manager responsible for Tupras Innovation, Investments and Planning, stated the following:
“As Tupras, our main business goal is to prepare a safe work environment by making maximum use of the technologies that support our safety approach, without the need for our colleagues to enter risky environments. In this direction; We carry out dangerous, challenging inspection and maintenance work in our refineries more safely, quickly and in detail thanks to robotic technologies.”
Source: Egirisim / Prepared by Irem Yildiz