Startup Case Study: Armada Technologies

Armada Technologies co-founder, Alex Routledge, comes from a family with deep roots in the maritime industry, developing a passion for the design and engineering of ships early on and subsequently studying Naval Architecture. After gaining experience at Royal Dutch Shell both as a Naval Architect and a project lead for the construction of new fleets of ships, he completed his MBA at SaÏd Business School. Alongside his studies, he developed and built the Armada concept and company with his co-founder, Roger Armson.

Armada Technologies' innovative passive lubrication system significantly reduces drag between a ship's hull and the surrounding seawater, resulting in lower energy consumption to propel the vessel and therefore lower overall environmental emissions. This system is highly adaptable to changes in speed and depth, making it a versatile and efficient option for various maritime conditions.  

Developing a Minimum Viable Product

The more experts Alex spoke to, the more evident it became that the gap in the industry exists, and so the number of advocates for the new technology started to grow.

“In my opinion, shipping as an industry takes a less proactive approach to disruptive innovation than to aviation, at least compared to other logistics-based industries"

Eventually, the founders tested the technology and developed an MVP (minimum viable product) with the help of a small grant, which allowed them to apply for bigger funds and take the development process further and faster. As the company leverages its partnerships to prove the efficacy of its innovation, Armada will install the system at full scale on an LNG carrier as part of a pilot, allowing the company to scale.

Though the passive lubrication system of Armada is unique, competition is unavoidable. Samsung, Hyundai and Silverstream all manufacture similar technologies for fleets. However, the ground-breaking proposition of Armada is that they can achieve the same, or greater resistance reduction without the need for energy consuming air compressors. The result is a solution some 30 - 50% more energy efficient. In addition, their patents ensure that their technology is protected on the global market.

Though being an entrepreneur and working towards a more sustainable future is a rewarding job, Alex also addresses some challenges that he has faced during his journey in getting people to believe in a capital intensive but highly rewarding project.

“Gaining visionary ship owners and targeted investors to take the first big step towards a proof of concept can be daunting, as ours is a high-risk, high-reward business.”

After persuading investors of the massive impact of decarbonising the shipping industry, the company secured $3.2 million in seed funding, with investors like Future Planet Capital and Founders Factory. This allowed Armada to scale and work on more strategic partnerships with investors in the maritime industry, such as CoolCo and Ecochlor, who supported Armada throughout its product development and testing phases. Armada has also signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Qatar Shipyard to utilise the technology on the company’s fleets, which is a significant step towards commercialising the product.

Becoming an Entrepreneur

Regarding his personal entrepreneurship experiences, Alex states that learning about business frameworks is vital to success, regardless of how technical the company’s solution is. Setting the mission and vision, and aligning management plans with the goals of the company are vital to maximising the efficiency of the team.

“Having a North Star, as they call it, signalling where we wanted to go from an early stage helped to guide decision-making, clarify strategy, and avoid internal conflicts.”

He also recommends not being overly concerned in taking a strong stance with investors, recognising that the power dynamics are usually not on the startup’s side, especially when investment is needed to move the business forward. After completing the pilot, Armada plans to commercialise their technology, raise a Series A funding round, and transform the shipping industry by getting maximum impact from their lubrication technology.

During his MBA studies at SaÏd Business School, University of Oxford, Alex completed the Entrepreneurship Project and received investment for Armada shortly after from the Oxford Seed Fund. Alex and the Armada team also took part in the Climate programme at the Creative Destruction Lab.  

“We love this inter-linkage between our business and the University. We have gained and continue to gain a lot out of our ongoing relationship with the school, the Careers Service team, the Entrepreneurship Centre at SaÏd Business School and the wider University.”

Alex recommends prospective founders to take advice from literally anywhere you can get it, whether that be the entrepreneurship ecosystem, dedicated mentors or to simply listen to business podcasts, like the Diary of a CEO. Reading and drawing parallels with scaling startups including challenges faced is very valuable when you can draw a linkage to your own experience in time. However, the key to the success of any company is to just enjoy the process!

This case study was conducted and written by guest author