Productivity in the underwater sector: 114,000 euros per employee

In terms of safety, the underwater sector, unlike the land-based and aerospace sectors, has a less clearly defined scope. It is therefore more difficult to categorise from a statistical point of view, but it offers a huge advantage. Not only is it experiencing a boom in growth, but it also overlaps with numerous cross-cutting activities. These range from shipbuilding to digital products, from deep-sea maintenance equipment to insurance cover. All these activities – for geopolitical and technological development reasons (see data centres and offshore energy) – are expanding rapidly. To shed light on the figures, a report has recently been published by PNS (National Centre for the Underwater Sector), Unioncamere and Assonautica. The report provides an initial economic and industrial overview of Italy’s underwater sector, viewed not only as a productive sector but as a strategic arena where defence, energy, research, shipbuilding, telecommunications and environmental monitoring converge. The seabed is home to critical assets; it is difficult to monitor and requires advanced solutions for exploration, surveillance, communication and intervention. For this reason, the underwater environment is now the most advanced laboratory, characterised by high technological intensity and with significant dual-use implications for both civilian and military applications.

There are currently no specific Ateco codes capable of uniquely identifying underwater activities. An initial survey of around 1,700 potentially active entities has yielded an initial census of 223 companies, of which 189 are fully linked to economic databases capable of providing a precise quantitative analysis. In 2023, these 189 companies employed 63,458 staff, generated €30.5 billion in turnover and €7.3 billion in value added. Growth between 2019 and 2023 is robust: turnover increased by 49.5 per cent, well above the average for their respective sectors, whilst employment grew by 7.6 per cent. Productivity is also high: value added per employee exceeds €114,000, roughly double the average for the relevant sectors. The 20 largest companies account for almost 90 per cent of employees and turnover, a sign of a supply chain in which major national integrators coexist alongside a network of specialised suppliers.

Among the companies within the scope, Fincantieri naturally stands out. The company, led by Pierroberto Folgiero, began investing in the underwater sector around three years ago with a dedicated facility, the Underwater Hub, which brings together three distinct areas of expertise. The first is the company’s historical tradition, which has its roots in the Delfino – the first submarine built in Italia at the end of the 19th century – and which has seen over 180 vessels built; this tradition is now being channelled into the U212 NFS (Near Future Submarine) programme. The second strand encompasses the acquisitions already made – WASS, which specialises in effectors and countermeasures, and Remazel, a Bergamo-based company with 200 engineers dedicated to equipment for positioning hardware on the seabed. The third pillar is unconventional underwater technology, with the leading role entrusted to IDS in Pisa, and focused on hardware and software for robotic and unmanned solutions. On 6 July, Fincantieri announced the conclusion of agreements for four strategic acquisitions – Next Geosolutions, WSense, Graal Tech and Defcomm – with an initial outlay of around 600 million. “A historic transformation,” said Folgiero, who aims to transform the giant from being merely a shipbuilder into an integrated player in the underwater economy. The four acquired companies are, in fact, key components of the underwater sector. From repair to decommissioning, from geomarine sciences to wireless communication systems, right through to actual drones. Fincantieri’s objective is to provide end-to-end capabilities (from telecommunications to equipment and services) both across the various companies and within individual projects. Examples include DEEP, which is a system of systems, the supply of deep-sea docking stations, and the installation of fibre-optic repeaters (through Xtera). Last year, Fincantieri’s underwater segment recorded revenues of 667 million, but this year it alone will generate over 1.1 billion in revenues, with an EBITDA of 220 million. These figures will contribute over 60 million to the overall profit (the group’s profit in the first half of the year was 102 million). This is a sign of the specific weight of the underwater sector. A weight that is as significant as it is cross-cutting. The same concept emerges from the PNS report and thus applies to the entire supply chain.

It is no coincidence that the sectors with the highest number of companies in Italia are research and development, information technology, electronics and optics, shipbuilding, and various segments of the mechanical engineering, engineering and electrical equipment industries. Applications span navigation, surveillance, subsea telecommunications, propulsion, shipbuilding, geophysical surveying and environmental monitoring. The value of these products has risen from 1.1 billion in 2013 to 3.5 billion in 2022, representing a 216 per cent increase, reflecting a very sharp acceleration in specialisation. Nor should we overlook the underwater sector’s capacity to drive technological advancement. The report emphasises two enabling factors: innovation and skilled human capital. The surveyed companies hold 12,659 patents, of which 2,840 relate to STEP strategic technologies (defined as enabling technologies at EU level), with a very high concentration in Lombardy and Lazio. There are 25,403 employees with university degrees, accounting for 40 per cent of the total, confirming that the sector requires advanced skills. Taken together, these factors contribute to a concept that can no longer be overlooked: that of industrial competitiveness, which goes hand in hand with technological sovereignty and national security.

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