Matrix Composites & Engineering Ltd has received a purchase order, valued at approximately $13 million, from Cosmos Shoji Co., Ltd. to supply a deepwater riser buoyancy system.

The riser buoyancy system, which incorporates Matrix’s ultralight carbon syntactic foam technology, will be utilised on a deep sea oceanographic research vessel in Japan — carrying out activities across deep sea mining, deep sea research and subsea geological surveys.

Matrix will commence manufacturing the buoyancy system imminently, with delivery currently scheduled sometime between September 2023 and March 2024.

All equipment will be built in Matrix’s state-of-the-art composites production facility in Henderson, Western Australia.

Matrix has a proven ability in producing deepwater riser buoyancy systems for oceanographic research vessels, having manufactured a smaller scale system for Cosmos in 2020.

Matrix Chief Executive Officer Aaron Begley said the company was successfully leveraging its core riser buoyancy capability across a broader range of the deepwater market, utilising a product typically used in offshore drill rigs for a non-oil and gas application.

“This order represents the largest contract the company has ever received outside the oil and gas sector.

“With this award we now have locked in nearly $70 million of secured revenue in FY24 for subsea projects alone, underpinning strong year on year growth. This does not include expected recurring revenue out of our Corrosion Technologies and Advanced Materials businesses, adding to the growth trajectory.

“Our Henderson plant is operating at its busiest level since 2016 and we are chasing other near term opportunities that could continue to add significantly to our FY24 revenue and the longer-term order book,” said Begley.